Fort Massacre (1958) Reviews

• Tough, gripping "lost patrol" western set in 1879 New Mexico

  BrianDanaCamp2003-05-10

  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.

• Sharp and edgy minor Western

  lorenellroy2010-01-19

  The patrol movie has been a staple of cinema since its very early days and has cut across many genres including the war movie and ,as in this case,the Western.The setting is New Mexico in the late 1870's and a platoon of the US Cavalry is trying to make its way back to base under less than auspicious circumstances .Its officers are all dead ,killed in action by the Apache,and its leader,by default is Sergeant Vinson (Joel McCrae -cast in a rare unsympathetic role).Vinson is neither liked nor trusted by his men who believe that he is so embittered by the death of his wife at the hands of the Apache that his judgement is flawed and that he will risk their lives for his own revenge .His bellicose attitude seems to reinforce this belief as he orders an attack on a superior force of the enemy as they camp by a waterhole ,with heavy loss of life.This is not the only encounter with the enemy as he and his men take shelter at a seemingly abandoned adobe dwelling where he is besieged by the Apache. Shot wholly on location by the estimable Carl Guthrie this a tight ,taut movie that moves with pace and efficiency .The acting is excellent with special praise to MacRae ,John Russell as an educated drifter turned soldier Travis ,who becomes a confidante to Vinson ,Forrest Tucker as Irish born trooper McGurney (the role Andrew McClaglen usually played in John Ford pictures)and Anthony Caruso as the Native scout Pawnee .McRae in particular shows us that he could play morally complex and driven characters every bit as well as did James Stewart in his movies for Anthony Mann .Vinson is an angry and bitter man ,qualities the actor brings out well Joseph M Newman directs briskly and stages some lively action sequences in what is a predictable but highly entertaining minor Western

• C Troop and their pocket watch leader.

  Spikeopath2010-01-29

  Joel McCrea stars as tough US Cavalry Sergeant Vinson, who has to take command of C Troop when the senior officers are killed during an Apache attack. But what drives Vinson on? And is he the right man to lead the remaining members of the Troop? Directed by Joseph Newman, the films photography comes from Carl Guthrie, screenplay is courtesy of Martin Goldsmith, it's filmed in CinemaScope with De Luxe colour and the co- star list contains Forrest Tucker, John Russell, George N. Neise & Susan Cabot. A moody and tough psychological Western that showcases the truly good side of the "B" Western splinter. Thematically strong with its anti- racist core, and really tightly written by Goldsmith, it's also notable for containing a wonderful performance from McCrea. Tho his Western output was very hit and miss {the brilliant Peckinpah film Ride The High Country was to come 4 years later} McCrea was always value for money in even the tardiest of Oaters. Here he gets to really grizzle for all his worth, his Vinson is a bitter man, blinded by hate, yet still capable of softening up if engaged in the right conversation. McCrea is first rate in the role, never over doing the hard-nosed side of the character and garnering believable sympathy when his guard is down. More known for being the director of This Island Earth, Joseph Newman is hardly the name one links to the direction of a psychological Western. Yet he does a surprisingly good job with the action sequences and rightly lets his actors just tell the story. There's a small complaint that the final battle is all too brief, but that's a touch offset by a hillside C Troop/Apache battle that takes place in the first third of the film. Briskly constructed and with no saggy male posturing to weigh it down, the battle shows Newman to be quite adept at crafting a good old fashioned fight to the death between two very old fashioned foes. The film also looks terrific. Tho sadly not having a widespread DVD release and therefore not getting a remastered work over, the current print of the film available to television networks and Region 1 DVD is still a treat in this High Definition age. Where once the print was apparently murky, you now should be able to adjust and reap the benefit of what is on offer. Filmed at three locations, Gallup-New Mexico, Red Rock State Park-New Mexico & Kanab-Utah, Carl Guthrie's photography really utilises these locations, one moment it be a beautiful sprawling landscape, the next the rocks are enveloping the characters to portray the tension and confinement of their emotional and physical journey. All given the De Luxe sheen as the browns, reds and uniform blues come vividly to life. Fort Massacre is little known and certainly under seen, thus its reputation has been founded by the casual Western viewer entering into it unaware of what type of character driven film it is. It's hoped that it can now find a newer and more appreciative audience because it's one of the better B Westerns of the late 1950s. 8/10

• Very good--and quite complex despite a seemingly simple story.

  MartinHafer2011-10-25

  While there have been a ton of westerns involving the US Cavalry, this one is a bit different. Instead of the usual 'Indians-bad/Cavalry-good' mentality, this one is much more complex and the moral implications are not so cut and dry. "Fort Massacre" begins with a small band of Cavalry enlisted men stuck in enemy territory. The local Indian tribe has attacked and killed the Commanding Officer and now the Sergeant (Joel McCrea) is in charge. This may not be a good thing, as McCrea has a VERY personal stake. After all, his family was wiped out by Indians and he has a serious chip on his shoulder as a result. Many of his men (particularly Forrest Tucker playing his usual loud-mouth character) balk at his authority--they think that McCrea is more interested in killing the Indians than making sure they get back to the fort. John Russell plays an 'everyman' sort of guy. He is neither on the side of the folks against McCrea nor is he going to blindly follow him. The only negative of this character is that he's supposed to be a guy who's had many jobs and is looking for a purpose in life--so he joined the Cavalry. BUT, he also said he graduated Magna Cum Laude at a university--and it is hard to believe he's only be a private. The only other part that was really hard to believe was the Indian woman--who spoke like a middle-class white lady! Still, despite a few problems, the film was very compelling because it took a psychological look at people AND offered a complex story with characters who were NOT 'cookie cutter' western heroes. Well worth seeing.

• As hard as a carbine butt.

  Mister-UHF2002-12-01

  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, particularly during riding and water hole sequences. Worth looking at, especially for Western fans interested in the cavalry.