Fort Massacre (1958)

This is quite a western, that reminds one more of war films like Robert Aldrich's "Attack"(1956). During practically the whole film we are in doubt if Sgt. Vinson (Joel McCrea) is placing his personal feelings of hatred for the Apaches, who killed his wife, above the interests of his military mission and his men. Pvt. Travis (John Russel) is a man totally undecided about what to do with his life and also how to judge Vinson, but he is aware of his shortcomings and we identify with him. Pvt McGurney (Forrest Tucker) does not have doubts about Vinson. To him he is willing to kill them all just to get even with the Apaches. Joseph M Newman directed some routine westerns like "Pony Soldier" and "Gunfight at Dodge City", but he did well with "Outcasts Of Poker Flat" and this film.

FORT MASSACRE (1958) takes a standard "lost patrol" war movie plot and adapts it to 1879 New Mexico and a tale of remnants of an embattled cavalry platoon who have to make it through hundreds of miles of hostile desert terrain while fighting off roving bands of Apaches. It's a harsh, gritty take on the subject, uncompromising and fairly unpredictable. It has a tough, grizzled, nearly all-male cast, led by Joel McCrea as a Sergeant forced to take command after all the superior officers have been killed. The members of the platoon gripe and take issue with McCrea over the risks he makes them take, including the decision to attack a large band of Apaches who've taken over a needed waterhole. McCrea is driven by a hatred of the Apaches, who'd killed his wife, and his men are concerned that his emotions are coloring his decision making. It's well-told, gripping, and expertly photographed (by Carl Guthrie) entirely on location. The climax takes place in an abandoned Indian cliff dwelling. It also has a particularly strong cast. In addition to McCrea, the chief soldier characters include Forrest Tucker (TV's "F Troop") as an Irishman who makes light of everything but is especially hostile to McCrea; John Russell (TV's "The Lawman") as a son of privilege who joined the army to find himself; and veteran character actor Anthony Caruso, as Pawnee, a seasoned Indian scout. The other soldiers include Denver Pyle (BONNIE AND CLYDE), Robert Osterloh (WHITE HEAT), and Rayford Barnes (THE WILD BUNCH). Also in the cast are third-billed Susan Cabot (THE WASP WOMAN) in a small role as a Paiute Indian girl hiding out in the cliff dwelling with her grandfather, Francis L. McDonald (NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE). Comic character actor Irving Bacon (the BLONDIE series) pops up as a shady trader who puts the Cavalrymen in danger. It's a consistently suspenseful film with regular bursts of action, including two major gun battles with the Apaches. The action is never contrived and plays out in a believable fashion throughout, with no last-minute rescues or superhuman actions by the cavalrymen. The men behave in an authentic fashion and one can see this film as a respectable echo of earlier war-themed lost patrol movies, including Samuel Fuller's THE STEEL HELMET and Anthony Mann's MEN IN WAR. The ending is quite surprising. The script is by Martin M. Goldsmith (DETOUR) and the film was directed by Joseph Newman (PONY SOLDIER, THIS ISLAND EARTH).The cinemascope photography suffers considerably from the murky color print which ran in a full-frame presentation on Superstation TBS which didn't even bother to pan and scan. As a result, group shots of the men debating plans of action frequently feature off-camera speakers. This is one of many unsung westerns from the 1950s that would benefit greatly from a letter-boxed remastered DVD edition enabling it to be re-discovered by western fans.

A good Western with McCrea as an army sergeant with a severe chip on his shoulder -- his family was killed by American Indians. When the detachment he serves in is attacked, all his superiors are killed and he has to take command of the survivors -- who believe his bigotry will lead them into confrontations which are unnecessary. McCrea is very good at playing the sergeant as a kind of ruined idealist, beating Wayne at his own game. He has a good rapport with Russell, who plays a man more or less in between the two factions -- he's attached to his sergeant, but can see that his hatred may lead them into danger. Cabot also appears as a native woman, but is not given much to do except be the unwarranted object of McCrea's hatred and suspicions. A satisfying action film with a strong anti-racist message.

Unlike John Ford's celebrated cavalry Westerns, there's no humor or sentimentality in this film. It shows the grim situations and less than stellar personnel that cavalry commanders often faced. The interplay between Sergeant Vinson, Private McGurney, and Scout Pawnee is interesting and incisive. McGurney shows how a miscreant within a unit can be as great a menace as the enemy. The cinematography is excellent, paricularly during riding and water hole sequences. Worth looking at, especially for Western fans interested in the cavalry.