The Three Mesqueteers attempt to prevent wholesale slaughter in this fine Republic Western starring John Wayne, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, and Raymond Hatton. Planning to build a reservoir on the site, the state government has condemned the town of New Hope and surrounding ranches. Construction chief M.C. Gilbert (LeRoy Mason) arrives with a clear mandate to buy off both the townsfolk and the ranchers but receives unwanted resistance from old Major Braddock (Eddy Waller) and his grandchildren (Jennifer Jones, Dave O'Brien, and Sammy McKim), who are ready to take up arms against the intrusion. When Gilbert and his cohort, Proctor (Harrison Greene), resort to ungentlemanly methods, including bringing in a crooked real-estate developer (Wilbur Mack), the Mesqueteers ride into action. Jennifer Jones, in her screen debut, is billed under her real name of Phyllis Isley.