Fort Defiance (1951) User Reviews

Oh Brother!

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 4 November 2018]

Fort Defiance is directed by John Rawlins and written by Louis Lantz. It stars Dane Clark, Ben Johnson, Peter Graves and Tracey Roberts. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Stanley Cortez.

Plot has Clark as sharp shooting Johnny Tallon, a feared man he may be, but after a dreadful incident in the Civil War he is a wanted man. Upon returning to the family ranch where his blind brother Ned (Graves) resides, he finds one of his pursuers, Ben Shelby (Johnson), has befriended Ned and become more of a brother to Ned than Johnny ever was. With the Indians on the warpath and saloon impresario Dave Parker (Craig Woods) out to kill of the Tallon family, something's got to give...

There's a degree of complexity on show with the writing here, where the family strife and fall out from the Civil War makes for an always interesting viewing. Also refreshing to find that Graves' blind character is not a heart string tugging token, it's a meaty portrayal by Graves, the character not trying to garner sympathy. There's a richness to the key characterisations in general, ensuring that at least when the story treads familiar Westerns pathways (Indian attacks shoehorned in - Roberts' token saloon gal love interest) all outcomes are anticipated with interest.

The location landscapes are gorgeous, which renders the use of Cinecolor as being annoying. The pronounced reds and blues detracting from the natural beauty of the surroundings, though thankfully the print shown on TCM-HD is of a decent quality. The action sequences are only competently staged, but there's enough gun shots and stunt working bodily thunder to perk up the pic, while acting across the board is on the good side of good.

Strong plotting and super scenery help to keep this one above average and thus worth seeking out by Westerns lovers. 6.5/10

A nice and interesting western with a good handful of attractive characters and action enough

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 9 December 2022]

The film packs thrills , noisy action , horse pursuits , crossfire , high body-count , cavalry charges and it is fast-moving and quite entertaining . Standard Western about an expedition heading for Fort Defiance and along the way suffering native american attack .It's just after the Civil War , an ex-Civil War soldier called Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson) arrives looking for Johnny Tallon (Dane Clark) whom he plans to murder . Shelby was the only survivor of a battle due to the cowardice of Tallon, that's why he is hell-bent on killing the man whose surrender got his brother killed, but then discovers that a rancher wants him and his blind brother (Peter Graves) killed. Ater finds out a rancher wants that same man and his blind brother killed. Tallon and and his companions have to confront Navajo Indians who go on the warpath and must now battle together postponing the inevitable showdown . This is killer country ... and the story of the guns that won its glory ! All the fury of the last Great Indian Wars !Where "Kill or Die" Was The Indian Cry!...a hunted man and his hunter fight side by side...across the blood-mad terror of the Navajo empire!

The picture gets Western action , shootouts , US cavalry go riding , a love story between a blind man and an ex-prostitute , and it results to be an enjoyable tale . Set during the Arizona Indian Wars with the violent upheaval of brave Indian chiefs as : Cochise , Jeronimo , Vitorio , Mangas Coloradas , when fear and violence spread throughout the land .This one shows a campy , amusing and entertaining glimpse in the Wild West . It's a medium budget film with acceptable actors , technicians , functional production values and pleasing results . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes .vBursting with appealing characters, thought-provoking themes as the peculiar relationship among two attractive characters : a blind and a prostitute , sub-plots , symbols , and with very decent filmmaking and interpretation . There is an odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , as the battles between the stagecoach passengers and Navajos . Nice production design creating an adequate scenario with luminous outdoors , plains , montains and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and atmospheric sets but in B-series style . It stars the always agreeable Ben Johnson as former Civil War solider bent on killing the man whose surrender got his brother killed, and Dane Clark as a gunfighter who eventually gets redemption , but is Peter Graves who steals the show as the good blind brother attempting to keep his first love . Peter drafted United States Air Force, he studied drama at the University of Minnesota and then headed to Hollywood, where he first appeared on television and later made his film debut in Rogue River (1951). Numerous film appearances followed, especially in Westerns . However, Graves is primarily recognized for his television work, particularly as Jim Phelps in Mission impossible (1966). He made movies of all kinds of genres , Sci-Fi, drama , Western , Warlike , comedy , such as : Stalag , Beneath the 12-mile reef , It conquered the world , Killers from space , The clonus horror , The court martial of Billy Mitchell , The winds of war , Sergeant Ryker , Cruise missile , Legend of the Sea Wolf , Scream of the Wolf, Texas across the river , The Guns and the Fury , The rebels , Survival run, Let's make up , The night of the hunter , The slipper and the rose , being especially known for his special appearances in : Airplane I and II and Men in Black 2 . Peter Graves died of a heart attack on March 14, 2010, just four days before his 84th birthday. His partenaire is the attractive but unknown actress Tracey Roberts . They are accompanied by a fine support cast , such as :vGeorge Cleveland , Ralph Sanford , Dennis Moore and Iron Eyes Cody as Brave Bear ; the latter played several Indian roles , in fact he claimed Native American descent, although he was actually of Italian descent, with ancestors from Sicily , he labored for decades to promote Native American causes, and was honored by Hollywood's Native American community .

