Cast overview: | |||
Rory Calhoun | ... | Adam Reed | |
Peggie Castle | ... | Katherine Bohlen | |
Noah Beery Jr. | ... | Tonio Perez (as Noah Beery) | |
Warner Anderson | ... | Maj. Ives | |
Peter Graves | ... | Walt Sawyer | |
Lee Van Cleef | ... | Fire Knife | |
Rita Moreno | ... | Honey Bear | |
Dan Riss | ... | Sgt. Bandini | |
Walter Reed | ... | Keats | |
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Patrick Sexton | ... | Lt. Bascomb (as Patrick Joseph Sexton) |
Robert Bray | ... | Lt. Banion | |
Adam Williams | ... | Cpl. Maddock | |
James Best | ... | Pvt. Bliss | |
Ned Glass | ... | Willy |
In Wyoming Territory, army Major Ives and his men are building a temporary camp. The civilian surveyor, Mr. Keats is making preparations for the construction of a large permanent fort. However, the future fort is being erected on Cheyenne lands, in defiance of the treaty. Adam Reed is a self employed scout with friendly ties to the Cheyenne. Upset about the construction of the new fort on their lands, the Cheyenne ask scout Reed to contact Major Ives and deliver their message of grievance to him. The symbolic message consists of a yellow tomahawk as a warning against the building of a new fort in the area. Reed delivers the warning message to Major Ives but he is not taken serious. Major Ives lectures Reed about the need of bringing civilization to the lands that otherwise would go to waste under the savages. Reed retorts that Major Ives' only duty is to escort wagon trains of settlers passing through Cheyenne territory rather than build new forts in violation of the treaty. Reed also... Written by nufs68
A lot of the B Westerns were "fluff", but usually the director or writer would want to add some "sidebar" on for their personal motif.
It is the "sidebar" that is usually the message the director and writer want to display. Sometimes, it is "advertising" for products, such as tobacco companies, soda companies, or what have you.
Here, either Director Selander, or writers Simmons and Boone, looked to want to add their own flavor to a fairly routine cavalry Western.
Like most Westerns of the day, the Indians are depicted as semi good guys with evil white men upsetting the apple cart.
The overkill of the evil white men has always been very politically correct, and especially was in the decades that followed this movie.
However, the real sidebar here is what happens with the evil corrupt cavalry officer who causes at least two massacres, quite knowingly, quite viciously.
Also, a few red herrings come into play here. The fates of a few of the characters you won't guess, as they go against the usual Hollywood propaganda formula. Thus, this particular Western has some surprises by the end.