Jeff Chandler plays Maj. Howell Brady, sent West to help quell a Kiowa uprising. Since cavalry tactics seem useless, he recruits a band of beaten-down, reservation-bound Seminole warriors to help him stop the Kiowa raids.
These unusual tactics win him little affection from the other officers at the fort where he’s stationed. Nor does his attraction to Elaine Corwin (Maureen O’Hara), the attractive widow of a former cavalry officer.
But one thing bothers Brady about these Kiowa raids — they seem incredibly well planned. Could there be a white man masterminding the attacks? Of course, and during one of the Seminoles hit-and-run missions, a sword gets left behind, a sword bearing the name of Elaine’s husband. Could the former officer still be alive?
The bigger question might be whether commanding officer Col. Jackson Meade (John McIntire) will ever warm to Brady and his unusal tactics, or whether he’ll risk his entire command by resisting them.
Review:
Lively little film, with Jeff Chandler ruggedly handsome in the lead, as usual. The contrived twist about a presumed-dead husband leading the Kiowa is balanced by a well-filmed assault on the fort that makes up the last several minutes of the film.
Noah Beery and Charles Drake are the junior officers who tag along with Brady, offering comic relief. Dennis Weaver has a small role as Pino, one of the Seminole warriors who’s smitten with a strong-willed Indian girl named Avis. Jay Silverheels has a smaller role as the Kiowa chief.
Speaking of the ending, Maureen O’Hara rides off wearing the prettiest bright green cavalry hat you’re ever likely to see.
Suzan Ball, a second cousin of Lucille, has the most unusal role in that film, that of Avis, a lovely young Indian woman, who’s determined to make a better life for herself, perhaps with Brady. Until the end, when she suddenly decides it would be wise to listen to a man (this was filmed in the 1950s). A year later, her right leg was amputated because of tumors. Two years later, cancer claimed her life. She was just 21 at the time.
Directed by:
George Sherman
Cast:
Jeff Chandler … Maj. Howell Brady
Maureen O’Hara … Elaine Corwin
John McIntire … Col. Jackson Meade
Suzan Ball … Avis
Noah Beery Jr. … Sgt. Wilks
Charles Drake … Sgt. Schermerhorn
Henry Brandon … Maygro
Dennis Weaver … Pino
Jay Silverheels … Satanta
James Bannon … Capt. Corwin
Runtime: 78 min.
Memorable lines:
Satanta: “All here.”
Corwin: “We move fast, Satana.”
Satanta: “Make sure horse do not stumble. Kiowas ride over you.”
Corwin: “That’s the spirit.”
Sgt. Schermerhorn to Brady: “Biggest war party in local history heading this way. Should make all the papers. Man, those Kiowas sure have been breeding fast since last time I was here.”
Sgt. Schermerhorn to Sgt. Wilks: “They call this Coffin Rim. It’s not famous for the number of births that have happened here.”
Pino: “Avis, if you would marry me, I would build a house for the two of us.”
Avis: “What would you build? A jackel house? Made of handsome sod and magnificent mud. No, Pino, never.”
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