While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
弱女遭辱无天理，报纸杂志慌封笔。拍成电影揭真相，别急我又没说你。
A 每个人都是夜旅人，会相聚，也会离开。某一天，夜旅人们在巴黎的星夜里必将再重逢再相聚。
冗长而又多余的反转，再加上无止境且毫无关系的揶揄电影生态的抖机灵段子，弄得推理不像推理，喜剧不像喜剧。总之我报以尴尬而不失礼貌的冷漠，用来回应这满腹经纶的道貌岸然。
替创作者发声，批判审查制度，诸多隐喻，意犹未尽
法国小清新，剧情略微狗血，大量镜头致敬候麦，似乎也只有在巴黎，这样的故事才有土壤。
“像被留在房间的旧镜子里，那些脆弱的阴影。”
他们去看候麦的电影了 我也想去 我也想去 就是很迷人的氛围 浪漫又忧伤。还有 音乐真的很戳我内心。 骑车在夜晚 我以为是台湾电影
2021.11.21 大光明（七宝店）
爱电影为啥不拍个电影出来？这就不是啊。看看豆瓣下面，应该是2021年度商业推广最多的院线，感谢你们赏写手们口饭吃。
万合还是有自己的风格和设计，既有无厘头黑色幽默，也有悬疑铺设层层反转，还能反映社会问题表达自我观点。其中的迷影情怀，业内吐槽，对各种问题的影射，聪明且高级。一个以民国为背景的故事，多么针砭时弊。
看得时候感觉似乎像是在看日本或香港的老电影
我想看阴谋、勾心斗角、黑暗、阴谋、腐败……结果凶手居然只是为了爱情？？？
太喜欢最后念的那一段听众的信了，最后的几分钟让我一下就喜欢这部了
3.5. 柔和有余力量不足的女性电影。细腻精致像Charlotte的声线，但最凸显旅人要素的流浪女孩却在饱满舒适的色调里显得过于乖巧，稚嫩，顺从，安全，这是真实的吗？离去才是真实的吧
昨天刚好看了圆月映花都。缘分，妙不可言。Talulah听到圆月映花都女主去世那个哭出来的反应我立刻想起去年看到九月贝尔蒙多去世消息的时候。五十世代的甘斯布老师实在是很美，打了几回酱油的EB大概也可以算作是本片彩蛋。
如果这就是如宣传新打出的“国产悬疑片口碑影史第一”，那真是棒棒。
作为电影来说没法给高分，基本是胡闹和瞎搞，台词金句频出（我讨厌的那种），演技故意浮夸，妆化油头粉面。最后亮点的上升高度也是建立在虚构中就有点讽刺了，但仍然有一些想法值得肯定。其次感觉中国电影还是能夹缝求生的，虽然都得架空吧。
剧本杀型电影，完成度还挺好，影厅里没开暖气都坚持看完了
现在还愿意去讲「善良」和「信念」的电影不多了，我觉得这一点对于当下的商业类型片是非常重要的。而刘循子墨导演对故事气质的识别和捕捉是非常敏感的，有了这个故事的基础，只要解决好「怎么讲」的问题，那这个电影就能跨过「好」的那条细细的金线。新导演处女作值得单独加 1 星。
5.5分。比开心麻花强一点的话剧式电影，但也只强一点，仅此而已。
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