During the American Civil War, a band of raiders led by rancher Austin McCool(David BRIAN)and his brutal right hand man Pete Elm(LON CHANEY JR),lead relentless attacks on shipments of horses being driven to railheads by the Union army for the benefit of their men fighting in the east. The raiders then sell the captured horses to the Confederacy. Major Lex Kearny(GARY COOPER)is dishonourably discharged after surrendering his herd to the raiders without firing a single shot.However,this is merely a ruse to enable Kearny to infiltrate the raiders and smash the ring. Kearny's real mission is to adopt counterespionage tactics in order to smoke out the insider providing McCool with information on the routes of the horse drives.Fresh out of Will Kane's boots in the immortal HIGH NOON(released just 3 months prior to this film),Gary Cooper acquits himself superbly in the lead as the Major who sacrifices his reputation and integrity for the Union, despite being a southerner. David Brian is terrific as the snarling leader of the raiders.Gruff,tough,robust Lon Chaney Jr was even better as his cruel associate. Western veterans Phillip Carey and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also turned in impressive performances.As with other B westerns of the 1950s,the action sequences were shot with restraint, but extremely rip roaring and enjoyable nonetheless. The extended fistfight between Kearny and Elm was awesome and chilled me with intensity. The ear shattering, all-guns-blazing skirmish between the Soldiers and the raiders was fantastic with excellent stuntwork.The shots of men firing their pistols and rifles on horseback were amazing. This sequence was made even more effective by the Wilhelm Scream being crammed into the heat of the action, we hear it as one of the raiders is stabbed by a Soldier. The final battle between Kearny's men and the raiders was just as thrilling with spectacular shots of the prairie being set ablaze and frenzied horses charging up a hill as the raiders are blasted with shots from the brand new Springfield rifles. This sequence is followed by a brief but exhilarating horseback chase which results in Kearny catching the inside man.I would give the action scenes 4 stars. The camera-work was incredible with awe striking shots of rugged snow capped mountains, arid deserts, craggy rocks and herds of horses trudging through the sand and snow. The sequence in which Kearny is commandeering an army wagon containing the new Springfield Carbines and rocks cripple one of it's wheels causing the team of horses to break away from the wagon which causes it to crash down a hill was brilliantly shot. The script is excellent and is something different from the usual western formula. The Civil war setting gave the writers the chance to do much more with the story. I wouldn't go as far to say the film is a "James Bond out west" but the script is rich in intrigue and contains strong elements of espionage thriller. The storyline keeps you guessing and the identity of the inside man is quite a shock.I'd just like to note that the title is rather misleading. It makes one expect a film similar to that of WINCHESTER 73(1950),thus giving the viewer the impression that the film is the story of the deployment and use of the single shot Springfield Carbine during the early days of the American west, this is not strictly true. The rifle is not used until the climatic battle and is only mentioned briefly throughout the course of the film. It serves merely as a plot device. My theory is that the writers set out to make a film about the Springfield rifle but became more concerned with an espionage spy story and forgot about the rifle premise, therefore having no choice but to jam it in at the end of the film. This doesn't bother me though, SPRINGFIELD RIFLE is a taut, edge-of-your-seat Civil war thriller with rollicking action scenes, stupendous camera-work and finger biting intensity. Expertly helmed by Andre de Toth who made many a great western, this is a fun way to spend a couple of hours. It deserves to be seen on a flatscreen TV with loudspeakers and the volume cranked all the way up to the maximum.9/10.

Tonight I watched "Springfield Rifle" for the third time in my life--but it's the first time in over 25 years. The reason I wanted to see it again was to see if the movie was as enjoyable as I remembered.The film is set during the US Civil War and takes place out West in Colorado. Soon after the movie's start, an officer (Gary Cooper) makes a questionable decision in the face of the enemy and orders his men to run and abandon their horses. As a result, there is a court martial and he's thrown out of the Cavalry for cowardice. Afterwords, Cooper shows a lot of anger and contempt for his old unit and he gets himself arrested. However, he and two Confederate sympathizers escape jail and make towards a band of thugs who work for the South--stealing horses as well as raiding Union supplies and attacking the men.Now it's VERY obvious to anyone who's seen lots of westerns that Cooper is actually working under cover to infiltrate this band of irregulars (i.e., non-military men who fight). This is western movie plot #3--and it's been repeated many, many times--by the likes of Tim McCoy, Randolph Scott, Roy Rogers and many others. Can the film use an old and familiar plot and make it interesting? Well, yes. Cooper was quite good and the rest were fine, as it had a nice ensemble cast of excellent supporting actors (such as David Brian, Lon Chaney, Jr., Guinn Williams and Paul Kelly). However, the big star was the GORGEOUS color cinematography which really made a B-movie plot look into a solid A-picture.So is it a great film? Nah...but it certainly is enjoyable and fun--plus there are a few unexpected angles that manage to punch up an otherwise ordinary plot. Sometimes you don't need an earth-shattering plot--just a well-made film that manages to entertain--and this one sure does.

I agree the movie is an underrated western, it reminds one of John Ford movies, and the direction is great. Some of the acting and direction, e.g. when Col. Hudson figures out Lex is an agent, is really good, as well as other scenes with very subtly fine direction. What also occurs to me is that much of the cinematography in this film is pretty near fantastic. While the setting in Lone Pine, California is nice and makes the filming a little easier in that regard, the lighting and camera work are exceptional, including early and late day shots, and even for the average shots on the set, e.g. around the fort, lighting, etc. Some of the action shots are pretty darned amazing, too, including the running herds of horses. I noticed a mix of saddle horses, mules and draft horses in the herd, which I think lends some authenticity to the film.

Springfield Rifle is the film Gary Cooper made after his much acclaimed performance in High Noon. Not that it's a bad film, but a fairly routine western which even kind of gives away who the inside man is way too early in the film. It would have been better had their been more suspense.Gary Cooper goes undercover to find a ring of rustlers who are working in cahoots with the Confederacy during the Civil War, stealing horses meant for the Union cavalry.To do this he gets himself courtmartialed and drummed out of the army. And he gets the full Chuck Connors treatment, that Connors received on his series Branded. This enables Cooper to join the renegades led by David Brian and Lon Chaney, Jr. Things do get complicated when Coop's wife, Phyllis Thaxter, shows up to tell him about their son who has run away. Her concern nearly derails the mission and her husband.Some good western action is in Springfield Rifle, a couple of pitched battles with the renegades and Cooper finally uncovering the inside man in the rustling ring.Three good performances besides the players mentioned are Guinn Williams as the sergeant who saves Cooper from a hangman, Paul Kelly as the post commander, and Philip Carey as a rival officer to Cooper on the post.Springfield Rifle is good action entertainment for those who like their westerns action filled.