- Film Review
- Reviewed By Tony Sloman
-
2 out of 5
This disappointing Warner Bros western adapted from an excellent novel by Ernest Haycox (who also wrote Stagecoach's source story) is seriously hampered by poor casting. The urbane Ray Milland looks uncomfortable out west, and here fails to convince as a disgraced coward, looking generally peeved rather than seething with inner rage. He's not helped by a sub-par supporting cast and a totally inadequate leading lady (in Helena Carter), a deficiency not unusual in Warners' westerns of the 1950s. Nevertheless, the exterior Technicolor location photography is impressive, and the action scenes, including the Battle of the Little Bighorn, well staged within obvious budgetary limitations. Dmitri Tiomkin's score is nice, too.
Plot Summary
Civil War western starring Ray Milland. Stripped of his rank, Kern Shafter quits the 7th Cavalry and re-enlists as a private at Fort Lincoln - a remote outpost in the heart of Sioux territory.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Kern Shafter
- Ray Milland
- Josephine Russell
- Helena Carter
- Captain Edward Garnett
- Hugh Marlowe
- Private Donovan
- Forrest Tucker
- Captain Myles Moylan
- Barton MacLane
- Lieutenant Smith
- George Reeves
- Sergeant Hines
- James Millican
- May
- Gertrude Michael
- Bannack Bill
- Stuart Randall
- Private Tinney
- William "Bill" Phillips
- General G A Custer
- Sheb Wooley
- Private McDermott
- John Pickard
Crew
- Director
- Roy Rowland
- Share this episode
-