Robert Francis is Dr. Allen Seward, sent West to serve as surgeon for the cavalry troops at Fort McCullough, where past post doctors have been more like butchers.
As a result, he finds it difficult to win the trust of his fellow officers, especially Capt. Peter Blake (Philip Carey).
And matters go from bad to worse for Seward when he insists on combating a malaria outbreak among the Kiowa and advises them to leave the reservation for the high country for the sake of their health.
By the time a few renegade Kiowa and Comanche band together to attack Fort McCullough, the malaria outbreak has reached the fort.
The troops have little hope of fighting off wave after wave of Indians.
And Seward has been branded a woodhawk, a type of bird who turns on its own kind.
Robert Francis as Dr. Allen Seward, who finds it difficult to gain acceptance at Fort McCullough in They Rode West (1954)
Philip Carey as Capt. Peter Blake, fostering a hatred for army doctors and a love for Laurie MacKaye in They Rode West (1954),
Review:
The plus: Decent cavalry vs. Indian battle scenes and a script that keeps things moving at a pretty brisk pace. The minus: That plot heads off into the implausible for the last 30 minutes or so, and the ending is particularly difficult to swallow.
Donna Reed plays Laurie MacKaye, a pretty young woman who loves the attention she receives from the cavalry officers, but who has her sight set on the officer who fusses over her the least — Seward, of course. May Wynn is Manyi-tan, a pretty white captive turned Indian squaw whom Seward befriends.
This marked the film debut for handsome Robert Francis. He would make only three more before being killed at age 25 in 1955 when a small plane he was piloting crashed in California.
Donna Reed as Laurie MacKaye, arriving at Fort McCullough to a host of admirers in They Rode West (1954)
May Wynn as Manyi-ten, the white girl long ago captured by Kiowa in They Rode West (1954)
Directed by:
Phil Karlson
Cast:
Robert Francis … Dr. Allen Seward
Donna Reed … Laurie MacKaye
May Wynn … Manyi-ten
Philip Carey … Capt. Peter Blake
Onslow Stevens … Col. Walters
Peggy Converse … Mrs. Walters
Roy Roberts … Sgt. Creever
Jack Kelly … Lt. Raymond
Stuart Randall … Chief Satanta
Eugene Iglesias … Red Leaf
Frank DeKova … Isati
Runtime: 84 min.
Onslow Stevens as Col. Walters, commander at Fort McCullough and a man besieged by Indian problems in They Rode West (1954)
Frank DeKova as medicine man Isati and Stuart Randall as Kiowa Chief Satanta in They Rode West (1954)
Memorable lines:
Sgt. Creever: “You know, this is a fearful unpleasant climate out here. It’s a deadly climate.”
Dr. Seward: “Is that so? Is the death rate pretty high?”
Creever: “Same as it is back East. One to a person.”
Seward, at the Kiowa camp, to Capt. Blake: “Two people have already died of malaria here. Twenty-two more are sick. Would you mind not shooting me until after I’ve treated them?”
Seward: “It doesn’t matter if I’m a doctor or not. The important thing is, I’m a woodhawk. I disobeyed orders. I turned on my own kind.”
Laurie: “Your own kind is the human race. Just because they don’t seem to realize it, doesn’t make you wrong. Don’t change, Allen. Don’t let them change you.”
Eugene Iglesias as Kiowa warrior Red Leaf in They Rode West (1954)
Roy Roberts as Sgt. Creever, teaching Dr. Allen Seward (Robert Francis) how to use a rifle in They Rode West (1954)
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This movie tried its best to be anti-racist but didn’t quite manage it. The ending is absolutely implausible.