The motion picture was well directed by John Rawlins . This B-Hollywood filmmaker had a long and important cinematic career. At the beginning he was an actor, stunt man, gag writer and assistant director . For a while he sidelined as a comedy writer, then became an editor and later directed second features for First National in Britain from the early 1930s. Returning to the US, he joined Universal (1938-46), where he turned out "B" pictures and serials, including installments of the "Dick Tracy" and "Sherlock Holmes" series. And directing various Westerns such as : The Arizona Ranger , Strange conquest, Overland Mail, Men of the Timberland , Rogue River , shark river , Mississippi Gambler , among others. He had similar assignments at RKO (1947-48) and United Artists (1951-53), before branching out into television dramas. Rating : 6.5/10 . Decent and better than average Western.

Fort defiance

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 9 April 2023]

It's just after the Civil War and Ben Shelby arrives looking for Johnny Tallon whom he plans to kill. Shelby was the only survivor of a battle due to the cowardice of Tallon. Thinking Tallon dead, another man who lost a brother at the same battle arrives to kill Tallon's blind brother. Tallon arrives to find Shelby and his brother fleeing. Then they are attacked by Indians and Shelby and Tallon must now fight together postponing the inevitable showdown.

Fort Defiance is an enjoyable western, due to the good performances, direction, cinematography and a tense, yet quiet atmosphere, and exciting blazing action as Shelby and the Tallons square off against vengeful white men and their Native American neighbors. Loved Dane Clark's witty comeback and his fast guns. Ben Johnson is excellent as always, but I reckon Peter Graves steals the scene as a blind man. The first half is slightly plodding, but picks up when the villainous Ned Parker and his gunnies turn up. It's then uphill all the way.

Just Misses

[dougdoepke · 29 September 2010]

The first half is a fine slice of emotional clarity, that stubborn homestead squatting like a tiny island on an ocean of redrock. The movie itself turns on Peter Graves's sightless Ned. If he's not likably appealing, then the plot doesn't work. But fortunately Graves hits the right notes without being maudlin, so we understand why others would sacrifice to help him. And when Ben (Johnson) finally turns around to help, we know there's more to family than blood kin.

I wish the second half were as streamlined and inventive. But instead, it falls back on a series of clichés. What purpose, for example, is that gunning down of Parker's men except to show how fast Johnny (Clark) is. Then there's the badly clichéd Indian attack. Sure, it's panoramic and I assume that was the real purpose. However, the attack is unimaginatively staged as though the circling Redmen have no other desire than to give the Whites some live target practice. It's like they have no military sense at all. And instead of the stereotypical good- hearted hooker, why not pair the sightless Ned with a homely girl. For glamour obsessed Hollywood that would have been a real departure. In a lesser Western, such shopworn episodes are expected. But for a movie that starts off so well, these are clichés pulling events down to the merely routine.

Nonetheless, the acting is first-rate, and I especially like George Cleveland's grizzled old Uncle Charlie. The chemistry between Ned and Ben and him is simply superb, and when he collapses in the doorway, there's a genuine sense of loss unusual for any Western. Then too, was there ever a better cowboy than the under-stated Ben Johnson with his authentic western twang. His gradual reconciliation with Johnny is both compelling and believable. I'm only sorry that this story of family parts finally fitting together just misses being a real sleeper.

If only...

[movingwater · 7/10 · 28 October 2018]

Cliched, sure, but Ben Johnson is always fun to watch on a horse, Peter Graves and the ensemble are well cast and do a fine acting job. The movie is both well acted and we'll written. If only they had a decent cinematographer and director, but as a typical "B" feature of the era, this is what you get. Better than most, and with a good photographer even better, especially as locations include incredible Utah canyon country and a old-west town called Fort Defiance. If only...

