Really Surprised!

Am I Missing Something?

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a very formula Western.The formula is the same one used today. Since about 1950, the formula has been heavily in favor of "outlaws turning hero". This mentality didn't "creep" into the culture. It was slammed into the subconscious and the conscious of every American who watched more than ten Westerns in a life time. That's how brazen the formula was.So, this is the biggest of clichés, and we get the most stereotypical characters you'll ever find in an old Western.Still, the scenery and action works wonders to keep it from being dull. There are two women. The plain Jane one is nasty and hateful, and we can see her "reformation" a mile away. The other one is a hot Mexican woman, and her romance with the Army officer is the better and fresher story of the two romances. The romance of the vixen and the outlaw is so cliché filled that it was already a groaner in the sixties, so I expect it wasn't fresh in 1957 either, especially when one sees that this has been the standard since about 1950.So, this is actually "fluff", and not just "fluff", but definitive "fluff". No dimensions here at all. Nothing fresh, but nice action and scenery.

I may as well say at the outset that I am biased toward this movie. I liked westerns as a teenager and I liked westerns movies in color with recognizable actors. As an older fellow I now like mostly black and white movies westerns included. I stumbled on the production company filming this movie while on vacation with my folks in southern Utah desert in the summer of 1956. Iwas able to wander around the location and Stayed to watch about four takes of a two shot involving Okeefe and Cabot. After waiting eight months I saw the movie and a local theater and found the plot to be far more complex than most. This is not a run-of-the-mill 50s, one hero type, Western. I recommend it to anyone who likes some character development and appreciates the product of some of the good talents offered by Hollywood both in front of and behind the camera. I would like to find it on DVD.

Monogram Pictures changed its name to Allied Artists in an effort to change its image from that of a cheap B-studio. For the most part, it didn't really work. Allied Artists' product suffered from the same deficiencies that Monogram's did: shoddy production values, lesser talent--both in front of and behind the cameras--and a lack of originality in its stories. This film, however, does not fall into that mold. While the story--survivors of an Indian attack make their way across the desert to safety--may seem trite, what is done with it isn't. Director Harold D. Schuster, a former editor, is hardly a household name, but he has made several tight little B pictures (1954's "Loophole" is a first-rate film-noir thriller about a bank teller framed for a robbery), and this is one of them. Dennis O'Keefe does a very good job as a cavalry officer who survives an Indian attack, and must lead a disparate group to safety across the desert. They come across a group of traders who aren't exactly what they seem to be, and must band together with them for mutual protection. Jack Elam plays a gunfighter who isn't quite what he seems to be, either. There's a good musical score, Schuster handles the action scenes quite well, and there are some interesting plot twists. Altogether, a well-paced, intriguing little western, highly recommended.

Not as routine as it may sound-a cavalry captain and a wagon load of prisoners join forces on a trek through hostile Indian country. Fine acting from a strong cast, tight direction, and a rousing musical score make this one good fun.