The Modoc are on the warpath, and President Grant summons Indian fighter Johnny MacKay (Alan Ladd) to Washington to ask him to serve as an ambassador of peace.
Instead of peace, war breaks out following the revenge killing of a Modoc by a stage driver whose girlfriend was killed by the Indians.
Modoc chief Capt. Jack (Charles Bronson) tries to chase all the whites from the Lost River area in Colorado Territory. He and his followers massacre 18 whites in the rampage that follows.
Afterward, they’re protected from U.S. Army attacks by their impenetrable stronghold of mountains and caves.
And when Jack does agreed to peace talks, it’s little more than a ruse to lure MacKay and U.S. General Canby into a trap.
MacKay receives help in his quest for peace from two Modoc friends, Manok and Toby (Marisa Pavan), who loves him.
He also strikes up a romance with Nancy Meek (Audrey Dalton), who’s determined to become a frontier women in spite of all the bloodshed around her.
Review:
A mixed bag of a big-budget Western.
On one hand, there are the well-done action scenes, including the futile assault on Captain Jack’s stronghold, the peace parley gone wrong and the final showdown.
On the other, there are some of the hokiest Westerns scenes you’ll come across, including the “harvest” love talk between MacKay and Nancy (see below) and the film’s ending.
The saving grace is Charles Bronson in the role of the strutting Captain Jack, who takes pride in the fact that the president knows who he is and in wearing a U.S. captain’s jacket, even as he tries to push whites off the land he wants.
This actually marked the first time Bronson used that name on film. His previous film appearances — when he was credited — were as Charles Buchinsky, including roles in “Apache” and “Riding Shotgun” earlier the same year.
This marked the only Western film for Italian-born Marisa Pavan, who plays the Indian girl who wants Johnny to marry her so no Modoc will dare kill him. She was Oscar nominated for a supporting role in “The Rose Tattoo” (1955).
Directed by:
Delmer Daves
Cast:
Alan Ladd … Johnny MacKay
Charles Bronson … Capt. Jack
Audrey Dalton … Nancy Meek
Marisa Pavan … Toby
Anthony Caruso … Manok
Robert Keith … Bill Satterwhite
Rodolfo Acosta … Scarface Charlie
Warner Anderson … Gen. Canby
Elisha Cook Jr. … Blaine Crackel
Hayden Rorke … President Grant
Richard Gaines … Dr. Thomas
Frank DeKova … Modoc Jim
Perry Lopez … Bogus Charlie
Isabell Jewell … Lily White
Peggy Converse … Mrs. Grant
Pat Lawless … O’Brien
Frank Ferguson … Mr. Dyar
George J. Lewis … Capt. Alonzo Clark
Peter Hansen … Lt. Goodsall
Willis Bouchey … Gen. Gilliam
Strother Martin … Scotty
Edgar Stehli … Jesse Grant
Richard H. Cutting … Col. Meek
Michael Daves … Young Boddy
Runtime: 111 min.
Memorable lines:
Nellie Grant, the president’s daughter: “Have you actually seen redskins bite the dust?”
Johnny MacKay: “They don’t bite it, miss. They hit it.”
Nancy Meek, upon meeting MacKay: “You look just as wild and wooly as an Eastern girl could wish for.”
Bill, the stage driver, to Johnny MacKay, as he travels with Nancy: “I’ll do you a favor and head for a good bump. You know there’s nothing like a good bounce to bring folks together.”
Toby to Captain Jack, as he brags about the soldiers his men have killed: “Why you so proud of death, Jack? Many of our people want to live in peace.”
Nancy Meek: “I’ve got a farm.”
Johnny MacKay: “It’s a nice farm too. You know, if you get yourself a good man, you could make a lot of money.”
Nancy: “Couldn’t you recommend somebody?”
Johnny: “Somebody who could do everything around the place?”
Nancy: “Yes, he’d have to get good at everything. (They kiss). He’d have to know how to plow. (They kiss) Plant seeds. (They kiss) Harvest. (They kiss again)”
Johnny MacKay, reading a headline calling for extermination of the Modocs: “Exterminate? Hating gets awful big mighty fast.”
Captain Jack, to preacher: “You like this place you call heaven?”
Preacher: “Yes, it’s a beautiful place.”
Captain Jack: “Then I tell you what, preacher, you like it so much, you take my place out there. You go to heaven instead of me.”
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