A Sioux uprising in Minnesota has halted the flow of food supplies to the Union army.
So the government dispatches a half-breed officer, Capt. Jim Hewson (Bruce Bennett), with orders to try to negotiate a new peace with his old friend, Chief Little Crow.
But at Fort Ridgely, Hewson encounters Col. Hugh Carver (Jim Davis), a glory-hungry officer who enjoys warfare with the Indians.
And he does so at the urging of his businessman brother Dan and Indian agent Jeff Baxter, both of whom are profiting by cheating the Indians, then swapping goods for their land.
As for Hewson’s peace negotiations, they fall fall apart when the colonel launches a sneak attack on a defenseless Indian village.
Soon, Hewson finds himself in command at the fort, preparing for an assault.
Review:
A lean budget and a well-worn plot hamper an efficiently directed little Western. And neither Bennett nor Davis have the charisma to lift the film above the run-of-the mill.
As for that budget, the climatic Indian attack features about 20 Indians charging a fort on horseback, hardly the large-scale set piece called for by the script.
As a subplot, we get Paisley Maxwell in the role of Felice Carver, the colonel’s estranged wife. Now that he’s an officer, Carver can’t get over the fact that his wife is part Blackfoot, yet becomes abusively jealous when he thinks she might be falling for Hewson.
This was one of just four film roles for Maxwell, who did most of her acting on TV, including a recurring role in “Strange Paradise,” a strange one-season soap opera.
Directed by:
Sam Newfield
Cast:
Bruce Bennett … Capt. Jim Hewson
Jim Davis … Col. Hugh Carver
Paisley Maxwell … Felice Carver
Don Garrard … Sgt. Haggerty
Cec Linder … Dan Carver
Peter Humphreys … Sgt. Edmundson
Ben Lennick … Jeff Baxter
Larry Solway … Chief Little Crow
Bill Walsh … Gen. Dunn
Mike Fitzgerald .. Maj. Franklin
Larry D. Mann … Bradford
Shane Rimmer … Running Bear
Runtime: 70 min.
Memorable lines:
Col. Carver, pointing to his captive Running Bear: “This is the Indian nation all rolled into one, right here, Mr. Hewson — savages, filled with hatred and ignorance. They’ll never learn anything because they neither have the capacity or the will.”
Col. Carver: “You stay away from Hewson.” He smacks his belt against his hand. “Do you understand?”
Felice Carver, his estranged wife: “He’s an officer and a gentleman.”
Col. Carver: “He’s a half-breed Sioux.”
Col. Carver, of his desire to talk peace with Chief Little Crow: “It would do the Sioux well if my death could wait until we speak.”
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