John Ireland plays Tom Horn, a man trying to go from nowhere to somewhere who rides right into an Indian uprising in the process. He finds himself trying to save the members of a wagon train, first from the Indians, then from the renegade whites who massacred an Indian village to set the redskins on the warpath in the first place.
John Russell plays Ela Jonas, a guide who lost one wagon train and desperately wants to lead this one to safety. Robert Strauss plays Ben Stokes, a grizzled Indian agent. And Virginia Mayo is Linda Lee, a woman headed West as a singer … or a mail-order bride … or perhaps a prostitute … who tries to hide the truth from everyone but Horn.
All find themselves in the abandoned Fort Utah, wondering who they’ll have to fight off — the Indians or the white renegades, led by Dajin (Scott Brady). And wondering where the cavalry troop that was supposed to occupy the fort has gone.
Review:
Another of the many A.C. Lyles produced Westerns from the 1960s, this one has added interest because it marked Virginia Mayo’s last genre outing. She was 46 when it was released.
That said, it’s a pretty routine and sometimes illogical film — just watch how casually Dajin’s men sack a nearby town — further marred by the extensive use of stock footage for a wagon train attack and indoor sets that are way too obvious.
Drector Lesley Selander does his best to keep the action going with frequent fistfights and a high body count between the scenes in which Mayo is yearning for her own fresh start in life. Robert Strauss plays his part with a gusto some other cast members would have done well to immitate.
Directed by:
Lesley Selander
Cast:
John Ireland … Tom Horn
Virginia Mayo … Linda Lee
Robert Strauss … Ben Stokes
John Russell … Eli Jonas
Scott Brady … Dajin
Richard Arlen … Sam Tyler
James Craig … Bo Greer
Jim Davis … Scarecrow
Don “Red” Barry … Harris
Harry Lauter … Britches
Read Morgan … Cavalry Lieutenant
Regis Parton … Rafe
Eric Cody … Shirt
Runtime: 83 min.
Memorable lines:
Ben Stokes: “What’s probably gonna happen is my head will wind up on an Indian lodge pole with a bunch of naked savages dancing, whooping and hollering all around me.”
Tom Horn: “Then you better quit now, while your head is still where it is.”
Tom Horn, spotting a wagon train: “Why didn’t they send some soldiers to protect those people? The Army’s always posted when a wagon train’s comin’ through.”
Stokes: “Appears there’s been some kind of a slip up.”
Horn: “Appears there might be some kind of a massacre.”
Eli Jonas: “You men will be issued the same repeating rifles we used yesterday.”
Bo Greer: “And we’ll be repeatin’ the same dyin’ as yesterday.”
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