Alan Ladd stars in The Badlanders as Peter Van Hook, the mastermind of a gold robbery. The victim-to-be is Cyril Lounsberry (Kent Smith), whose perjured testimony had sent the innocent Van Hook and John McBain (Ernest Borgnine) to prison. Van Hook and McBain conspire with "sporting woman" Anita (Katy Jurado) to rob Lounsberry of his ill-gotten gains; meanwhile Lounsberry is planning to ditch his wife and run off with his mistress, Ada Winton (Claire Kelly). Aligning with dynamite expert Vincente (Nehemiah Persoff), Van Hook and his companions pull off the heist, only to be arrested at Lounsberry's command. McBain exacts final vengeance on Lounsberry, allowing Van Hook to escape with Ada. If you look closely, you'll discover that The Badlanders is a sagebrush remake of The Asphalt Jungle (1950), a fact confirmed by the onscreen credits.