Since lapsing into public domain, Rage at Dawn has become one of the most readily available of Randolph Scott's westerns. Based on the exploits of the infamous Reno gang, the film casts Scott as a federal agent assigned to squelch the Renos once and for all. After staging a few phony train robberies, Scott is accepted into the gang. While posing as a criminal, he discovers that the Renos are able to operate freely because they've paid off several important local officials. Once he's managed to round up the surviving gang members, Scott must contend with a self-righteous lynch mob led by Howard Petrie. Mala Powers is the leading lady in Rage at Dawn, while the dreaded Reno boys are convincingly enacted by J. Carroll Naish, Forrest Tucker, Myron Healey and Denver Pyle.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide