As the Civil War erupts, the townsfolk of Lawrence, Kansas side with either the North or the South, and a deeply embittered sheriff allies himself to the South as a cover for his outlaw gang to pillage and intimidate those who support the North. When his wife realizes his true violent nature, he not only has to rescue her but save the town. Dark Command was loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W.R. Burnett, Dark Command is the only film in which western icons John Wayne and Roy Rogers appear together. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction by John Victor Mackay.
When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place, especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker. Politics is in the air however. It's just prior to the civil war and there is already a sharp division in the Territory as to whether it will remain slave-free. When he gets the opportunity to run for marshal, Seton finds himself running against the respected local schoolteacher, William Cantrell. Not is what it seems however. While acting as the upstanding citizen in public, Cantrell is dangerously ambitious and is prepared to do anything to make his mark, and his fortune, on the Territory. When he loses the race for marshal, he forms a group of raiders who run guns into the territory and rob and terrorize settlers throughout the territory. Eventually donning Confederate uniforms, it is left to Seton and the good citizens of Lawrence to face Cantrell and his raiders in one final clash.