Gabrielle Maple works in a dusty desert gas station-café, but yearns for the life of an artist in France, knowing there must be something finer than the provincial dead-end she is trapped in. A hitch-hiking writer, the disillusioned Alan Squier, appears and revitalizes her dreams of a better place, and finds his own sense of worth refreshed by this vital young girl. When Duke Mantee and his gang, wanted killers, show up and take hostages, Gabrielle falls in love with the poetic Alan, and Squier begins to see a way to give Gabby the life she deserves.
Humphrey Bogart
as Duke Mantee
Henry Fonda
as Alan Squier
Lauren Bacall
as Gabby Maple
Paul Hartman
as Jason Maple
Jack Warden
as Boze
Richard Jaeckel
as Ruby
Joseph Sweeney
as Gramps
Natalie Schafer
as Mrs. Chisholm
Richard Gaines
as Mr. Chisholm
Jack Klugman
as Jackie
Dick Elliott
as Commander
Steven Ritch
as Lineman