Interesting, But Not Well Developed

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 28 September 2010]

Fort Defiance is an independent western from United Artists, more interesting than good. It was an attempt at some adult themes in a western that would become more commonplace in the future. Sad to say though its characters are not developed fully.

Ben Johnson arrives at the ranch of George Cleveland and his two nephews, Peter Graves and Dane Clark. He's looking for Clark who has not made it home from the Civil War yet. Supposedly Clark ran out on his troops while on a mission to deliver a message and nearly everyone died in the command he served with. Johnson was one of the few survivors, his brother wasn't and he's out to get Clark.

As his big rancher Craig Wood who had running feud with Cleveland, Clark, and Graves before the Civil War, heightened by the loss of two brothers. He wants the whole family dead, including Graves who is blind.

Johnson, feeling sorry for Graves and Cleveland throws in with them before Clark arrives. They face an attack on the ranch, a stagecoach massacre from some Navajos before the inevitable showdown.

Possibly in the hands of a major studio with a better script Fort Defiance could have been a better film. As it is some of the character motivations just don't make sense fitted into the overall framework of the story.

Still this cast of good professionals feels at home in westerns with the exception of Dane Clark who was way too urban a character for a western.

Interesting film, but not as good as it could have been.

Fort Defiance review

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 13 May 2020]

The belated arrival of Dane Clark breathes much-needed life into this plodding bromance between vengeance-seeking Civil War veteran Ben Johnson and blind Peter Graves. Clark is Graves' bad-boy brother who takes exception to their friendship. IMDb gives Clark's height as 5'9", which is slightly below average, but he looks tiny compared to Johnson and Graves, which tends to diminish his air of menace. He's still the only reason to watch this otherwise mediocre drama, though.

A 1950's western sleeper with a complex plot and complex characters... and action

[mvescovi · 8/10 · 6 May 2008]

It is several months after the end of the civil war, and Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson) shows up at the Tallon Ranch to kill John Tallon (Dane Clark). Tallon had given himself up to the confederates just before the war ended and this led to a company of the Arizona volunteers being wiped out, Ben's brother among them. He meets John's young, blind brother Ned (Peter Graves) and Uncle Charlie. John is not around and Ben ,saying he knows John from the war, decides to wait for him. A problem comes up when he gets very close and Ned and Uncle Charlie. John has become a bank robber and a killer which Uncle Charlie has kept from Ned and asks Ben to also keep the secret because Ned worships his brother who supposedly was a war hero. Word finally reaches them that John is dead and Uncle Charlie and Ben have to tell Ned.

There are additional problems. The Indians find out they are going to be moved to Oklahoma, don't like the idea and go on the warpath. Local land baron Dave Parker, who also lost brothers in the Arizona volunteers, finds out about John Tallon's act of cowardice and wants all Tallon's dead. This is just an excuse to get their ranch.

AS you might guess. John Tallon finally shows up, but he is not the coward and killer you might expect, and Ben, besides fighting Dave Parker and the Indians, must face the possibility of killing a close friend's brother This is not exactly a B western. It was shot in New Mexico, has a cast of superb actors, more plot than there is in two current films( actually a plot worth of a major film) and complex, conflicted characters. I saw this film when I was very young and found out recently that it has not aged. It is well worth tracking down and watching. A very good sleeper

There is a problem with the color. The film was shot in Cinecolor, and it is just not as good as Technncolor of even Eastman color.The colors fade and blues and greens are lost. This film deserves a restoration.

We should all have a friend like Ben Shelby!

[berumte · 28 March 2002]

Nice guy, Ned Tallon, now blind, is waiting for older brother, Johnny, to come home from the war and help get the ranch back on its feet. A newly arrived stranger, Ben Shelby, reports that Johnny deserted his outfit, costing many men their lives, then became a bank robber and was killed. When the desertion story gets out, relatives of several men who died want brother Ned buried, too. Ben steps in to save Ned by helping him skedaddle to Navajo territory -- but the Navajo have just been told that its Reservation Time, and they're none to pleased. ...now guess who shows up!

Pretty good yarn. Fair amount of action. Rugged Arizona scenery. A good Ben Johnson role. Interesting to see Peter Graves in one of his earliest films.

