7th Cavalry (1956)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Joseph H. Lewis

Writers:

Peter Packer (screenplay)
Glendon Swarthout (story)

Release Date:

December 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

CHARGING THE BATTLE LINES OF THE SIOUX AND THE CHEYENNES! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

An officer accused of cowardice volunteers to bring back General Custers's body after Little Big Horn.

Plot Keywords:

Cowardice | Fort | Native American | Beautiful Woman | Marriage

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

Also Known As:

Seventh Cavalry (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #17766) | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Amecameca, Estado de México, Mexico

Company:

Producers-Actors Corporation

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the troops present arms at the flag-raising at the beginning of the film, the soldier closest to the camera has a Remington Rolling-Block rifle, probably standing in for a Springfield Trapdoor carbine, with which the cavalry of 1876 was actually equipped. The Remington, though popular with the armies of many other nations, was never adopted in any form by the US military.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Capt. Tom Benson: We'll be able to see the fort from the top of the next rise.
[Tom and Martha ride a little farther]
Capt. Tom Benson: There she is - Fort Lincoln, the base of the finest cavalry regiment in the country - and our home.

Custer's riderless horse doesn't go very far...

Captain Benson (Randolph Scott) returns from the east with his new bride-to-be (played ably enough by Barbara Hale) only to find out that his post under General Custer was wiped out at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The men who were left behind at the post resent Benson because he wasn't there to die gallantly with the rest of his troop.

A presidential order is given for the army to go into Sioux territory and gather up Custer's dead for burial. Benson quickly volunteers for such a dangerous mission, probably to redeem himself. After all, the Big Horn is still surrounded by hostile Sioux and Cheyenne, drunk with victory.

When Benson and his men reach the site, they find that the Indians won't let them un-bury the dead because it is now considered sacred ground and not to be violated. That is, until Custer's riderless horse strolls into view, scaring all the Indians into thinking it's bad medicine and Custer's spirit has returned.

There's a subplot about how this horse came onto the scene involving Harry Carey Jr. and all, but I'm not gonna get into that. Anyway, the Indians are plenty superstitious about the whole thing so they allow Benson and his men to pass, unscathed.

Although it's nowhere near as good as the oaters Scott did with Budd Boetticher, this one nonetheless still rises above most of the other western dreck Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures was putting out. It also helps filming it out in the California pine country away from the usual Columbia ranch locations that we've seen a zillion times before. It still doesn't pass for the plains, though.

Still, it's better than most of Scott's RKO westerns from the late 40s

5 out of 10