The film packs thrills , noisy action , horse pursuits , crossfire , high body-count , cavalry charges and it is fast-moving and quite entertaining . Standard Western about an expedition heading for Fort Defiance and along the way suffering native american attack .It's just after the Civil War , an ex-Civil War soldier called Ben Shelby (Ben Johnson) arrives looking for Johnny Tallon (Dane Clark) whom he plans to murder . Shelby was the only survivor of a battle due to the cowardice of Tallon, that's why he is hell-bent on killing the man whose surrender got his brother killed, but then discovers that a rancher wants him and his blind brother (Peter Graves) killed. Ater finds out a rancher wants that same man and his blind brother killed. Tallon and and his companions have to confront Navajo Indians who go on the warpath and must now battle together postponing the inevitable showdown . This is killer country ... and the story of the guns that won its glory ! All the fury of the last Great Indian Wars !Where "Kill or Die" Was The Indian Cry!...a hunted man and his hunter fight side by side...across the blood-mad terror of the Navajo empire!
The picture gets Western action , shootouts , US cavalry go riding , a love story between a blind man and an ex-prostitute , and it results to be an enjoyable tale . Set during the Arizona Indian Wars with the violent upheaval of brave Indian chiefs as : Cochise , Jeronimo , Vitorio , Mangas Coloradas , when fear and violence spread throughout the land .This one shows a campy , amusing and entertaining glimpse in the Wild West . It's a medium budget film with acceptable actors , technicians , functional production values and pleasing results . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes .vBursting with appealing characters, thought-provoking themes as the peculiar relationship among two attractive characters : a blind and a prostitute , sub-plots , symbols , and with very decent filmmaking and interpretation . There is an odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , as the battles between the stagecoach passengers and Navajos . Nice production design creating an adequate scenario with luminous outdoors , plains , montains and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and atmospheric sets but in B-series style . It stars the always agreeable Ben Johnson as former Civil War solider bent on killing the man whose surrender got his brother killed, and Dane Clark as a gunfighter who eventually gets redemption , but is Peter Graves who steals the show
as the good blind brother attempting to keep his first love . Peter drafted United States Air Force, he studied drama at the University of Minnesota and then headed to Hollywood, where he first appeared on television and later made his film debut in Rogue River (1951). Numerous film appearances followed, especially in Westerns . However, Graves is primarily recognized for his television work, particularly as Jim Phelps in Mission impossible (1966). He made movies of all kinds of genres , Sci-Fi, drama , Western , Warlike , comedy , such as : Stalag , Beneath the 12-mile reef , It conquered the world , Killers from space , The clonus horror , The court martial of Billy Mitchell , The winds of war , Sergeant Ryker , Cruise missile , Legend of the Sea Wolf , Scream of the Wolf, Texas across the river , The Guns and the Fury , The rebels , Survival run, Let's make up , The night of the hunter , The slipper and the rose , being especially known for his special appearances in : Airplane I and II and Men in Black 2 . Peter Graves died of a heart attack on March 14, 2010, just four days before his 84th birthday. His partenaire is the attractive but unknown actress Tracey Roberts . They are accompanied by a fine support cast , such as :vGeorge Cleveland , Ralph Sanford , Dennis Moore and Iron Eyes Cody as Brave Bear ; the latter played several Indian roles , in fact he claimed Native American descent, although he was actually of Italian descent, with ancestors from Sicily , he labored for decades to promote Native American causes, and was honored by Hollywood's Native American community .
The motion picture was well directed by John Rawlins . This B-Hollywood filmmaker had a long and important cinematic career. At the beginning he was an actor, stunt man, gag writer and assistant director . For a while he sidelined as a comedy writer, then became an editor and later directed second features for First National in Britain from the early 1930s. Returning to the US, he joined Universal (1938-46), where he turned out "B" pictures and serials, including installments of the "Dick Tracy" and "Sherlock Holmes" series. And directing various Westerns such as : The Arizona Ranger , Strange conquest, Overland Mail, Men of the Timberland , Rogue River , shark river , Mississippi Gambler , among others. He had similar assignments at RKO (1947-48) and United Artists (1951-53), before branching out into television dramas. Rating : 6.5/10 . Decent and better than average Western.
3 out of 3 found this helpful