Really Surprised!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Clett(Brian Keith), a traveling firearms salesman and probable gunrunner for Native Americans, happens upon the little party of Gar Davis(Clint Walker), just widowed Celia Grey(Virginia Mayo) and her half grown son, Chad(Richard Eyer). Clett was very surprised to see Gar, an old acquaintance, alive, as he was reported by the Largo sheriff as dead from a Comanche arrow in the back. Seems Gar changed clothes with a dead man he found and rolled the body partly down a bank. The posse, who were after Gar for shooting a man in Largo, took the bait and failed to confirm that the body they saw from a distance was indeed that of Gar. They did, however, take his horse, which he left in view to add to the deception. Thus, Gar had to walk a long way in the desert, until he came upon a farm house at night. He tried to take a horse, but Chad grazed his head with a rifle shot, knocking him out for a spell. He told them to be weary of marauding Comanches nearby. Sure enough, they soon showed up and a battle ensued. Eventually, they made an escape by horse, but saw the smoke from the burning house and shed. Gar said they should head for Ft. Dobbs for safety. Celia wanted to go to Largo instead, where she thought her husband was, but Gar said he couldn't go there. Eventually, Celia finds something among Gar's clothing that she recognizes as her husband's, and accuses him of murdering her husband. He denies it, but she doesn't believe him. Still, she concludes she will have to continue traveling with him to Ft. Dobbs for safety.Clett shows up and starts to come on to Celia. Later, they travel on toward Dobbs, when Comanches attack again. Clett and Gar fight them off. Clett shows Gar the new Henry repeating rifles he hopes to sell in Dobbs and Santa Fe, beyond. That night, Clett comes onto Celia strong and tries to rape her. Gar comes to the rescue, they fight, and Clett leaves.I won't detail the rest of the story. Gar has saved the lives or honor of Celia and Chad several times and will again.. Yet, the two are not very impressed until they later change their mind about his killing of their husband/father. They finally are willing to accept his story that the dead body of their husband/father actually prevented his capture, and thus indirectly saved their lives!I will say that this story has a happy ending for 3 of the principals. This is one of those stories where the past transgressions of the leading man are largely forgiven as a result of his subsequent repeated heroics. Other examples include "Bend in the River" and "3 Godfathers". Unfortunately, European-derived justice systems seldom apply this principle of balancing the good and bad in a person's deeds in deciding how they should be punished for their bad deeds. In contrast, the enemy Comanches typically didn't prescribe a punishment for misdeeds or conflicts. Rather, kin or friends of the wronged were allowed to extract revenge on the wrongdoer. So why such Comanches often fled to another village. Justice among Europeans on the frontier often more resembled that of the Comanches than settled European communities.Clearly, this story takes place in the rugged northeastern portion of the present state of New Mexico, although I could find no indication of a historical Ft. Dobbs nor town of Largo in this area.(There was a Ft. Dobbs in NC). However, there is a Largo Canyon, said to be 20 miles from the well known historic Ft. Union, to the NE of Santa Fe. Thus, I propose that Ft. Union was renamed Ft. Dobbs in the screenplay(a common Hollywood device! See my review of "Column South"). Clett's mentioning of the newly released Henry repeating rifles dates this story to around 1862, when Comanche raids on settlers increased, due to the evacuation of many soldiers, to fight in the East.In contrast to various reviewers, i didn't find Brian Keith's Clett terribly interesting nor likable. He just seemed like a talkative sleazebag, who probably peddled firearms to the 'Indians', as well as Europeans. However, Gar's last encounter with him, which proved fatal, was legally a questionable act on Gar's part.Clint Walker's character comes across as another puritanical hero, played by the likes of Fess Parker and Gregory Peck, whom he much reminds me of.Virginia Mayo's character comes across as much more passive than in her previous westerns: "Colorado Territory" and "Along the Great Divide", where she is much more of a tomboy. Of course, she eventually falls for the leading man in all 3 films. But, in "Colorado Territory", this happens almost immediately. In the other 2 films, this doesn't happen until near the ending, because of a factual or mistaken antagonistic association of the leading man with someone dear to her heart, until near the end. In this film, there is also the assumption that Gar will have to answer for his murder.Filming mostly was done in canyon country near Moab and Kanab, Utah, which rather resembles (from photos) the canyon country of NE NM. The treacherous river crossing scene presumably involved the Colorado River near Moab, as was the case for Ford's "Wagon Master", also mostly shot in this area.The plot offers quite a bit of complexity and action, the principals were well cast, and I enjoyed the film. Yes, should have been shot in color!!

