The Command (1954)

>Guy Madison plays Doc. Robert MacClaw, a cavalry doctor who suddenly finds himself in charge of his troop when the commanding officer is killed by Indians.

He’s supposed to command for just a few days, until the troop reaches the next town, but his plight keeps going from bad to worse.

First, Col. Janaway (Carl Benton Reid), who’s leading two inexperienced infantry regiments, orders MacClaw’s cavalry along on a wagon train escort.

Then the aging Janaway comes down ill, leaving MacClaw in charge of the whole outfit.

And, suddenly, a doctor used to healing has to focus on how to kill enough Indians for his men and the wagon train to survive.

The fact that some of the civilians in the wagon train have come down sick with what some suspect to be smallpox complicate matters.

Review:

Decent cavalry vs. Indians film with an unexpected twist. Madison turns in his usual solid performance as the reluctant commander who decides to throw out the book of cavalry regulations, relying instead on more imaginative tactics than he’d find there. Tactics like dressing up some of his troopers as women.

James Whitmore is Sgt. Elliott, MacClaw’s gruff second in command. Joan Weldon is Martha Cutting, the daughter of a doctor who is accompanying the wagon train and falls for MacClaw. Harvey Lembeck is the constantly complaining Pvt. Gottschalk.

Just don’t think too much as you watch. For instance, there’s a scene in which MacClaw peels down one shoulder of Martha’s dress to vaccinate her against smallpox. The slightly suggestive image was used heavily in promotion for the film.

But if protection against smallpox was as simple as that on this mission, why is the pretty doctor’s daughter the only one baring her shoulder?

Directed by:David Butler

Cast:
Guy Madison … Capt. Robert MacClaw
James Whitmore … Sgt. Elliott
Joan Weldon … Martha Cutting
Harvey Lembeck … Pvt. Gottschalk
Carl Benton Reid … Col. Janeway
Ray Teal … Doc Trent
Robert Nicohols … 2nd Lt. O’Hirons
Don Shelton … Maj. Gibbs
Gregg Barton … Capt. Forsythe
Zacharias Yaconelli … Mr. Pellegrini
Renata Vanni … Mrs. Pellegrini

Runtime: 94 min.

Memorable lines:

MacClaw to Martha, explaining his plight as a healer forced to kill: “I have a uniform and a conscience. Right now, the uniform is covering up the conscience.”

Pvt. Gottschalk upon learning MacClaw is in command: “Him? A pill roller. A green-eared pill roller givin’ orders to cavalry.”
Sgt. Elliott: “Captain Forsythe’s orders, Gottschalk.”
Gottschalk: “Look, I’d done chewed my way straight through Lucifer’s backyard for him (Forsythe), but what’s doc know about fightin’? He’s only had a couple months service out here anyway. Sure, a man gets a bellyache, he’s got the right hogwash. But a dose of castor oil never got rid of no Injuns.”

MacClaw: “You’re senior officer now, major.”
Major Gibbs: “I? My seniority means nothing. I should have been kept at a desk shuffling papers. But when the army cuts personnel, somebody always puts a round peg in a square hole.”

MacClaw to Maj. Gibbs, about the strategy he’s about to employ: “So the book says. Let’s keep a closed book and an open mind, major.”

Major Gibbs, as MacClaw prepares to unleash one of his unorthodox tactics: “Lt. O’Hirons, you’ll be in charge of the column moving out. I’ll stay behind with Captain MacClaw. Not courage, captain, curiosity. If I’m going to die, I’d like to be different. This should do it.”

James Whitmore as Sgt. Elliott and Guy Madison as Capt. Robert MacClaw, riding into action in The Command (1954)

Capt. MacClaw (Guy Madison), Sgt. Elliott (James Whitmore) and Private Gottschalk (Harvey Lembeck) spotting Indians on the horizon in The Command (1954)