Distant Drums (1951)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Niven Busch (screenplay) and
Martin Rackin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 December 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Western

Plot:

After destroying a Seminole fort, American soldiers and their rescued companions must face the dangerous Everglades and hostile Indians in order to reach safety

Plot Keywords:

Seminole | Scout | Florida | Fort | Filmed On Location

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Capt. Quincy Wyatt
Mari Aldon	...	Judy Beckett
Richard Webb	...	Lt. Richard Tufts
Ray Teal	...	Pvt. Mohair
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Monk
Robert Barrat	...	Gen. Zachary Taylor

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #5280) | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf) | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument - One S. Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Company:

United States Pictures

Trivia:

Except for Larry Chance, the actors "playing" Seminole Indian warriors were in fact actual Seminoles.

Goofs:

Continuity: The uniforms, besides being anachronistic, don't stay the same throughout the movie. At the beginning, Captain Wyatt wears trousers with Infantry white stripes on them. The "sergeant" (actually Sergeant Major chevrons) and corporal's chevrons are Cavalry yellow. The Captain appears wearing trousers with Cavalry yellow stripes and, shortly afterwards, Artillery red ones. The sergeant and the corporal also appear briefly wearing Artillery red chevrons.

Quotes:

Monk: [tiring of the diet] Fish and turtles! Nothing but fish and turtles! I'm about to grow gills!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tacones lejanos (1991)

Those Seminole Wars

United States Pictures which released Distant Drums through Warner Brothers was I think Gary Cooper's own production company. Looking at The Films of Gary Cooper book, I noticed about three others with same credits in the Fifties of which Distant Drums was the first.

The film was shot on actual location in the Everglades, I think Gary Cooper must have gotten some taste of what Bogey and Hepburn were enduring doing The African Queen. Too bad the story didn't rate the same as The African Queen.

Cooper is an American Army captain on duty with the army of General Zachary Taylor, played by Robert Barrat, who lives on his own island and doesn't dress in any army uniform. Zach Taylor had a reputation for informality, but that was carrying it a bit too far. The only other guy who had his own private island during war was Lt. Commander Quentin McHale and his PT Boat crew.

Anyway Barrat gives Cooper a mission and a Navy lieutenant played by Richard Webb to carry it out. To attack an old Spanish fort and go by boat across Lake Okechoobee. An early type of amphibious warfare. The attack goes off as planned and some civilian prisoners are rescued from the renegades using the fort. But the Seminoles are in hot pursuit of Cooper and the whole bunch through most of the film.

I can't believe by the way that a director like Raoul Walsh had the army and the Seminoles fighting with repeating rifles and six shooter revolving pistols. Stuff wasn't invented yet.

For the early years of the republic, Florida under Spanish rule and loose rule at that, was a thorn in our side. Pirates like the ones you see here used it as a haven for raiding purposes. But it was also a refuge for runaway slaves. Our southern states wanted Florida acquired to put an end to that. The indigenous tribes to Florida, the Seminoles did offer refuge for runaway slaves. So a war there was inevitable, especially when southern presidents like Andrew Jackson were in the White House.

Maybe one day someone will do a proper film on the early history of Florida, but this ain't it.