In the years following the Civil War, the state of Kansas is increasingly divided by opposing economic and social forces. Homesteaders are moving into the West, trying to start new lives, and their increasing presence is clashing with the established commercial interests of cattlemen, who had settled in the region before the war. Abilene, a major cattle town, is on the brink of an armed conflict between the cattlemen and the homesteaders, and Marshal Dan Mitchell strives to keep the peace between those two groups as well maintain the uneasy coexistence between Abilene's townspeople and the ranchers with their legion of cowboys. For years, the town had been literally divided, with the cattlemen and their supporters occupying one side of the main street and townspeople occupying the other side. Mitchell liked it this way; it made things easier for him, and prevented dangerous confrontations from arising between the two factions. However, when homesteaders decide to lay stakes on the edge of town that existing balance is upset and leads to a deadly showdown. The leader of the homesteaders is Henry Dreiser, a reasonable young man with common sense; and the localsheriff, "Bravo" Trimble, is a lawman who would rather play cards than get involved in any real or potential unrest in Abilene. Marshal Mitchell, however, does strive to prevent the upcoming confrontation while also dealing with a clash in his personal life, which is divided as well between Rita, a flashy showgirl who works on the cattle drovers' side of the street, and Sherry, the modest, churchgoing daughter of a shopkeeper on the other side of the street.
The film received generally positive reviews in newspapers and trade publications in 1946. In its January 9 review that year, the widely read New York-based entertainment paper Variety calls the production a "rip-snorting, spectacular meller" that is action-packed with a "tight screenplay". The Film Daily, another trade paper at the time, judged the production to be "a super-western" that succeeded "in capturing the hell-roaring spirit that marked the expansion of the United States westward". The reviewing service Harrison's Reports was more understated in its assessment of the film, characterizing it as a "fairly good Western", although the trade journal did admire its "fast-moving" plot and Randolph Scott's steadfast performance, observing that he "plays the fearless marshal with conviction". Mae Tinee, the critic for the Chicago Tribune in 1946, headlines her January 24 review "'Abilene Town' Among Better Western Films". In that appraisal Tinee compliments the production's attention to detail but expresses disappointment with the latter portion of the film, especially with regard to its ending:
