lorenellroy The patrol movie has been a staple of cinema since its very early days and has cut across many genres including the war movie and ,as in this case,the Western.The setting is New Mexico in the late 1870's and a platoon of the US Cavalry is trying to make its way back to base under less than auspicious circumstances .Its officers are all dead ,killed in action by the Apache,and its leader,by default is Sergeant Vinson (Joel McCrae -cast in a rare unsympathetic role).Vinson is neither liked nor trusted by his men who believe that he is so embittered by the death of his wife at the hands of the Apache that his judgement is flawed and that he will risk their lives for his own revenge .His bellicose attitude seems to reinforce this belief as he orders an attack on a superior force of the enemy as they camp by a waterhole ,with heavy loss of life.This is not the only encounter with the enemy as he and his men take shelter at a seemingly abandoned adobe dwelling where he is besieged by the Apache.Shot wholly on location by the estimable Carl Guthrie this a tight ,taut movie that moves with pace and efficiency .The acting is excellent with special praise to MacRae ,John Russell as an educated drifter turned soldier Travis ,who becomes a confidante to Vinson ,Forrest Tucker as Irish born trooper McGurney (the role Andrew McClaglen usually played in John Ford pictures)and Anthony Caruso as the Native scout Pawnee .McRae in particular shows us that he could play morally complex and driven characters every bit as well as did James Stewart in his movies for Anthony Mann .Vinson is an angry and bitter man ,qualities the actor brings out well Joseph M Newman directs briskly and stages some lively action sequences in what is a predictable but highly entertaining minor Western

Poseidon-3 There are a few decent elements in this tough, brief cavalry-western along with some tiresome and unentertaining ones. McCrea (always an easy, attractive presence on the screen) plays a sergeant who's left in charge of his regiment after a particularly lethal skirmish with the Apaches. Most of the men bellyache constantly about wanting to ignore their mission to join up with a wagon train and go home, but he presses on, even if it means inciting more violence along the way. He carries a chip on his shoulder from the death of his wife and children at the hands of Indians. The biggest battle involves the taking of a desperately needed water hole with McCrea's men outnumbered four to one. Eventually, even though McCrea has managed to get the men through various tough scrapes, they can no longer tolerate his vicious attitude towards the Indians and his seeming disregard for human life in general. The climax occurs at an abandoned set of buildings built into a cliff wall, which one of the men dubs Fort Massacre. Here they encounter an elderly Piute man and his granddaughter who are scratching to survive on anything they can find. McCrea's character is complex for a film as seemingly unimportant as this one and his less likable traits are made all the more perplexing because of the actor's innate charm and likability. He does an admirable enough job in the film, but the direction, script and supporting cast keep him from really making a historic impact in the role the way John Wayne was able to in "The Searchers." Some familiar faces are peppered amongst the cavalrymen, notably Pyle (of "Dukes of Hazard" fame) and Tucker as a cantankerous Irishman. Russell has a significant part as a rather aimless fellow officer who waffles between believing in and doubting McCrea. Unfortunately, his Rod Serling-esque manner of speaking hampers his authenticity. There is unwelcome camp and comedy present in the performance of veteran western actor McDonald as the Piute man. Cabot has little to do as his granddaughter (and at 31, she's hardly right to be playing an innocent Indian maiden!) It's worth a glance for McCrea fans and for its beautiful mountain scenery, but can't quite cut it as a classic. If the scenes of travel on horseback were trimmed, the movie might be 45 minutes long! Maybe this should have been an episode of "Death Valley Days" instead.

Brian Camp FORT MASSACRE (1958) takes a standard "lost patrol" war movie plot and adapts it to 1879 New Mexico and a tale of remnants of an embattled cavalry platoon who have to make it through hundreds of miles of hostile desert terrain while fighting off roving bands of Apaches. It's a harsh, gritty take on the subject, uncompromising and fairly unpredictable. It has a tough, grizzled, nearly all-male cast, led by Joel McCrea as a Sergeant forced to take command after all the superior officers have been killed. The members of the platoon gripe and take issue with McCrea over the risks he makes them take, including the decision to attack a large band of Apaches who've taken over a needed waterhole. McCrea is driven by a hatred of the Apaches, who'd killed his wife, and his men are concerned that his emotions are coloring his decision making. It's well-told, gripping, and expertly photographed (by Carl Guthrie) entirely on location. The climax takes place in an abandoned Indian cliff dwelling. It also has a particularly strong cast. In addition to McCrea, the chief soldier characters include Forrest Tucker (TV's "F Troop") as an Irishman who makes light of everything but is especially hostile to McCrea; John Russell (TV's "The Lawman") as a son of privilege who joined the army to find himself; and veteran character actor Anthony Caruso, as Pawnee, a seasoned Indian scout. The other soldiers include Denver Pyle (BONNIE AND CLYDE), Robert Osterloh (WHITE HEAT), and Rayford Barnes (THE WILD BUNCH). Also in the cast are third-billed Susan Cabot (THE WASP WOMAN) in a small role as a Paiute Indian girl hiding out in the cliff dwelling with her grandfather, Francis L. McDonald (NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE). Comic character actor Irving Bacon (the BLONDIE series) pops up as a shady trader who puts the Cavalrymen in danger. It's a consistently suspenseful film with regular bursts of action, including two major gun battles with the Apaches. The action is never contrived and plays out in a believable fashion throughout, with no last-minute rescues or superhuman actions by the cavalrymen. The men behave in an authentic fashion and one can see this film as a respectable echo of earlier war-themed lost patrol movies, including Samuel Fuller's THE STEEL HELMET and Anthony Mann's MEN IN WAR. The ending is quite surprising. The script is by Martin M. Goldsmith (DETOUR) and the film was directed by Joseph Newman (PONY SOLDIER, THIS ISLAND EARTH).The cinemascope photography suffers considerably from the murky color print which ran in a full-frame presentation on Superstation TBS which didn't even bother to pan and scan. As a result, group shots of the men debating plans of action frequently feature off-camera speakers. This is one of many unsung westerns from the 1950s that would benefit greatly from a letter-boxed remastered DVD edition enabling it to be re-discovered by western fans.

boblipton Standard fare beautifully shot. Joel McCrea and Forest Tucker give good performances in this story about a cavalry troop under move, constantly under attack. The real star is the cinematography, shot in beautiful color and featuring some of the best scenery outside a John Ford western. Be sure to see it in wide screen!