A Lawman Is Born which stars Johnny Mack Brown was one of those features I wish had been done by a major studio. It has the makings of a classic and could have been with a more extensive script and better production facilities.
The idea is an interesting one. Cowboy hero Johnny Mack Brown is of all things a store clerk working for Al St. John usually a sidekick character actor. But he's got a past, he's wanted for murder in another part of the country and he's living quiet and peaceable. A hard thing to do since there's yet another western range war brewing in his area.
Sheriff Earl Hodgins knows who Brown is and since he's been a good citizen in his area, he keeps the secret. He even asks for Brown's help in stopping the range war. But Hodgins is later gunned down in the street and Brown at the urging of Hodgins's sister Mary McLaren takes his place.
The unusual twists on what is normally a standard range war western plot are what make A Lawman Is Born one of Johnny Mack Brown's more interesting B westerns.