A 1949 New Old West Noir film. A group of ten people learn about a clue to a long-lost treasure in the nearby sand dunes and reluctantly head out together to find it. This is complicated by a love triangle and how one of the group is a detective hunting one of the other nine, with four different people thinking they're his quarry after this reveal.
Tropes:
- New Old West: The setting is 1949, but several people (cowboys, a bar owner, a prospector, a drifter, a private detective, and others) venture into the desert after a nineteenth century treasure and can't trust each other. There's little technology and lots of desert scenery.
- Prospector: Old Willy has spent forty years searching the hills for gold, knows the story of a lost wagon train with untold riches, and help convince the others to look for it.
- Shoot Him, He Has a Wallet!: A version that wasn't meant to be lethal occurred in the past when Shep flipped over a table onto a rival gambler who reached into his coat after losing big. He was just reaching for a bottle of whiskey, and the table broke the bottle and shoved the broken glass into his heart.
- Those Two Guys: Bar owner Bibbs and his guitar player Josh are constantly together, and provide a lot of levity while everyone else is filled with anger and distrust.
