The movie A Bullet Is Waiting was produced in 1954 and directed by John Farrow. It stars Rory Calhoun as Sam Leeds, the man indicted for manslaughter who manages to escape from the plane wreck, and Jean Simmons as Cally Canham, the female ranch manager who initially wants to turn Sam in to the authorities, but eventually falls in love with him.
The movie opens with Sheriff Buck Sweet (Stephen McNally) escorting Sam Leeds to Los Angeles to stand trial for manslaughter. During the flight, the plane's engines fail and it crash-lands on a remote California beach. In the chaos that follows, Sam manages to overpower the sheriff and escape into the surrounding countryside.
He eventually stumbles upon Cally Canham's sheep ranch, where he is discovered hiding out in one of the barns. Cally, a fiercely independent woman who runs the ranch on her own, is initially suspicious of Sam and threatens to turn him in to the authorities. However, she soon becomes sympathetic to his plight and decides to hide him from the law.
As the days pass, Sam and Cally grow closer, with Sam helping out around the ranch and even saving Cally's life during a flash flood. However, their idyllic interlude is cut short when Sheriff Sweet arrives at the ranch, hot on Sam's trail. With a posse of armed deputies backing him up, Sweet demands that Sam surrender and return to Los Angeles to face justice.
In the tense final showdown, Sam and Sweet engage in a brutal gunfight, with both men wounded and near death. In the end, Sam manages to kill Sweet and make his escape, but not before telling Cally that he loves her and promising to return to her someday.
A Bullet Is Waiting was generally well-received by critics, who praised the strong performances by Calhoun and Simmons, as well as the stunning California locations. The film has since become something of a cult classic among Western fans, thanks in part to its moody, atmospheric cinematography and twisty, unpredictable plot.
