Most people, especially in the future, will see the credits, and miss a lot of the plot simply looking for the Professor. Russell Johnson barely appears.
This is a fairly decent adventure. It's tempting to call it a Western, but technically that would be hard to do. It's West of Europe, but the location of Florida is more of a "Southern".
Still, this is a basic Western adventure. We have the hero struggling against a thick headed officer in handling the local natives.
The truth be known, most Westerns of the golden era were like this, depicting the native Americans as basically honorable and victims of corrupt white men. Here, we get the super honorable natives, and a few honorable white men, trying to "do the right thing" with a few malcontents messing things up.
What sets this above the average "western" or "southern version of a Western", is the famous battle scene. This was one of the most dramatic skirmish scenes ever filmed. It involves about twenty five soldiers against hidden natives, who do appear from hiding to attack. It is well blocked, and very exciting. It ranks as one of the most memorable battle scenes ever.
The journey through the swamp is also well done, and dramatic.
Aside from that, the story is a little routine. Sme major stars, and a beautiful woman add to the attraction.
This is a fairly well done film, that should rank moderately over a "5" in a realistic rating. Not as slow paced as most modern movies, but not as fast paced as most golden age Westerns.
