This One is Under the Radar. Little Acknowledged Joel MccRea Western with a lot more Philosophy and Psychology than Usually Found in this Type of Thing. The Story of a Lost Troop Trying to Find its Way Back to Command and "Civilization" is the Setting in this Widescreen, Beautifully Shot Study of a Group of Soldiers Fighting the Elements and Hordes of Apaches.There is Much Discussion About MccRea, who is Reluctantly Forced to Lead because the Officers have All been Killed and this Tortured Soul Might Not be Up to the Task. His Personal Story is Unfolded as Things Move Along and He Definitely is Suffering from Prior Events and His Men are not Very Comfortable with His Decisions.Making Tough Decisions is an Underlying Theme Throughout and along with John Russell as a College Grad Wanderer, an Outstanding Performance, He Tries to Sort Things Out. But the Soldiers are Constantly Complaining and Have Issues of Their Own and this Makes for a Tense and Taught Situation Along with Violent Encounters by the Encroaching Indians.The Action is Intense and so is the Conflict Among the Cavalry and the Well Written Script with Some Very Edgy Dialog Elevates this as One of the Best, and Underseen Westerns in the Decades Love Affair with Genre. Fans of Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher Westerns will Find this a Welcome Addition that can Side with the Better Westerns of the Impossibly Prolific Output of the 1950's.

You know you have a great action film when you realize you could make it work just as well as a stage play.And that's what we have here. An action Western about a "lost patrol" style cavalry unit, against the natives.Don't be misled by the "action" though. This is a deep story. McCrea gives an astounding performance, owed also to great writing, directing, and supporting cast, as a man who isn't what he seems.The movie gives us a look at how a man in position of leader can seem to be in one piece, but isn't. We see hints of the character's madness, and some, like Tucker's character, have seen him enough not to be fooled. A pair of peaceful Indians, one an old man, the other a beautiful woman, become pivotal in learning more about McCrea, and pivotal in his sole supporter's realization of how mad his leader is.The two Indians are exceptionally well written, and played to perfection. We see two humans, and so does the cavalry unit, all except McCrea.The ending is quite a surprise, even today. Very few cavalry films show characters who are this believable and three dimensional.

It has been years since I have seen this movie and I have been looking for it for a long time. I still remember moments in the movie as if I just saw it yesterday because of its gripping mature story line and deep rich character portrayals. I still get goosebumps when I think about it. The plot development was powerful with what I found to be a shocking conclusion. I find classic story telling with intense character portrayals to be much more interesting than some of the movie gimmicks used by most of the industry today. This movie is not shy on realism or story. I guess that some of that which makes up the high quality depth of this motion picture story simply goes over the head of some people, (based on some of the other reviews I have read about this film). I believe this is an absolute must see for McCrea or Russell fans.

Standard fare beautifully shot. Joel McCrea and Forest Tucker give good performances in this story about a cavalry troop under move, constantly under attack. The real star is the cinematography, shot in beautiful color and featuring some of the best scenery outside a John Ford western. Be sure to see it in wide screen!