The 1958 film "The Gun Runners" is set in late 1950's Florida and Cuba. In 1958 Cuba was undergoing a revolution and the rebels needed guns and ammunition. The revolutionary group is not named but Fidel Castro was running his revolution against the government of President Fulgencio Batista at the time. Sam Martin (Audie Murphy) lives with his wife Lucy in Key West, Florida. He owns a boat and takes fishermen out into the waters between Florida and Cuba. Sam loses some money, becomes depressed, and heads for a local gambling casino. He plays a dime slot machine which pays off in mostly Liberty Head or Mercury dimes. He later plays dice at a table which has stacks of silver dollars of both the Morgan and Peace types.

Sam Martin and his friend and crewman Harvey are at the Key West dock when they are approached by two well-dressed Cuban gentlemen.

They explain that they are with the revolution and want to go to Cuba. Sam refuses to take them as he does not have a landing permit for Cuba and the Cuban police are searching the arriving boats.

Sam lives near the docks with his wife Lucy and she is glad to see him.

Sam has a friend named Harvey who serves as a crewman on Sam's boat the "Lucy." Sam takes a customer out fishing for Marlins but upon returning to Key West the customer is arrested for passing bad checks leaving Sam broke with bill collectors hounding him. Sam goes to a local boat supply store run by "Pop", a local character. Sam sells a used fishing rod motor for $20 which Pop gives him in silver dollars. Sam then heads for the local casino to do a little gambling.

Sam puts a dime into a slot machine which results in a jackpot.

The jackpot dimes appearing are mostly silver Liberty Head or Mercury dimes. The other dimes are silver Roosevelt dimes, minted from 1946 to 1964.

They are officially known as Winged Liberty Head dimes but are nicknamed "Mercury" dimes because the design resembles images of the Roman god Mercury. Mercury dimes were minted from 1916 to 1945.

Sam then takes his dollars and dimes to the dice table.

A Peace dollar reverse appears at the lower left and a Peace dollar obverse appears on the right. Peace dollars were minted from 1921 to 1935.

The man on the left is Hanagan, who will become an important character later on. The next man is Philips to whom Sam owes money and the next man is Sam. The man on the right is not identified.

The top dollar has a Morgan dollar reverse. Morgan dollars were minted from 1878 to 1904 and in 1921. Sam puts his dimes on the table.

The top dime has a Roosevelt dime obverse. Hanagan contacts Sam and pays him to take him fishing. He brings his Swedish girlfriend Eva.

Eva makes a half-hearted attempt to flirt with Sam but he puts her off by talking about his wife. Hanagan pays Sam some extra money to land him and Eva near Havana Cuba so that they can visit the city's nightlife.

The Bambi Club and the Sans Souci Cabaret are lit up. Hanagan has no interest in the clubs and leaves Eva in one. He actually sells military weapons, the "gun runner" of the film's title.

He goes to meet his Cuban customers and shows them a machine gun which one man examines. They come to an agreement that Hanagan will bring a shipment of guns and ammunition on his next trip with Sam. Hanagan returns to the boat late and he and Sam have an argument.

Sam takes the boat back to Key West and still has money problems. Hanagan makes Sam an offer to pay off the loans on the boat if Sam agrees to take him and some boxes to Cuba. Hanagan gives him an advance payment for gas and supplies.

Hanagan brings a friend Buzurki and two Cubans with him. He leaves Eva in Key West. Harvey is also along as he is hiding on the boat. The boat makes a stop on the Florida coast to pick up the cargo.

One box breaks open revealing the contents to be guns.

One Cuban opens another box and finds it full of rocks. Hanagan shoots the Cuban and Hanagan and his partners face Sam.

Harvey jumps into the water with the gunmen shooting at him.

Sam manages to obtain a gun and shoots all three gunmen. He is wounded but manages to get Harvey back on the boat. He then puts the boat on course for Key West.

Audie Murphy as Sam Martin
Patricia Owens as Lucy Martin
Everett Sloane as Harvey
Eddie Albert as Hanagan
Gita Hall as Eva (Hanagan's girlfriend)
Director: Don Siegel
Writers: Daniel Mainwaring, Paul Monash
Based on Ernest Hemingway's novel To Have and Have Not