Robert Taylor's second western, director Sam Wood's final film "Ambush," finds him on the right side of the law after playing the eponymous outlaw in "Billy the Kid" (1941). Taylor is cast as rugged, left-handed, Army scout Ward Kinsman in this black & white MGM horse opera about the desperate search for a woman captured by the Apaches. "Ambush" is a stark looking oater with some good visual effects for its day. Scenarist Marguerite Roberts' adaptation of Luke Short's short story is frankly adult for its day. The primary plot concerns the Army's search for Mary Carlyle and the pursuit of a dangerous Apache chieftain Diablito (Charles Stevens of "The Black Pirate") who took Mary hostage.The daring opening gambit finds Kinsman and another Army Scout Frank Holly (John McIntire of "Backlash") trying to escape from a band of Apaches. They stampede their horses and hide among the rocks while the mounted warriors swarm in pursuit of their horses. The main party of braves vanishes into a narrow pass, and our heroes challenge three warriors, blow all of them off their horses, and steal those horses. Our heroes not only escape with their scalps but also their lives. Wood does a good job of staging this fracas. The next day they arrive at the cavalry fort. The fort turns out to be a hotbed of adultery as an cruel enlisted man Tom Conovan (Bruce Cowling of "Battleground") likes to beat his wife, Martha Conovan (Jean Hagen of "The Asphalt Jungle"), while she has an affair with Lieutenant Linus Delaney (Don Taylor of Stalag 17") who knows he is in trouble. Later, Conovan assaults Fort Commandant Major C.E. Breverly (Leon Ames of The Postman Always Rings Twice") with a pitchfork and punctures his lungs. As a result, Breverly turns over command of the fort to Captain Ben Lorrison (John Hodiak of "Lifeboat") who has warned Delaney of his adulterous ways. Somehow, Lorrison persuades Kinsman to scout for him as he sets out to capture Diablito and recover Mary Carlyle (Marta Mitrovich). Lorrison recruits an Apache prisoner to help him find Diablito, but Kinsman doesn't trust the brave. Predictably, the treacherous brave sneaks out of Lorrison's camp to warn Diablito, but Kinsman manages to kill him before he can alert the elusive Apache chieftain. Throughout this 89 minute western, Ann Duverall (Arlene Dahl of "Land Raiders"), is stuck at the army post where Lorrison romances her and later suggests a proposal of marriage. Kinsman takes a similar interest in Ann, but nothing happens between them. Tragically, Lorrison dies during a clever Apache ambush, which is no doubt the source of the film's title. The wily savages leave an obvious trail for Lorrison and his men to follow into the open flatlands, and these sagacious brave bury themselves just beneath the surface of the earth so that the troopers enter this crescent of warriors who burst from the ground and mow them down. Delaney and his men ride to the rescue, but they are too late to help Lorrison. The sneaky Diablito plays possum in the hope of catching Kinsman with his guard down, but our hero drills him three times, ultimately killing the chieftain."Ambush" is no great shakes, but it is an efficiently helmed oater with a strong cast and good performances.

Ambush is directed by Sam Wood and adapted to screenplay by Marguerite Roberts from a Luke Short serial story. It stars Robert Taylor, John Hodiak, Arlene Dahl, Jean Hagen, Don Taylor and John McIntire. Music is by Rudolph G. Kopp and cinematography by Harold Lipstein. "In 1878 the shortest trail West through the territory of Arizona crawled across the foot of Bailey Mountain... The shortest trail but, the most dangerous. For Bailey Mountain was the stronghold seized by Diablito and his hostile Apaches" Nice! A Western movie for Western movie lovers to sink their teeth into. It's not exactly wall to wall action on offer here, but there is an adultness to proceedings that hits all the right chords for the discerning audience. The opening scene shows us the aftermath of an Apache raid, then it's introductions to the main characters who will come together to go rescue a kidnapped white woman from Diablito's Apaches. The build up isn't rushed, we are drawn into the lives of the American Fort residents, their love triangles and frets, while mature themes of adultery and spouse abuse are given some skilled direction and performances. Once traits and peccadilloes are established, the band of not so merry men go off to fight the Apache, the latter of which are thankfully shown as a resourceful foe with some cunning tactics. Taylor saddles up for a scuzzy portrayal, honourable for sure, but happily dirty and his character is shown to be fallible in one of the many machismo contests that permeate the story. Hodiak offers some elegance, Hagen some emotional punch, while Dahl - costumed to enhance her curvaceous figure - lights up every scene she is in. The great Harold Lipstein photographs much of the picture through black and white film noir filters, adding the requisite turbulence to the story, while Wood, in what was his last motion picture directorial assignment, directs with assuredness and makes the most of the Simi Valley and Gallup locations. McIntire is wasted and Bruce Cowling as the violent husband is only just convincing, while the blending of painted backdrops with the gorgeous locales becomes a little distracting in the final quarter. Yet as any hardcore Western fan will tell you, often those sort of things are forgiven if the makers don't insult our intelligence, which is thankfully the case here. 7/10