Good story:unusual and action-packed, with Ben Johnson

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 11 July 2017]

I like westerns that starred Ben Johnson as a relatively young man. "Wagon Master" is a well known example. I came across this obscure film, released about the same time. In it, Ben plays Ben(Shelby, that is): an ex-Union soldier, who rides to the Tallon ranch in AZ, hoping to kill Johnny Tallon, whom he blames for his brother's death in battle, due to Johnny's said cowardice. The problem is, according to Ned, Johnny's blind brother, and his Uncle Charlie, Johnny is already dead, executed for bank robberies. This is the gossip in nearby Fort Defiance. Dave Parker, who owns a neighboring spread, also comes to kill Johnny, because his 2 brothers were killed in that same incident. No Johnny, so Parker decides to kill Ned instead. Ben doesn't think this is right, so we have a shootout, with Uncle Charlie, rather than Ned, a victim. Ben suggests that he and Ned form a partnership at the ranch. Before this, some Navajos showed up, saying they would take all the Tallon cattle. The Tallons + Ben didn't put up a fight. The Navajos were angry because the US government said thy had to move to a reservation.

Eventually, Johnny shows up, to everyone's amazement, with $5000. he stole from a bank. He wants to use some of this money to get Ned to an eye doctor in San Francisco. But , Ned doesn't want to go. He wants to stay with Ben and the ranch....I will stop here, and let you see the film. There's a good amount of action, with several hostile encounters with Indians, as well with Parker and his bunch. There are several fist fights in the open, and a de facto suicide.

Dane Clark, as Johnny, has a decided cocky attitude most of the time, which seems to be largely based on his very quick draw and accurate shooting. Peter Graves ably plays Ned Tallon, while white haired, bewhiskered, George Cleveland plays Uncle Charlie. Craig Woods plays Dave Parker, while Tracey Roberts plays Julie: Ned's surprising romantic interest.

When Navajos attack a stagecoach, the horses are decoupled from the stage, which is used as a primitive barricade. The Indians are sitting ducks for a good rifle shooter as they circle around in daylight. They should have been able to kill all the defenders, but don't, before a cavalry arrives to shoo them away. They could have killed the horses or run off with them, thus disabling the coach.

In one segment, the guys are complaining they can't get out the side of this long canyon. Yet, I saw several places where there was no canyon wall, and they should have been able to get out.

I have to wonder about the scriptwriter's knowledge of geography, as the stage driver claims that San Francisco is only a day's travel from Navajoland!

I have to wonder about Johnny's last act. Seems he was depressed over Ned's loyalty to Ben as opposed to him.

This was one of the last films shot in 2-color Cinecolor: a cheaper alternative to 3-strip Technicolor... Shooting took place in parts of NM, southern Utah, and CA. See it at Youtube

one of the last 2-color Cinecolor movies

[rtravis-167-909977 · 26 September 2011]

'Ft. Defiance' is a B-movie western that in terms of story is quite a cut above the typical Saturday matinée fare. But, this is a description of the Cinecolor process it was shot in.

3-strip Technicolor was the first technically viable, full color film process commercially available to the U.S. film industry. Although technically elaborate and expensive, for about a 15 year period (ca. 1935-50) it was also the only full color process available (Kodachrome, a reversal process yielding a positive image from the camera stock, was not regarded as suitable for studio film production).

During Technicolor's reign there were a number of alternative low-budget color film processes based on the 2-color principle of color reproduction. Although 3 primary colors are required to obtain a full color gamut, a surprisingly natural-looking color image can be achieved by using only 2 primary colors, basically, a warm primary and a cool primary.

Instead of dividing the spectrum into 3 bands (red, green, blue), it is split into 2 regions, representing the warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and the cool colors (green, blue, violet). In the photography, red and green color separation filters are used to obtain the 2 primary color images. Because of the technical complexity of full 3-color requirements, the first successful color motion picture processes (Kinemacolor and others) from the 1910's onward, were 2- color processes. Technicolor started out as a 2-color process itself.

As with other 2-color processes (Trucolor being its main competitor) the Cinecolor process used Mitchell cameras adapted for bi-pack filming where 2 rolls of film are run through the camera simultaneously. The camera's magazines had 4 chambers, 2 feed and 2 take-up. Each roll of black & white film captured one of the 2 'primary' images.

A Cinecolor film print contained 2 primary color images, a reddish-orange and a cyan, printed on opposite sides of the film base. In making splices, the projectionist had to scrape emulsion off BOTH sides of the film so the cement could form a proper bond. Focus was achieved by focusing at the center of the film base as a compromise (instead of on the emulsion).

