Pinto Kid was one of Charles Starrett's last "formula" westerns before he permanently assumed the screen guise of the Durango Kid. The story takes places just after the Civil War, with hostilities between Yanks and Rebels still in effect between Kansas and Texas. The villain, cattle rustler Vic Landreau, intends to play both factions down the middle for his own benefit. But Landreau meets his match in the form of wandering do-gooder Jud Calvert.