This movie is a waste of time. I wanted to like it, but couldn't. The only positive things I could say about it is (1) the mountain/dessert scenery, which unfortunately was in black and white, and (2) Brian Keith's performance, which is the only thing that brought the movie to life. Clint Walker's performance was pleasant, not a great recommendation.Along with other reviewer's, I also noticed the well-directed scene where Virginia Mayo had been fished out of the river by Clint Walker, and is seen (obviously naked) under her blanket. The good direction is how she awakes and slowly realizes the situation (undressed by Walker). The point I want to make is that it was a good scene, but an obvious, easy one, and that so many would take the time to draw attention to it reveals how listless the rest of the production is.***spoilers galore***** What prompted me to write this review is to draw attention to some remarkably implausible scenes, maddeningly implausible even for a B-Western: (1) early on, Walker comes upon the lone woman and son in an isolated ranch house during an Indian uprising. A dozen Indians with rifles attack the ranch house with only Clint and the boy shooting their rifles through windows. That the Indians couldn't finish them off, attack from all sides, climb up on the roof, set the place on fire, etc., drove me to distraction. Then later in the darkness, Clint strangles an Indian and the three ride away. Yeesh! (2) later on, white townsfolk in wagons outrace Indians on horseback to a fort. Yeesh! (3) finally, later on, Clint leaves the fort, alone, to go for help and just happens to come across Brian Keith with a few dozen repeating rifles. OK! But he then saves the day by riding alone with some pack horses (packing the rifles) through the Indians surrounding the fort, to save the day. Yeesh, again! (I also disdained the stock action footage.)

OK, up front, I'm a huge westerns fan & I've always loved Clint Walker. A lot of these reviews have focused on a comparison with John Wayne's "Hondo". Well, when "Hondo" was made, Wayne had been starring in films for almost 20yrs, so please - guys - cut Clint some slack, OK? He had been plucked from an everyday life only 3yrs before, with no previous acting experience, & this was his first starring role in films, in the lead no less. I think he carried it off pretty well. It's full of good action sequences, the scenes with Clint & child actor Richard Eyer are sweet & the tension between Clint & Brian Keith is pretty cool. The budding "romance" between Clint & Virginia Mayo doesn't come off so well, but I remember reading elsewhere that she wasn't too happy about being cast opposite a TV actor & that there was some resulting tension on the set. All in all, I found this to be a pretty good entry in the western pantheon; well worth watching. As usual, tho, it's too bad Warner skimped & didn't film in color. What a waste of gorgeous scenery, both landscape & their leading man!

This western follows a familiar genre theme of a loner who comes to the aid of a woman and her son and guides them to safety through Indian country. The plot is spare with a twist of mistaken identity thrown in as an innocent man on the run scrambles to escape a hanging posse hot on his trail. Clint Walker is the reformed gunfighter whose reputation places him on the sheriff's wanted poster as fate takes him to a woman's ranch in the midst of an Indian uprising. Virginia Mayo is the widow and reluctant trail companion of Walker along with her son as they make their way to Fort Dobbs. Brian Keith steals the film as an unsavory gun runner whose rifles play a large part in the Indian attack on the fort. The film is not a polished feature but is a straightforward, no-frills drama and is worth watching.