Randolph Scott is Capt. Tom Benson, who was off fetching his fiancee to Fort Lincoln when Custer rode to glory and death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
As a result, some brand him a coward, including his fellow officers.
An avid supporter of Custer, Benson has difficulty keeping quiet when his fellow officers try to blame the general and his glory hunting ways for the defeat during an inquisition.
Benson’s other problem: The man in charge of that inquisition is Col. Kellogg, the father of the woman he hopes to marry (Barbara Hale as Martha), though it’s clear the marriage will have to take place without the father’s approval.
When a presidential order arrives demanding that the troopers who fell at Little Big Horn be buried and the bodies of the officers brought back, Benson offers to lead the patrol. He handpicks the biggest slackers in the 7th to accompany him.
Naturally, they’re not enthused. In fact, they fear it’s a suicide mission.
The area around the Little Big Horn is still swarming with hostiles, and the battlefield is now considered sacred ground for the Sioux.
Randolph Scott as Capt. Tom Benson, giving orders to Sgt. Bates in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Barbara Hale as Martha Kellogg, worried about the reception her fiance gets at Fort Lincoln in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Review:
Certainly not one of the better Randolph Scott Westerns. Though there’s plenty of infighting, director Joseph Lewis has trouble building much suspense into the small band’s ride back to the battlefield.
When they get there, the troopers have already been buried, which is pretty improbable. What’s more, Benson is able to pick out Custer’s grave because he says he recognizes Sitting Bull’s coup stick shoved into the ground at the spot!!!
Barbara Hale made this film just a year before taking on the role of Della Street in the long-running “Perry Mason” (1957-1966).
Jay C. Flippen as Sgt. Bates, waiting for the Sioux to attack in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Russell Hicks as Col. Kellogg, conducting an inquiry into the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Directed by:
Joseph Lewis
Cast:
Randolph Scott … Capt. Tom Benson
Barbara Hale … Martha Kellogg
Jay C. Flippen … Sgt. Bates
Frank Faylen … Sgt. Kruger
Jeanette Nolan … Charlotte Reynolds
Leo Gordon … Vogel
Denver Pyle … Dixon
Harry Carey Jr. .. Cpl. Morrison
Michael Pate … Capt. Benteen
Donald Curtis .. Lt. Bob Fitch
Frank Wilcox … Maj. Reno
Pat Hogan … Young Hawk
Russell Hicks … Col. Kellogg
Peter Ortiz … Pollock
Runtime: 75 min.
Leo Gordon as Vogel, a trouble-making soldier on Benson’s detail in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Denver Pyle as Dixon, plotting a way to survive what he considers a suicide mission in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Memorable lines:
Sgt Bates, upon coming on an Indian warning at the approach to the Little Big Horn: “Burial unit? We’ll be the ones buried if we don’t take heed of that warning.”
Capt. Benson: “If you want to take orders from the Indians, why don’t you ride up and join them?”
Miles: “When he (Benson) came to (Fort) Supply to get you, to bring you back here as his bride, I couldn’t lock you up, or confine you in chains. But I told you I’d never accept him as a son-in-law.”
Martha: “But Gen. Custer accepted him as his closest friend.”
Miles: “At the moment, Gen. Custer’s preference hardly constitutes a recommendation for anyone.”
Martha to her father: “The lower you drive him (Benson), the further I’ll go down with him.”
Michael Pate as Capt. Benteen, testifying during an inquiry in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Jeanette Nolan as Charlotte Reynolds, blaming Benson for living while her husband died in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Pat Hogan as Young Hawk, a Sioux chief raised by whites in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
Barbara Hale as Martha Kellogg and Randolph Scott as Capt. Tom Benson in Seventh Cavalry (1956)
){kind=link}