User reviews

Errol Flynn's last western is a fine one. The story begins near the end of the Civil War. Confederate soldiers led by Flynn are sent to California to recruit more men. But that mission is sidetracked when the men spot a stagecoach under attack by Indians and rush to help. They soon find themselves stranded on Rocky Mountain, along with Union hostages, as they await an Indian assault.

This is a pretty underrated western. I didn't give it a chance for years simply because it was one of the movies made later in Errol Flynn's career and a lot of those depress me. It helps that this is in black & white, so the effects Flynn's lifestyle had taken on him aren't quite as noticeable as his color movies from the same period. It also helps that Flynn's character is supposed to be beaten down by the war. The movie has a simple story but it's told effectively with good performances and an elegiac quality about it that you might not expect. It's better than average for what is basically a cowboys vs Indians tale. Flynn's leading lady in this film, Patrice Wymore, would become his third and final wife in real life. It's a nice cast with some colorful characters actors like Guinn Williams, Howard Petrie, Chubby Johnson, Dickie Jones, and Slim Pickens in his film debut. Jones has a nice monologue about meeting Robert E. Lee. It's a fitting end to Errol Flynn's western career. Definitely one his fans will want to see.

"For it being 1950, I was stunned to find so many real and honest performances. There was none of that obnoxious "Studio Acting" where everyone is chewing scenery and pretending to be their character."

This was the comment of a previous reviewer. Anyone who is "stunned" to find good acting in a 1950 movie has probably not seen many movies from that period. As for "chewing scenery", I wonder if this person has ever paid attention when "method" icons like Dean, Brando, Cobb, Palance, and Penn are on screen. It's often a miracle there's any scenery left uneaten to finish the movie with!

"Rocky Mountain" is one of Flynn's better films (of many good ones), and as always, this underrated actor is real and natural. The movie is also of interest as the debut of noted character actor Slim Pickens. The story is gritty and dark, and the scenery and photography are spectacular. The ending is quite moving. This is a movie worth seeing.

Errol Flynn brings a world-weary look and an understated performance to this William Keighley directed Western. The film features several gifted horsemen Dickie Jones, Buzz Henry, Slim Pickens, Sheb Wooley and the legendary Yakima Canutt. It was the first film for both Pickens and Wooley who both became journeymen character actors.

It is also interesting to see Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore (Mrs. Errol Flynn) work together in their only pairing on screen. The presence of Flynn's carousing companion Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also puts Flynn at ease in this role.

Rocky Mountain blends a Civil War chapter, rampaging Indians and a love triangle all in a solitary location shoot. One of the last black & white Westerns, it holds up well more than 50 years after it was filmed.

This movie has a few surprises that make it far better than one might expect from a "forgotten film".

What I was surprised most about was the directing, which comes across as almost an homage (or "rip-off", if you're cynical) to the great John Ford. What Mr. Ford did for Monument Valley, William Keighley tries to do for Gallup, New Mexico. And, for my money, he does an extremely respectable job of it. The scenery is really beautiful, and all the more dramatic due to the fact this is shot in black and white. There are some great angled shots, clever compositions, and the director does well with the action sequences.

The screenplay dispenses with all the heavy-handed messages and over-the-top, unfunny comedy sequences one might find in a Ford film, and aims its sites on a human drama of confederate soldiers on a mission who are forced to go to Plan B, C, and D in order to not only complete their mission, but to get two Yankee civilians to safety in spite of entanglements with Union soldiers and Indians on the war path. I agree with another IMDb reviewer who commented on the middle of the film dragging, and the suspense that should have been building never quite gets a full head of steam, but there are some really nice moments that make it worth sitting through the few dull spots. And I must admit to being utterly shocked by the ending...I really never saw it coming...which made the final moments in this film extremely poignant.