In the 1930s, Robert Taylor was hugely successful playing "pretty boy" roles. This isn't meant to demean his talents, but the idea of him playing a gritty part at that time was about as believable as Marjorie Main playing romantic lead in a Clark Gable film! However, by the mid-late 1940s, Taylor filled out a bit and as he approached his 40s, he was suddenly finding himself in several gritty cop films--but he still was a bit on the pretty side. However, with "Ambush", Taylor makes a break with this matinée idol image, as the film finds him dirty and unshaven through eh first 20 minutes. And, instead of begin well dressed and sexy, he was a frontiersman who was used to fighting Indians and roughing it. I liked the new Robert Taylor look and style--he was grittier and more believable and seemed to grow older quite well.The story is pretty typical of many westerns of the day. There is a renegade Indian, Diablito ("Little Devil"), who has killed a group of settlers and took the women and children prisoners. While Indians did sometimes take women and children into their tribe this way, the notion of "renegades" is a bit of a misnomer, as this sort of thing was pretty rare in the west--despite what you see in films. As for Taylor, he is asked to guide the cavalry to find the prisoners, but he's less than thrilled with the idea, as he thinks it's pretty useless. Ultimately, however, he relents and leads a small group of soldiers to Diablito's camp. In a couple scenes he's shown conversing with the natives in their language. While I assume he's speaking gibberish, it did sound pretty good and I'd love to know if he's actually saying anything.Aside from this plot, there are subplots that give the film some depth. In other words, it's not just a film about killing Indians. there is a subplot involving a drunk brute named Conovan who amuses his long-suffering wife and goes so far as tries to kill the commanding officer! Acting commanding officer John Hodiak is a tough-as-nails guy who is awfully rigid--and not the sort to work out the Indian problem with any finesse. So, as you can see, it's not just a Robert Taylor film but it's more complex than that. Plus, in one scene where Taylor and Hodiak get in a fist-fight, it's interesting to see Taylor (the once pretty-boy) lose! This certainly isn't the Taylor film of old! Overall, there's nothing that unique about this western, though it still is very good and definitely better than the typical film of the genre (and frankly, I think there have been way too many westerns over the years). I also appreciated how the natives actually looked like they were American-Indians--not the white guys in paint like many films. And, I liked how they had intelligent battle plans--not the usual riding right into the whithering gunfire of the "good guys" or riding in circles around a wagon train (which didn't actually occur) while they get shot!! By the way, I agree with the review by bkoganbing. While John Ford made quite a few cavalry and western films, this sort of film isn't his style at all and can't be confused for one of his films. Sam Wood's style and direction is much more direct--and this film lacks the overt sentiment of a Ford film. It is simple, unflinching and well made--the final film of an accomplished but mostly overlooked director now in the 21st century.

Standard western fare, "Ambush" is a well-acted oater but it has its stars eclipsed by the supporting players, notably Don Taylor as likable Lt. Delaney and Jean Hagen as the abused Mrs.Conovan, wife to a brutal enlisted man and the company's laundress. These two players make the most lasting impression by their very adroit portrayals of two kindred spirits irrevocably drawn to each other under impossible circumstances. Oddly, everyone else on the base (including the other Mr. Taylor-Robert, the star) seem to fade into the background, not evoking anywhere near the empathy that Don Taylor and Ms. Hagen manage. Thanks to them, this film rises above the average level it otherwise would have sustained.