the lawless breed and a western very loosely base on the life of john wesley hardin and be a milestone film for young rock hudson . rock be 28 when he make this film for universal and for the first time he be give first billing in a film . universal also give him veteran action director raoul walsh and a support cast that know it way around the set of a western . john wesley hardin ( 1853 1895 ) and one of the most notorious of bad men in the old west be also one of the few who actually get to put his story down for posterity . the film that you see be base somewhat on some of the incident in hardin life . he be not a noble a character a the lawless breed would have you believe and but a whole lot of thing attribute to him be probably pure hokum . the dime novel of the day work their way into the popular culture for just about every character of the old west and good and bad . a show here and the real john wesley hardin be shoot in the back in a saloon after his release from prison . but the story go that during a preview of the film and the audience reaction be so negative to see rock hudson shoot down like a dirty dog that universal felt compel to tack on a happy end . the film be really suppose to end with him die on the floor of the saloon tell his son play by race gentry not to follow in his footstep . what be add on be a scene with wife julie adam and gentry load the wounded rock on the back of a buckboard and after a bit of dialog they ride off in the sunset . so one western legend get scrap to start the career of a movie legend . only in hollywood . john mcintire have a nice dual performance a hudson circuit rid preacher father and a his uncle and a cattle rancher . and there be a gang of brother that hudson keep tangle with the entire film and the hanleys play by such western familiar a lee van cleef and michael ansara and hugh obrian and and glenn strange . it not a bad film despite the obviously tack on happy end for rock fan . john wesley hardin probably would have like how it come out .