For it being 1950, I was stunned to find so many real and honest performances. There was none of that obnoxious "Studio Acting" where everyone is chewing scenery and pretending to be their character...everyone in this movie WAS the character they were playing. Errol Flynn is one of my all-time favorites and his restrained performance here was wonderful. This was my first time seeing Patrice Wymore on screen and I really enjoyed her performance...it could have easily become an annoying, whiny, shrill character, but Ms. Wymore made some very nice acting choices and created a believable character. The supporting cast is all solid, but three must be mentioned as stand-outs: 1) The great Chubby Johnson as the stage driver has a small but wonderful role. You might not know his name, but you'll know his face and voice immediately...one of the all-time great Western character actors. 2) A very young Slim Pickens has a wonderful role and proves himself the master horseback rider he was in real life. Great riding, great acting, and pure fun to watch. 3) The real surprise here for me was young Dickie Jones. What an absolute pleasure he was. And, in my opinion, he steals the movie away from all of the far more experienced and well-seasoned actors. He is genuine and earnest throughout, with a great monologue in the middle of the film that sucked me right in and made me believe. He was absolutely wonderful in the part and it's a shame he quit the business to go into real estate...I really think he might have had an Oscar in his future had he continued making movies.

This is not a perfect film by any means, but with strong performances, beautiful scenery, and interesting direction, this "John Ford Lite" Western has enough going for it to make up for any of its shortcomings. It's a real tough movie to find, but if you run across it, I sincerely believe it is worth a viewing.

Hope you enjoy!

Very refreshing western film starring Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore, his last wife/widow who remembers Flynn much more gently than previous wives. For me, the script was fresh, not-so-predictable nor of the same campy flavor of previous Flynn westerns. I'm happy this one turned out so well. Another hidden gem. This film sketches out the story of a tiny band of rebel soldiers led by Flynn's character, Lafe Barstow, whose mission is to wait for a rebel renegade to rendezvous with them atop Rocky Mountain, originally called Ghost Mountain. They save a stagecoach from raiding Shoshone which carries a Northern lady on her way to meet her Yankee fiancée, a lieutenant at a nearby garrison. For the rest of this story, you'll have to rent and watch it yourself! But it's captivating, not the usual cheesy, run-of-the mill cookie cut westerns Flynn often had to play for his studio. The film draws the viewer in emotionally by focusing on each rebel band members individual stories from their homes in the South starting with a fantastic introduction of each by Flynn at the beginning. Trivia: Flynn met his future, final wife during this film. The film was shot in Gallup, New Mexico. This was the last Western film Flynn starred in and it's one he gives a solid performance. Great stuff all way around!

In the War Between the States, some guys were blue-bellies and some wore grey coats, but 20th century Hollywood could agree on one thing: when the chips were down, white Americans put aside their differences and vanquished marauding Indians.

Whereas that theme is subtext in other Westerns, it's front and centre here.

As cheap filler in 1950 this probably played well enough. And for another 25 years or so when almost nobody owned a color TV. Grampa certainly didn't. And he almost certainly had never encountered either a black person or an Indian.

But Jeezus. Within 15 minutes Errol Flynn's character is reminiscing about his plantation back home. Were American audience such ill-read half-wits that it didn't dawn on them that meant he owned black people? One of his hillbilly sidekicks is described as ''the excitable son of a plantation owner," or something along those lines. Another guy is a budding rapist.

I mean holy smokes. Am I supposed to be cheering for these guys? That dog doesn't redeem anything. And that leading lady was no prize, despite becoming Flynn's third wife the same year.

Just the same, Flynn puts in a fine - and sympathetic - performance as always. The man was beyond reproach. For my money the greatest star of Classic Hollywood and, if anything, an under-rated actor.

Errol Flynn was outstanding in this film. An underrated actor, if given the right material, Flynn gave very affecting performances. This is one of those movies. It is realistic and reminiscent of "Little Big Horn", starring John Ireland and Lloyd Bridges.

As a confederate officer fighting a lost war, Errol and his companions save stranded stage coach travelers from Indians on the warpath. He has a sympathetic role in which he showed heroic characteristics without going "over the top". I wish this movie were available in video and hope that the Western Channel will show it. I heartily recommend this film with a rating of 9.

