Fort Dobbs (1958)

Eluding a sheriff's posse, an escaped man saves a farming family from a Comanche attack and escorts it to the nearby Fort Dobbs.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

George W. George (story "Backtrack"), Burt Kennedy (story "Backtrack")

Stars:

Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, Brian Keith

Cast

Cast overview:
Clint Walker	...	Gar Davis
Virginia Mayo	...	Celia Gray
Brian Keith	...	Clett
Richard Eyer	...	Chad Gray
Russ Conway	...	Sheriff of Largo
Michael Dante	...	Billings

Storyline

Having eluded a posse, a wanted man rescues a woman and her young son from a Comanche attack. He then escorts them to the presumed safety of a U.S. Cavalry fort. Trouble develops along the way when the woman comes to believe that her rescuer was responsible for the recent death of her husband.

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Plot Keywords:

comanche indian | santa fe new mexico | new mexico territory | buxom | henry rifle | 

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Taglines:

A Battle Scorched Outpost Cut Off from the West...And Only His Bullets Could Rivet It Back In!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Clint Walker.

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Goofs

The repeating Henry rifles brought to the fort just in time are not loaded, but when they are passed up to the men defending the fort atop its walls along with boxes of ammunition, the men begin shooting them immediately, before they are loaded.

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Connections

Referenced in Svengoolie: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (2010)

User Reviews

Exciting B Western

After being accused of shooting a man Gar Davis leaves the town of Largo with a posse in hot pursuit . His problems intensify when he comes across the body of a man which means the Comanche tribe are on the war path and with a return to Largo not an option he has to trek through hostile territory on foot . He spots a homestead and tries to steal a horse

As someone who is not a fan of the Western genre I only watched FORT DOBBS because there was nothing else on but found myself enjoying the movie much more than I could possibly have expected . One reason for this is because it resembles the type of story that would attract a director like Walter Hill who made a career out of reworking Anabasis by the ancient Greek writer Xenophon which involves protagonists trying to reach sanctuary through hostile territory and this film makes the best of the scenario and just when the protagonists think safety is in sight another obstacle appears

Perhaps even stranger as someone who isn't keen on Westerns I did notice the genre conventions which could be interpreted as clichés were are the fore such as a man's got to do what a man's got to do , men in white hats against men in black hats and the Injuns are portrayed as violent savages . We even have a kid in the mix but none of this harms the movie probably because it's an involving and exciting tale . One flaw to it is that it's filmed in black and white and one thinks if you're to set a film in a vast landscape which is to all intents and purposes a co-star then the film would have worked even better if it was shot in colour

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fifteen Bullets from Fort Dobbs

Filming Locations:

Fredonia, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1