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A cheater is exposed at the regular gambling table and this revelation leads to a series of murders in small town Rincon. When the cheater is taken by some of the game's players, gambler Van Morgan (Dean Martin) attempts but fails to stop the man's lynching. One by one, men from Van's group of gamblers are murdered.
As he tries to figure out who is responsible for the crimes, Van finds himself falling in love with Lily Langford (Inger Stevens), the madam of a local barbershop/brothel combination. The younger sister of one of Van's gambling partners has had her eyes on Van for some time, but Van finds more in common with the experienced, guarded Lily than the naive Nora (Katherine Justice.)
A mysterious new preacher (Robert Mitchum) shows up in town and cleverly bluffs his way into being accepted by the community before showing his hand. Inger, breathtakingly styled throughout the film, is entirely convincing as the madam who has lost love before and keeps tight control of her business and her heart. The character of Lily is a vulnerable woman hiding under a tough exterior. Unfortunately, Inger is not given many lines in the film and the majority of her lines are flirtatious innuendos— she delivers them perfectly, but I'd wish her storyline had been expanded. She's wonderful in 5 Card Stud and it's a real treat of a western to watch!
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