Errol Flynn stars in this 1950 Western which pits him as a villain of sorts during the Civil War period. When Flynn's gang of eight rough riders reach a mountain range in California they witness a band of Indians attack a stage coach. Investigating, Flynn finds a pair of survivors, Patrice Moore & Chubby Johnson & brings them back to his camp. We later learn Moore's fiancée is a Union officer & Flynn has set up an ambush, during a tense bait & switch episode revolving around some coffee brewing, where Flynn & his men get the drop on the soldiers of Blue. The officer was their contact & was about to arrest them, knowing Flynn's mission to raid California on behalf of the Confederacy. Another wrinkle emerges when Flynn's men recognize the Union soldiers scouts, some Shoshones, are actually a chief & his warriors who escape & regroup setting up the last third as Flynn & his men step up for the ultimate sacrifice, put up their lives for the good of all involved. The best asset of this film is its taut pacing & location shoot which during the last climax where Flynn's men are pursued by the Shoshones via horseback is thrilling (Max Steiner's score is up to the task as well). Flynn as always is aces here playing a man of varying shades of bad as you root for him even though historically he was one of the bad guys.

Excellent black and white photography showcases the area around Gallup, New Mexico. Every scene is methodically planned out to take advantage of the surroundings. Add this to a strong cast and it makes it one of my favorites to watch over and over. The story line kind of comes in second on this one.

Errol Flynn has one more fling with Westerns; he made several. This time, he is a Confederate officer on a secret mission to California. Believe it or not, this one is based on historical fact. Plenty of good supporting roles here; including Flynn's real life wife, who has limited acting ability. Better than average Western.

It's 1865. In a desperate last move, Lee had sent eight men led by Captain Lafe Barstow (Errol Flynn) to recruit Cole Smith and his 500 men for an attack on California. They save a stagecoach from a Shoshone war party. Passenger Johanna Carter (Patrice Wymore) is on her way to join her Union Army fiancé Lt. Rickey (Scott Forbes).

I don't like the narrations. It sounds like someone lifelessly reading a book. This has the potential to be a western classic. The story is good old fashion civil war fighting Indians. It has Errol Flynn. It has the epic landscape. They keep cutting to the little dog for the animal lovers. It has the fighting and the melodrama. It's an old fashion western. It's not a classic, but it is better than most.

Flynn is very good here. Playing a diff hero and isn't even with the lady here, there is a scene where the lady and her man(Flynn's prisoner) embrace while he's further off glancing and then glances off. This scene is very poignant for Flynn doing that. The plot is hilarious in context since the Civil War Rebels think they can do anything with a couple of guys in California to scrounge a bandit army and cause chaos, causing Union armies from the East 2,000 miles away to come there giving the Rebel armies in the East a better odd of winning. The lunacy of this is given in narration( a nice touch by Flynn) in the beginning. This movie features the most extensive 'team' under Flynn, and are largely dispensable like someone gives a monologue about beans that goes on and on me and my mom call the "bean monologue" save for one who is the cowboy from Dr. Strangelove shows up here. As I note Flynn glancing off in that one scene, his character spotlights an unusual level of valiant code when asked why he would kill an unarmed prisoner and in another instant ask the same prisoner for his word of honor trust to not escape by the lady he replies that these customs/codes might sound strange but it's all he has to hold on to, familiarities of the past. This makes sense in a situation of chaos this is his comfort.t Lots of night scenes. Also the name Lafe Barstow, Lafe sounds unusual until you realize it is like short of Lafayette, another person of valiance.

