Branded is a 1950 western film starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, and Robert Keith. It was adapted from the novel Montana Rides Again by Max Brand. A gunfighter on the run from the law is talked into posing as the long-lost son of a wealthy rancher. Choya, a gunfighter on the run, is tracked down by cowboys Leffingwell and "Tattoo" in the mountains. They make him a part of a scheme to bilk a rich rancher named Lavery. The plan requires a tattoo on Choya's shoulder, but as soon as "Tattoo" creates one, Leffingwell shoots him in the back. Choya rides to Lavery's Bar M ranch and... asks foreman Ransome for a job, but doesn't get it. While they fight, Lavery and daughter Ruth ride up. Lavery feels the ranch could use another good hand, so Choya is hired. Ruth tells the new man how her 5-year-old brother was a kidnap victim many years ago, never seen again. One day, Lavery notices the tattoo and is amazed because his long-lost son had one just like it. Choya pretends it's a coincidence, but tells a story about a childhood memory that convinces Mr. and Mrs. Lavery that he is "Richard, Jr." Leffingwell turns up and is hired at the ranch.
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| Release date: | 1950 |
| Directed by: | Rudolph Maté |
| Runtime: | 104 Minutes |
| Producer: | Mel Epstein |
| Genre: | Western |