weezeralfalfa Jeff Chandler and Jay Silverheels, who played Cochise and Geronimo, respectively, in "Broken Arrow" and "Battle at Apache Pass", return for this one. Silverheels is a chief of the rampaging Kiowa, although apparently subservient to the revengeful ex-confederate Captain Corwin! Chandler, as Major Brady, has a role somewhat like that of John Wayne in "Fort Apache", except that here it's the sitting fort commander(Meade), rather than the new guy from the East, who goes strictly by the book and doesn't know how to subdue the Indians. The legendary Indian fighter Ranald Mackenzie took 20 Seminoles with him in his illegal foray across the Rio Grande to bloody the noses of a mixed tribal group, which had been raiding into Texas. It happens that Mackenzie was headquartered at Fort Clark: the fort in the present story, during most of the 1870s, when the present story apparently takes place. Seminoles were moved to near this fort in 1872. In this film, the fictional Brady took this a step further, training the Seminoles to be the primary fighters against the raiding Kiowa, rather than just scouts. Fort commander Meade(John McIntire) sarcastically called them 'Brady's bunch', and wrongly predicted that they would prove no match for the Kiowa. Well, we can't really blame him for this reasonable prediction. However, he forgot that the Seminoles were given the powerful Henry repeater rifles, which their opponents lacked. Despite Hollywood films, such as this, Plaines Indians very seldom attacked well built forts, as they typically resulted in too many casualties. Here, the Kiowa were talked into attacking the fort by Corwin, who had an unsound desire to destroy this symbol of Union victory in the late war. What initially appeared to be a Kiowa victory, once they penetrated the fort door(much too easily without dynamite in the wagon!), later turned into a turkey shoot as they tried to escape. As Corwin tussled with Brady, he was shot dead, apparently by Chief Satanta(Silverheels), presumably miffed that Corwin had led his tribe into this disaster. Satanta was then quickly dispatched, symbolizing a probable end to Kiowa raids. There is a bizarre detail to the battle in the fort. Brady decided to shut the women and children in the fort powder magazine room. He then made a snake fuse of black powder leading to the door of this room, and lit the end. The idea was that, if the Kiowa won the battle, the women and children were better off blown to bits than to experience what the Kiowa had in store for them. Fortunately, Maureen's character sensed that the Kiowa would eventually lose, and broke out to destroy a part of the 'snake'.Young Suzan Ball takes on Maureen O'Hara's frequent role as a feisty independent-minded woman, whereas Maureen's character is rather bland, hobbled by uncertainty whether her estranged husband(Corwin) is still alive, and if so, whether she would want to receive him back into her life, given his known collusion with the Mexican government to promote Indian unrest in Texas. Nonetheless, she provisionally reciprocates Major Brady's obvious interest in her, hoping that he will eventually provide a ticket out of this desolate fort and landscape, ideally setting her up in some large Eastern city. Suzan Ball, as poor but ambitious Seminole maiden Avis, has similar goals. She has the advantage of having been to school in San Antonio, and in being the Seminole chief's daughter, which gives her temporary access to the soldiers in the fort, whom she can impress with her beauty. However, early on, we are assured by Brady that he has no intention of marrying her(too bossy and demanding?) and only has eyes for Elaine(Maureen's character). After she's given up trying to snare Brady, she completely changes her thinking; using her position in the fort to help in Brady's battles with the fort commander and deserting Seminoles. This change in attitude, culminating in her changed attitude toward the previously derided Pino, just doesn't ring true. Chandler and Ball were the male and female leads in "Yankee Buccaneer". However, Ball didn't end up romantically with Chandler's character in either that film or the present one. She would die of cancer at age 21, but not before playing Chief Crazy Horse's main wife. She was much more subdued in that role, perhaps because one leg had been amputated in an effort to halt the cancer spread.John McIntire is OK as the overly pessimistic fort commander, who too often resents the opinions and actions of the upstart Major Brady. My favorite of his film roles is the charismatic villainous Gannon, in "The Far Country". Noah Berry and Charles Drake are OK as Brady's two loyal, somewhat knuckleheaded, sidekicks, reminding me of the pair of sidekicks played by Alan Hale and 'Big Boy' Williams in "Santa Fe Trail"Dennis Weaver hardly looks convincing as a Seminole(Pino).He came across much better as the Navajo chief in "Column South".Look for this film on YouTube.

Uriah43 At one time the Seminoles were fierce fighters in their native habitat of Florida. However, after years of a notably successful war against the U.S. Army they finally agreed to peace and have been relocated from the swamps of Florida to the prairies out west. Without weapons they have been forced into a submissive posture against the warlike Kiowas. At the same time, the United States has a nearby fort which has also suffered harassment from the Kiowas as well. Determined to correct this situation, an Army major named "Howell Brady" (Jeff Chandler) is sent to the fort in an effort to rearm the Seminoles to augment the troops at the fort. When Major Brady arrives he meets an obviously frustrated Colonel Jackson Meade (John McIntre) who harbors resentment toward the major because of his own inadequate handling of the situation. Major Brady also meets an attractive widow named "Elaine Corwin" (Maureen O'Hara) who welcomes a new face in the middle of nowhere. At any rate, filmed in color this film was obviously geared for the drive-in movie crowd and probably filled that niche quite well. But it has nothing outstanding or noteworthy about it. The acting was adequate but nobody really stood out except maybe Maureen O'Hara. In short, this was an average Western. No more and no less.

Tweekums This B-Western follows US Cavalry officer Major Howell Brady who has been sent to Fort Clark in Texas to try a new method of fighting the local Kiowa tribe; he intends to recruit Seminole Indians who had been forcibly relocated to the area after their defeat in Florida. He has two immediate problems; the fort's CO, Col Meade, doesn't believe the Seminoles will be of any use and the Seminole chief, Maygro, has no desire to fight. His people are a little less reticent and when they see how good the latest army rifles are they decide that they will fight on condition that the non-fighting members of the tribe will be supplied with food while they are gone. Brady sets about training the men and soon they out performing the regular army. There is also a romantic subplot involving Brady and the widow of a captain apparently killed by the Kiowa and Maygro's daughter Avis; as the film continues we learn that the captain isn't as dead as was thought and is in fact helping to lead the Kiowa attacks... ultimately there will be a battle between the Army and Brady's Seminoles on one side and the Kiowa on the other which will determine who controls that corner of Texas.The main story was well handled and contained plenty of good action although like many films of its time it used made-up Europeans to play the Native Americans which made them somewhat less believable which was a pity. Jeff Chandler did a decent job as Major Brady however the lack of chemistry between him and leading lady Maureen O'Hara rendered the romantic subplot somewhat of a distraction from the main story. That said the twist of having her husband be a traitor was quite a good surprise that I hadn't seen coming. Some comic relief is provided by Brady's two sergeants and for a change the comic relief did raise a chuckle more than once. Over all this isn't a classic but is well worth watching on television if you are a fan of the genre.

stechilton Surely the best line of the film is when Jeff Chandler "forcibly" kisses Maureen O' Hara (after she tells him she doesn't love him) and she responds by telling him: "I'm genuinely impressed."Very interesting Western, possibly overstating the lead character's sympathy for the native American, but this is ahead of its time for a 1953 movie. Note the scene in the fort commander's office, where he says "It's difficult to prove how many raiders you've killed." The implication here is that the lead character refuses to collect scalps - i.e. the "proof". There are lots of other little not so obvious details in this film which kept me hooked!