Apparently Cavalry Westerns weren't very kind to Errol Flynn. As General George Armstrong Custer in the 1941 film "They Died With Their Boots On", he also wound up with a few arrows in his back. Oh well, up until the finale in both pictures, he did a pretty good job.
Actually, Flynn plays it decidedly low key here as Captain Lafe Barstow, leading a rag tag group of seven other un-uniformed Confederate soldiers on a mission in California. He's there to recruit fighting Rebels for the Southern cause. It seemed a bit odd to me that the man they were supposed to recon with, Cole Smith (Howard Petrie), was unceremoniously dropped from the script about half way through. The Shoshones took him out off screen with only a rider-less horse showing up to announce his departure.
This is one of those stories where men of opposing armies wind up realizing something of value in their battlefield enemies. The valiant charge Barstow makes with his men in the face of certain annihilation makes for one of the more violent battle scenes one might come across in a Western, primarily for the up close and personal way each of his men get taken out. Barstow himself hangs on as the last man, having sacrificed himself and his troops to save the life of Johanna Carter (Patrice Wymore). The unspoken connection between the two was never overstated but one could feel the palpable chemistry between the two.
Some interesting casting choices show up here in support of Flynn. No stranger to cavalry films, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams appears as crusty veteran Pap Dennison, along with Western movie mainstays like Slim Pickens and Chubby Johnson. A neat surprise was that 'Purple People Eater' guy Sheb Wooley making his movie debut here. I would like to have seen Dickie Jones in a role more suited to his stunt riding ability, but he had to content himself with a role as trail cook for the Rebs. It was tough going for him though because he had to avoid being upstaged by that sidekick terrier Spot.
Actually, Flynn plays it decidedly low key here as Captain Lafe Barstow, leading a rag tag group of seven other un-uniformed Confederate soldiers on a mission in California. He's there to recruit fighting Rebels for the Southern cause. It seemed a bit odd to me that the man they were supposed to recon with, Cole Smith (Howard Petrie), was unceremoniously dropped from the script about half way through. The Shoshones took him out off screen with only a rider-less horse showing up to announce his departure.
This is one of those stories where men of opposing armies wind up realizing something of value in their battlefield enemies. The valiant charge Barstow makes with his men in the face of certain annihilation makes for one of the more violent battle scenes one might come across in a Western, primarily for the up close and personal way each of his men get taken out. Barstow himself hangs on as the last man, having sacrificed himself and his troops to save the life of Johanna Carter (Patrice Wymore). The unspoken connection between the two was never overstated but one could feel the palpable chemistry between the two.
Some interesting casting choices show up here in support of Flynn. No stranger to cavalry films, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams appears as crusty veteran Pap Dennison, along with Western movie mainstays like Slim Pickens and Chubby Johnson. A neat surprise was that 'Purple People Eater' guy Sheb Wooley making his movie debut here. I would like to have seen Dickie Jones in a role more suited to his stunt riding ability, but he had to content himself with a role as trail cook for the Rebs. It was tough going for him though because he had to avoid being upstaged by that sidekick terrier Spot.