When Kodak and other companies introduced single-strip negative-positive color film systems around 1950 -- which meant that standard production cameras could be used for full- color filming without special adaptations or apparatus -- the raison d'etre for 2-color systems was eliminated, with 'Ft. Defiance' being among the last of its kind. 3-strip Technicolor itself survived only a few more years as a production process, although the lab continued providing imbibition film prints to the industry for more than a decade afterwards.

Like other 2-color processes, Cinecolor suffered from a limited palette, where bright greens, yellows, and purples were not achievable. Most other colors could be represented with fairly reasonable approximations. It also suffered from a bit of variability in color densities. Nevertheless, it was the most natural looking of all the 2-color processes.

Considering its 2-color limitations, what's remarkable about Cinecolor is how natural-looking it could be.

Some other 2-color Cinecolor titles are: Black Gold (1947) Albuquerque (1948) Strawberry Roan (1948) Flight to Mars (1951) Flat Top (1952) .

Worth watching little western

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 13 November 2022]

What I love in this John Rawlins' film, is the character symphony, the place ones with the others. For instance, I love Dane Clark's role, a very ambivalent one, man seeking his young blind brother, and a man fighting against Ben Johnson, the "good" character of this interesting movie. The perfect proof that once in a while B pictures can provide good surprises. The triangle relationship between Dane Clark, Ben Johnson and Peter Graves is pretty unusual. I am glad to have watched this little western, made by a B director whose best films besides were exotic films for Universal: ARABIAN NIGHTS, SUDAN and a Sherlock Holmes adventure, but not the most terrific, despite Basil Rathbone's presence.

What an independently produced B western should be

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 23 January 2022]

Peter Graves is fantastic as Ned Tallon, a sightless man who senses the dangers that go on around him. Ned is waiting for his brother Johnny (Dane Clark) to return home from the war. But Johnny doesn't show up until the 34 minute mark. So the entire first act of the story involves Ned, their uncle Charlie (George Cleveland) and a drifter named Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson) who shows up to kill Johnny.

We gradually find out why Ben wants to kill Johnny, while Ned learns about Johnny's desertion from the army and his life of crime as a bank robber. This shatters Ned's perfect image of his wayward brother. All these men have emotional baggage they are carrying with them. At the same time there's a relocating of natives by the cavalry at nearby Fort Defiance.

The natives fight back, steal cattle from the Tallons and make things difficult for the men. Also making things difficult is a rancher who thinks Johnny is responsible for his brothers' deaths in the army, which is also why Ben is here. The rancher won't wait for Johnny to get back and decides to kill Ned instead (an eye for an eye, or in this case a brother for a brother). But Ben takes Ned away while Uncle Charlie tries to hold the other men off with his rifle. Needless to say Uncle Charlie does not last long and ends up with a Christian burial.

This is when Johnny finally shows up. He's on a mission and quickly kills Charlie's assassins, then goes off in search of Ben and his brother Ned. Once he catches up to them, Johnny and Ben have a series of standoffs. The natives are still on the warpath and attack a stagecoach coming in through the canyon with a woman who was run out of another town. Another character with emotional baggage.

About eighty percent of the story is filmed outdoors on location so it feels very realistic, despite the melodramatic contrivances. There are a lot of great action scenes in this movie. The dialogue is hard-hitting, yet the men remain vulnerable.

There's a scene where Ned turns from his loyalty for Johnny to form an even stronger bond with Ben. Johnny and Ben frequently quarrel about who will look after Ned. It's like they both are fighting for the right to be the better "brother" to Ned.

Finally they make it to Fort Defiance with the help of military troops. But the rancher who wants the Tallons dead is also there. He and his men surround Johnny, Ned, Ben and the girl. Johnny decides to be heroic and go out in a blaze of glory. He wants to make sure Ned has a more decent life than he did.

It felt like most of the action had to be recorded on the first take because of the budget, so the energy seems very spontaneous. Any mistakes the actors make become part of the mistakes the characters are making. Dane Clark is obviously going off script in a few places, ad-libbing some of the dialogue. The other guys keep up with him and keep pushing forward. The great thing about Dane Clark is you never know just how he's going to act when he opens the door to confront his character's past.

This film was made in the Cinecolor process. So the canyon rock looks extremely red, and the land has hues of orange and sandy brown. The coats the men wear are greenish blue and stand out against the rocks and land. The cheap color process actually gives the film an artistic feel. People tend to write off B westerns but this one defies the odds.