Escape from Fort Bravo

Roper is in a gunfight in Death Valley and is shot in the left shoulder.

When riding into town his right arm is in a sling.

The ladies' dresses had zippers, which were not invented until 1913.

Beecher scans the horizon with a very modern pair of binoculars.

The time of the movie was 1863 according to the introduction but the revolver and the carbine used ( Colt Peacemaker in.

45 colt and Trapdoor Springfield in.

45-70) were not invented until 1873.

That could be a very nice movie, with an excellent cast of luminaries (William Holden as Captain Roper Eleanor Parker as Carla Forester John Forsythe as Captain John Marsh William Demarest as Campbell William Campbell as Cabot Young Polly Bergen as Alice Owens Richard Anderson as Lieutenant Beecher Carl Benton Reid as Colonel Owens John Lupton as Bailey), with seemingly good plot - Union camp for Cofederate prisoners of war, the seemingly excellent nature would also provide a big welcome addition... but the whole thing falls flat.

Beautifully shot by Robert Surtees with a good cast headed by William Holden and Eleanor Parker this is a rather routine Western with a lame script by Frank Fenton. Devotees of the genre will no doubt find something redeeming here but this is 'minor' John Sturges to be sure.

I had written a review of this film under a different variation of my name, but I watched it again, and learned a few things that I missed, so I am reposting and adding. What I missed was perceptive the character of Campbell (William Demerest who played Uncle Charlie from "My Three Sons") was.

In 1863 Confederate soldiers are prisoner at Fort Bravo, a Union fort out in Arizona, where Mescalero Apaches are waging a war to defend their land. The fort is not well-garrisoned because there isn't much chance of an escape from Fort Bravo given the Mescaleros and the inhospitable desert setting.

Eleanor Parker could be alluring when she tried. She definitely had a unique look.

William Holden's first film for MGM hoped to capitalize on his new-found popularity. But "Escape from Fort Bravo" does nothing to enhance his career or the other actors'.

During the Civil War, Union captain at an Arizona fort chases down a group of deserters on their way to Texas (including the woman the captain loves, who aided in the band's escape), but all involved become trapped in a desert trench by bloodthirsty Indians. Director John Sturges' 18th film looks pretty fantastic when it ventures outdoors, due to Robert Surtees' robust cinematography.

For Every Good Thing in this Glossy Western there is something that keeps it from being a Fine Film. Although it is above Average.

That's all the western part there is ... holden and forsythe were both forgetable ...