Murder in Yellowstone City Plot Synopsis
Gold. If you’ve seen the aptly titled Zach Efron movie Gold, you already know it can drive a guy to murder. A number of murders occur in Murder at Yellowstone City when gold digger Robert Dunnigan announces his discovery of gold to the community.
The first murder victim is Dunnigan. Former slave Cicero, who has just arrived in town, is the prime suspect. He is detained by the sheriff for the crime, but it quickly becomes apparent that he has the wrong person.
Who then murdered Dunnigan and the other victims of Yellowstone City? Does the sheriff find out who the murderer is? Let’s take a closer look at the film.
Murder in Yellowstone City
How does the movie start?
Robert Dunnigan is launched into the air as his explosive reveals the location of a gold mine, setting off the film’s dramatic opening. Cicero, who is on his way to Yellowstone City, sees him.
Robert travels to the nearby town of Yellowstone to alert the locals to his discovery and makes a promising wish after telling his wife Emma that he has struck gold.
Shortly after, Cicero enters the city, but some residents are suspicious of this stranger.
Cicero goes to the saloon for a drink after leaving his horse with Violet, the neighborhood stable girl, and strikes up a conversation with the owner, Edgar, about their mutual interest in Shakespeare.
After a while things calm down, but Robert is killed while returning from the local brothel and the sheriff arrests his prime suspect.
Who does the sheriff arrest for the crime?
Clergyman Thaddeus Murphy is asked by the sheriff to build a casket and arrange burial after Robert’s body is found. The sheriff then goes to Cicero’s boarding house and makes an arrest for the gold digger’s murder. Then he threatens Cicero with being executed by hanging if he does not confess his wrongdoing to the whole town.
Violet shows up after Cicero’s imprisonment and informs the sheriff that Cicero cannot have committed the crime which happened outside of town because his horse never left the stables.
Cicero remains in his cell following Violet’s dismissal by the sheriff. The pastor’s wife, Alice, later visits the hapless stranger, and he opens up about her life. We learn that he is an orphan and that Shakespeare’s character “Julius Caesar” influenced him to choose the name Cicero.
If Alice does not have all of Shakespeare’s body, she does have a Bible, which she leaves with him before returning to her husband.
Do people believe that Cicero killed the gold digger?
A prostitute named Isabel who fell in love with Robert believes Cicero may have murdered her lover. Some of the other women she is with also believe he is guilty.
When Alice informs her husband of her meeting with Cicero, she makes it clear that she still believes in his innocence.
Violet also believes Robert to be innocent, and when she discovers evidence of a different reason for Robert’s death, her thoughts are all but confirmed.
What does Violet find?
Emma, Robert’s wife, is assigned a room when he dies and moves to town. The sheriff informs Emma that the person responsible for her husband’s death will be held accountable. Despite her grief, she begs the sheriff to name Robert’s “favorite” as she seems more interested in the person her husband might have had an affair with.
Violet visits the woman when Emma is in town and discovers a note in her cabin. It’s a letter from Emma’s ostensible lover.
Could Robert have been killed by Emma’s lover in order to get rid of Robert? It’s a possibility, and Violet gives the message to Thaddeus as she thinks it may be crime related.
The pastor then asks Cicero if he killed Robert during his visit. Cicero claims to be innocent.
Later, Emma meets the pastor and the sheriff. Emma expresses to them her desire to leave town and start a new life.
Following this discussion, Thaddeus presents the letter to the sheriff and informs him that Cicero does not appear to be a killer. The sheriff, however, is still reluctant to release the imprisoned guy, in part due to a mistake he made years before when he freed another prisoner who then killed his wife.
When the pastor leaves, the sheriff discusses the love letter with his son Jimmy, a part-time deputy, and urges him to consider it.
Has the killer struck again?
Yes! When he slits Violet’s throat, the killer kills another person. Coincidentally, Cicero escapes from his prison (we are not told how), and the sheriff assumes that Cicero is responsible for Violet’s death. The sheriff and his men set off after Cicero and a chase begins. After jumping onto a tree from his horse, Cicero is able to hide, but not before he is shot.
Cicero returns to town and enters the safety of the church, where Thaddeus and Alice tend to him as the sheriff and his men head off in the wrong direction.
Thaddeus realizes that the bullet he took from Cicero’s body may not be the same one that murdered Robert. He digs up the prospector’s body to corroborate this, which proves his suspicions.
Jimmy shows up at the brothel in the meantime and pays Isabel for sex. Unfortunately for her, he isn’t just driven by sexual desire as he kills her with his back to him. Jimmy is the real killer, it’s now very obvious!
However, he was not working alone.
What was the motivation for the murders?
We learn that Jimmy killed Isabel at Emma’s request and that they were in love. He was probably instructed to kill Isabel by Emma because she had an affair with her husband.
We also learn that Jimmy killed Robert, possibly on instructions from Emma so they could live together.
Poor Violet was presumably murdered by Jimmy as a result of the evidence she uncovered.
What becomes of Cicero?
During their hunt, the sheriff and his men eventually locate Cicero at the parson’s residence.
When Thaddeus refuses to surrender Cicero, a gunfight erupts, resulting in the deaths of many of the sheriff’s men.
Cicero is able to flee on his horse while Alice is mounted and fires a gun at the men after them as the struggle continues.
They reach a cabin, a supposedly safe haven, but Jimmy and one of the sheriff’s men discover them there.
Another gunfight breaks out, but Cicero’s demise seems imminent as his ammunition runs out. Jimmy continues to shoot him despite his success in killing one of the men. But suddenly, just in time, Thaddeus shows up, shoots Jimmy, then ties him up.
Does the sheriff learn the identity of the killer?
Back in town, Alice, Cicero and Thaddeus.
They introduce Jimmy to the sheriff as they drive there.
Jimmy claims to be innocent, but when the sheriff calls Emma into his office and she fails to fully accuse Jimmy, their murder plot is uncovered.
After losing her temper, Emma shoots the sheriff. Jimmy comes to his father’s rescue, but Thaddeus shoots him, mortally wounding him.
Although we don’t see it, it’s safe to assume that Jimmy’s injured father also died shortly after Jimmy passed away in his arms.
Outside, Emma has now escaped, and Thaddeus and Alice pursue her. Emma is about to shoot Thaddeus when Alice shoots, killing Emma in the process.
Thaddeus and Alice commit to repairing and improving the community at the end of the film. Cicero mounts his horse and leaves the village which has caused him more grief than he could have ever imagined as they discuss their intentions.
