Dakota Incident (1956)

Dale Robertson is John Banner, leader of a trio of bank robbers.

Well, his two partners decide a two-way split of the holdup money is sweeter than a three-way split, so they ambush him.

He survives and trails them to the town of Christian’s Flat, where he kills one and chases the second out of town.

In town, Banner also meets Amy Clarke (Linda Darnell), a saloon singer who needs to make it to Laredo to catch up with a manager who skipped off with most of her money; a windy politician named Sen. Blakely (Ward Bond), who favors peace with the Indians; and a mysterious stranger named Hamilton (John Lund).

Like Amy, all the others want to get to Laredo; the only problem is that the stagecoach has been ambushed by Indians and there isn’t a stage driver to be found.

Banner, enchanted by Amy, volunteers his services. Predictably enough, the stage breaks down and the passengers are forced to take refuge in an old river bed as the marauding Comanches show up on the scene.

Plagued by the Indians and a lack of water, the small band is whittled down. During the course of the attack, nearly every male makes a pass at Darnell.

And Banner discovers Hamilton’s purpose for following him to Laredo. Seems Hamilton’s real name is John Carter. He was a clerk at one of the bank’s Banner robbed and was falsely blamed for the holdup. Now he wants to take Banner back to clear his name.

Dale Robertson as John Banner, presented with a wanted posters in Dakota Incident (1956)

Linda Darnell as Amy Clarke, charming ticket agent Tully Morgan (Irving Bacon) into swapping a stage ticket for a garter in Dakota Incident (1956)

Review:

The film looks lovely and features a snappy first half . Check out the scene where Amy trades her garter for a stage ticket. Robertson’s character winds up buying the garter, in hopes of later getting a matching set.

Unfortunately, the movie lags badly once the small band is holed up and under siege. And the dialogue, at times, turns downright silly. Especially the flirting with Amy, considering the situation the travelers are in.

Ah, but not as silly as an absurd and implausible ending that pretty much mars the rest of the film.

This marked one of the final films for Linda Darnell, who was about 33 at the time and soon turned almost exclusively to TV work. Robertson had already appeared in a number of Westerns and was still a year away from his hit TV show, “Tales of Wells Fargo.”

Ward Bond as Senator Blakely, the man preaching peace between whites and Indians in Dakota Incident (1956)

John Lund as John Hamilton (aka Carter), the mystery passenger on the stage to Laredo in Dakota Incident (1956)

Directed by:
Lewis Foster

Cast:
Dale Robertson … John Banner
Linda Darnell … Amy Clarke
John Lund … Hamilton
Ward Bond … Sen. Blakely
Regis Toomey … Minstrel
Whit Bissell … Mark Chester
Irving Bacon … Tully Morgan
John Doucette … Rick Largo
Skip Homeier … Frank Banner

Runtime: 88 min.

John Doucette as Rick Largo, one of the outlaws who turn on John Banner in Dakota Incident (1956)

Skip Homeier as Frank Banner, one of John Banner’s gang members in Dakota Incident (1956)

Memorable lines:

Townsman #1, as Amy Clarke walks by: “Now there’s a lady with a queenly bearing.”
Townsman #2: “And I’d sure like to be king.”

Amy Clarke: “How you ever met an Indian, face to face?”
Sen. Blakely: “Only in the literary sense. I happen to be a student of anthropology.”
Amy: “So was General Custer, but it didn’t help him very much.”

John Banner: “Did anyone ever tell you you’re pretty?”
Amy Clarke: “Like to count the notches on my bracelet?”

John Banner, forcing Amy Clarke to take cover in the gully: “That pretty little head of yours wouldn’t look so cute with an arrow sticking out of both ears.”

Whit Bissell as Mark Chester and Regis Toomey as Minstrel, stage passengers bound for Indian trouble in Dakota Incident (1956)

Charles Horvath with the Cheyenne leader with John Banner and Amy Clarke in Dakota Incident (1956)

Dale Robertson as John Banner, facing down one of his former gang members in Dakota Incident (1956)

Stage passengers Sen. Blakely (Ward Bond), Amy Clarke (Linda Darnell), Minstrel (Regis Toomey) and Mark Chester (Whit Bissell) learn their shotgun guard is a wanted man in Dakota Incident (1956)