The appearance of "B" movie queen Marie Windsor in the opening scene sets up the feud between two American Army officers (Lloyd Bridges and John Ireland) preparing to go off to warn the unseen General George Armstrong Custer that the battle against the Sioux Indians is a lost cause. She's married to Bridges, but his extended absences have caused her to fall into the arms of Ireland, and when Bridges finds them together, he coldly wishes them well before heading off to possible death. When Ireland shows up leading a troop of messengers, he is forced by Bridges to remain on "just in case" something should happen to him. But is Bridges calculating Ireland's own death with the Sioux tribe having hundreds of scouts out keeping an eye (and even executing) any scout the Americans send out? It certainly seems that way. Individual character elements are added through the tales of various soldiers, including one young man who admits to having a difficult time keeping his food down but insists he isn't afraid of a confrontation with the ruthless Sioux, another one preparing to meet his mail order bride from Canada (which of course ends sadly), the arguments of others (which includes Jim Davis of "Dallas" fame) of Bridges' methods, and finally, how various incidents bring Bridges and Ireland to an understanding if not a peace. This well-made historical western changes the real names of its leading characters (a fact we learn in the film's ending sequence) which makes no sense but provides some insight into why men feel they must go on even if the odds look grim and why others suddenly run away from danger.
The excellent performances of the two leads is aided greatly by the ensemble surrounding them. Windsor only has two scenes, the second one a flashback which is basically a re-tread of the opening scene where Bridges discovered her and Ireland together. Bridges' character is as close to a villain as he probably ever played. Even his character in "High Society" (who betrayed old pal Gary Cooper because of his own inner fears) wasn't as dark as this one is. He is even more brooding here than in some of the film noir/crime dramas he was also doing at the time, and he makes every effort to create a very complex man who may or may not be a David plotting to kill his second in command. He's obviously a character who gets the worst kind of personal bad news at the worst possible time, so in heading into an unknown territory of a dangerous wilderness, he seems to feel that he has nothing to lose, even if his soul is in jeopardy. Ireland's character is slightly more noble, and certainly more courageous, because he is aware of what his nemesis may or may not be plotting. One disturbing scene has one of the scouts, injured by a Sioux attack, left to die, and as the troop heads out, a shot of Indians approaching the dying man is shown. A gunshot rings out when the camera cuts back to the troop and they stop only long enough to acknowledge the obvious conclusion. Some of the battles are pretty graphic. Arrows hit in the most obvious painful of places, and one of the characters gets it several times. While they never make it to Custer's Last Stand, this troop is certainly brave in heading that way. In the world of the early 1950's where the future looked grim, the face of courage on screen gave male audiences heart that they could face whatever obstacle America faced with the same grit and determination that got the U.S. out of two world wars with victories both times. On the other hand, you can't help but feel that with natives being bombarded with the white man going west, their own world was changing and they would need to fight to preserve what had long been theirs. So it's a mixed fight overall where truly nobody ended up the winner.
The excellent performances of the two leads is aided greatly by the ensemble surrounding them. Windsor only has two scenes, the second one a flashback which is basically a re-tread of the opening scene where Bridges discovered her and Ireland together. Bridges' character is as close to a villain as he probably ever played. Even his character in "High Society" (who betrayed old pal Gary Cooper because of his own inner fears) wasn't as dark as this one is. He is even more brooding here than in some of the film noir/crime dramas he was also doing at the time, and he makes every effort to create a very complex man who may or may not be a David plotting to kill his second in command. He's obviously a character who gets the worst kind of personal bad news at the worst possible time, so in heading into an unknown territory of a dangerous wilderness, he seems to feel that he has nothing to lose, even if his soul is in jeopardy. Ireland's character is slightly more noble, and certainly more courageous, because he is aware of what his nemesis may or may not be plotting. One disturbing scene has one of the scouts, injured by a Sioux attack, left to die, and as the troop heads out, a shot of Indians approaching the dying man is shown. A gunshot rings out when the camera cuts back to the troop and they stop only long enough to acknowledge the obvious conclusion. Some of the battles are pretty graphic. Arrows hit in the most obvious painful of places, and one of the characters gets it several times. While they never make it to Custer's Last Stand, this troop is certainly brave in heading that way. In the world of the early 1950's where the future looked grim, the face of courage on screen gave male audiences heart that they could face whatever obstacle America faced with the same grit and determination that got the U.S. out of two world wars with victories both times. On the other hand, you can't help but feel that with natives being bombarded with the white man going west, their own world was changing and they would need to fight to preserve what had long been theirs. So it's a mixed fight overall where truly nobody ended up the winner.