13 Fighting Men (1960)

A Union Captain and his troops guard a load of gold from a group of Confederates at the end of the war

Director:

Harry Gerstad

Writers:

Robert Hamner (screenplay), Jack W. Thomas (screenplay)

Stars:

Grant Williams, Brad Dexter, Carole Mathews

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grant Williams	...	Capt. John Forrest
Brad Dexter	...	Maj. Simon Boyd
Carole Mathews	...	Carole Prescott
Robert Dix	...	Lt. Wilcox
Richard Garland	...	Capt. John Prescott
Richard Crane	...	Loomis
Rayford Barnes	...	Sgt. Yates
Rex Holman	...	Root
John Erwin	...	Cpl. McLean
Boyd Holister	...	Pvt. Jensen (as Bob Palmer)
Mauritz Hugo	...	Walter Ives
Richard Monahan	...	(as Dick Monahan)
Ted Knight	...	Samuel
Fred Kohler Jr.	...	Corey (as Fred Kohler)
Stephen Ferry	...	Sgt. Wade

Storyline

A Union Captain and his troops guard a load of gold from a group of Confederates at the end of the war

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Plot Keywords:

gold | love interest | kiss | gatling gun | machine gun | 

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Genres:

Drama | War | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thirteen Fighting Men

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated Producers (API)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only film directed by known editor Harry Gerstad.

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Goofs

The Union forces are lugging a Gatling Gun with them on their clandestine mission behind Rebel lines in Spring 1865. However, Gatling Guns were not officially purchased by the US army until 1866. The only ones used during the Civil War were purchased privately. It is not clear what a small group of troops commanded by a Captain operating behind enemy lines would be doing with a Gatling Gun.

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Soundtracks

Battle Hymn of the Republic
(uncredited)
Music by William Steffe
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe

User Reviews

the war is over but gold continues the fight

Though the War Between The States has officially ended, a group of Confederate soldiers continues to fight for their own cause, laying siege to a small group of Union soldiers holed up in a farmhouse who are guarding a substantial amount of gold coins for a federal agent. The story comes off okay in this noticeably low-budget effort thanks to all the personalities this film features. The presence of all that gold seems to affect all of them in interesting ways. The farm owner is a Union army vet who converted to pacifism after experiencing the war, while his wife is trying to attract the Union commander who is trying to protect the gold from both his men and the Confederates, who include some strange characters, one of which is Ted Knight. The film is more drama than action which is perhaps because the action scenes are not too great, but the drama is barely passable enough to at least kind of keep one watching.