Hell Bent for Leather (film)
Hell Bent for Leather is a 1960 American CinemaScope Western film directed by George Sherman starring Audie Murphy, Felicia Farr, Stephen McNally and Robert Middleton. The film was based on the 1959 novel "Outlaw Marshal" by Ray Hogan and filmed on location in the Alabama Hills of Lone Pine, California. Plot. Clay Santell (Audie Murphy) has his horse stolen and stops in the town of Sutterville. He is mistaken by townspeople for a murderer named Travers (Jan Merlin), and is handed over to Marshal Harry Deckett (Stephen McNally). Deckett knows the truth but decides to  kill Clay and pass him off as the real Travers to enhance his reputation and collect the reward money. Clay escapes and takes a woman (Felicia Farr) hostage until he can prove his innocence. Production. The film was the first of seven low-budget Westerns Audie Murphy made for producer Gordon Kay at Universal. They would be shot in 18–20 days at a budget of around $500,000, and normally feature only three main roles: the hero (played by Murphy), female lead, and villain. The other films were: