The story opens with a man being chased through a typically rocky western landscape; he hides a pair of saddle bags shortly before being attacked by two previously unseen Indians; he is wounded but kills one; the second is killed by the man chasing him. The man running is Greiner, who is wanted for murder and robbery, and his pursuer is Sheriff Lane Dakota who is determined to see him hang. Dakota puts his wounded prisoner on his horse and they ride to the ferry crossing at Apache River.
Once over the river they stay overnight at the station along with the Ann Kenyon, who runs the station, the ferryman, Col. Morsby, a veteran of the wars against the Apache who seems to regret not exterminating them and Valerie Kendrick, a woman on her way to meet her fiancé. They haven't been there long before a band of Apaches turn up; they say they want to trade but they also have understandable grievances about how they have been treated. They say they will depart overnight and return to the reservation but in the morning they are still there and demand that the colonel be handed over to them. This doesn't happen and it isn't long before the station is under attack and there is no way to get help; if they are to survive they will have to fight off the attack themselves as their limited supply of ammunition quickly dwindles.
This is a fairly standard B-western with a well won plot; that doesn't stop it being entertaining though and the single location gives it a good claustrophobic feel. The characters are the sort one would expect and it isn't too difficult to guess who is going to make it and who won't, based on how good they are as people. Stephen McNally does a decent job as protagonist Lane Dakota and Julie Adams is a delight as Valerie Kendrick, looking fantastic in a series of stunning dresses... I'm surprised she found time to get changed so often though! While the threat is from the Apaches the real villains are the bigoted colonel who wronged them in the first place; Greiner who is determined to evade justice and Mrs. Kenyon who is determined to get away even if it means abandoning the others. The story is really just something to hang the action on and the action is great; it starts in the opening minutes and after a short lull while we are introduced to the characters and their situation it barely lets up until the end. Over all I'd say this is worth watching if you are a fan of the genre... at less than eighty minutes in length it won't waste that much of your time even if you don't enjoy it too much!
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