Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Robert Fuller is Matt Martin, a Union officer offered a post-Civil War assignment he can’t turn down.

He’s asked to recover a $1 million dollar gold shipment lost out West in an engagement with Rebels that cost his brother his life.

Former Reb Joe Barlow (Dan Duryea) is supposed to lead him to the missing loot. After all, he’s hoping the North will honor the pardon on a murder charge he received in return for joining the Confederate army.

But this gold has been hidden deep in Indian territory so Martin and the four men who volunteer to accompany him will have to shed their uniforms and pretend to be civilians.

And, of course, should something go wrong, the army won’t acknowledge their true mission.

Fuller mistrusts Barlow from the start. He has another reason for that mistrust once the small group is saddled with a pretty saloon girl named Memphis (Jocelyn Lane).

She’s “trash,” Barlow reminds her, but she could elevate herself to “rich trash” is she sides with him at an opportune moment.

Robert Fuller as Matt Martin, the Union officer asked to find the gold that cost his brother his life in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Dan Duryea as Joe Barlow, the man who agrees to lead a small detail to the gold in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Review:

A Western that’s different enough and competent enough to be entertaining. Of course, any oater would benefit from the presence of Dan Duryea. And Robert Fuller, who appeared in many Western TV series, turns in a solid effort in a rare leading role in a Western.

Not that the movie doesn’t have its head-scratching moments. When Fuller gets his assignment, he’s given a photo of Barlow that looks nothing like an old West tintype. And Barlow buries water in the desert so he can retrieve it years later?

Claude Akins has a rather bizarre role as an Indian hating brute who has sworn to kill 10 apiece for his slain wife and his child and is rapidly closing in on his goal. He carries around a small music box that reminds him of his lost loved ones. Of course, everyone on this trip seems damaged in some way.

Jocelyn Lane is Memphis, who scowls a lot. Her only other Western was the 1969 Spaghetti “The Land Raiders,” starring Telly Savalas and George Maharis. She plays the latter’s former girlfriend in flashback scenes.

Jocelyn Lane as Memphis, the saloon girl Martin reluctantly takes along on his mission in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Noah Beery Jr. as O’Rourke, one of the volunteers on Martin’s mission to recover gold in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Directed by:
Earl Bellamy

Cast:
Robert Fuller … Matt Martin
Jocelyn Lane … Memphis
Dan Duryea … Joe Barlow
Tom Simcox … Adam Long
Claude Akins … Otto Krausman
Noah Beery Jr. … O’Rourke
Linden Chiles … Dr. Hanneford
William Phipps … Trader
Don Collier … Sheriff Carter Drum
Denver Pyle … Hunter

Runtime: 88 min.

Claude Akins as Otto Krausman and Tom Simcox as Adam Long, two of the volunteers who join Martin on his mission in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Linden Chiles as Dr. Hanneford, learning details of the mission in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Memorable lines:

Matt Martin: “A man can’t have everything, Barlow.”
Joe Barlow: “A man can try.”

Dr. Hanneford, after Barlow kills a wounded Indian: “That was murder.”
Barlow: “You don’t murder an Indian, Hanneford. You just kill ’em. Like you’d shoot a rattler or step on a bug.”

Barlow: “When you get right down to it, we all got something ailing us. But you take a million dollars, even split five ways, that’s mighty powerful medicine. Ain’t nothin’ in the world that wouldn’t cure.”

Barlow to Memphis, about her effort to save Martin’s life: “Dropping that canteen was stupid. Say Martin gets away from those Comanches. Say he finds the canteen. Say he comes out of this alive. What then? You look appetizing enough to him out here. But back where a gentleman like him comes from, he wouldn’t walk across the street to spit on you if you were on fire.”

Denver Pyle as Hunter, a scoundrel who causes problems for Martin and his colleagues in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Don Collier as Sheriff Carter Drum, the lawman planning to take Barlow into custody in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Robert Fuller as Matt Martin, leading a mission into Indian territory in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)

Dan Duryea as Joe Barlow, putting Memphis (Jocelyn Lane) in her place in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966)