War Paint

Boasting a strong leading performance by Robert Stack, a tense and involving plot, and stark desert locations in Death Valley, this is a notch above average among cavalry-and-Indian westerns. The grim drama centres on the efforts of Stack's lieutenant to deliver an urgent peace treaty to a native American chief. He finds himself up against sabotage within his patrol, lack of water, and a rebellion over gold. The steady pace is disrupted only by a campfire song interlude.