I made the decision to watch this Western because so many French people flocked to see it, and it does not take an Einstein to work out that the reason was to recall ancestors in the Southern States who had lived and perished during the American Civil War. I wonder how the French felt on exiting the cinemas where it played. The story is simple; a small group of Confederates go to a place called Rocky Mountain, waiting for reinforcements to get to California on their side. They save an American woman ( Patrice Wymore ) from the Indians and she happens to be a Yankee in love with a Yankee soldier. No spoilers except to say that Hollywood leaves it to the Indians to massacre the Confederates. Errol Flynn gives a restrained performance as the leader of the group of Confederates and the main part of the film shows us the relationships and lives of his group of men. Dickie Jones gives an excellent performance as a youth with a cute dog called Spot. Spot steals the film along with Dickie Jones in giving the best performances, and the last shot of Spot closing his eyes on the massacre of his friend brought a tear to my eyes. I cannot give this a higher score as the film is hypocritical in liking the Confederates and then eliminating them in graphic slaughter. The camera showed all except the scalping. It showed me that Hollywood could do its dirty work in using the Indians to preserve the Yankees from doing the killing. What nauseated me the most was the Yankees putting the Confederate flag on top of Rocky Mountain itself, so as to pay homage to them. That said the film is solidly directed, but the leads roles played by Flynn and Wymore who have clearly fallen for each other are sketchily drawn , and the awful Max Steiner music highlights their unspoken, but obvious desire for each other. Shades of ' Casablanca ' in this !! I loved the dog but not the film.

Rocky Mountain is directed by William Keighley and written by Winston Miller and Alan Le May. It stars Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Scott Forbes, Guinn Williams, Dick Jones, Howard Petrie and Slim Pickens. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Ted McCord.

Tell you what's funny, I was all set to write the prologue to this film as an opener to the review. Taken from a marker that sits at the foot of the actual Rocky Mountain (AKA: Ghost Mountain), it tells us of the noble fact that forms the basis of the story - whist also telling us of the outcome! Couple this with a narration device by our Errol, then you have two rather annoying things that stop this from being high echelon Western film making. As it is, it's a great film regardless.

Plot has Flynn leading a small group of Confederates into California to hopefully curry favour from Cole Smith (Petrie). Smith has a considerable army of outlaws that the Southern Confederates could use in the hope of staving off defeat to the Union forces. Fate, circumstance and matters of honour are set to play their hands.

It was to be Errol Flynn's last Western venture, the last of his work in a genre he was not particularly fond of. How strange to find then that it's actually his best Western film performance. Paired with a director clearly able to tap into something more than being a flirtatious good looking hero, Flynn gives Captain Lafe Barstow a dignified elegance, becoming a leader of men of some considerable substance - and crucially he has screenwriters and producers willing to give us a sombre story.

Filmed out in New Mexico, the surrounds magnificent, it's brilliant how Keighley and McCord cloak the story in a claustrophobic aura. There's a sense of strife as a constant, even as heroic posturing asks us to thump the chest and shout rah rah rah. Flynn's men are a great bunch, lovable tough boy rogues each with their own fallible core, while the mystery element of Cole Smith's involvement in proceedings, and that of the looming Indian War, keeps the narrative interesting.

Wymore would soon become the next in line of Flynn's wives, but there's no hint of it here, the production team writing the characters apart in strong and believable fashion. Wymore's performance is merely ok, but it's not a token job and with so much machismo about it speaks volumes that Wymore and her character are welcome and crucial to the story's soul. Comic relief is kept to an absolute minimum, rightly so, the only jovial sightings here are that when the canine of the piece is in flight, where Steiner steps away from moody Civil War flavours for a bit of jolification.

It is however with the ending where the film could have died on its own sword or thrive, having asked us to invest greatly in Barstow's own - Magnificent Seven - Wild Bunch - The Professionals etc, we need to care about the outcome, to feel it. And we do. The action excites, the stunts and speedy set plays hold court, then the heroism and chest pushed out bravery of it all pays us off - capped off by a character order that tingles the senses as Steiner gives us a "Dixie" lament.

This may not have the bluster of Flynn's other more well known Westerns, and certainly it's not one to be picking up if one is after a mood lifter. It is however a must for those who believe those critics who even today still write of him being a plastic actor, because given the right director, the right material on the page, then Flynn had substance in his locker. It's also one for Western fans to seek out who want more than just your hooray glossy frontage. 8/10

Slow moving, but watchable, tho' I think describing it as "John Ford Lite" is being more than charitable. This somewhat off-beat Civil War western pairs an in-decline Errol Flynn with his 3rd wife, Patrice Wymore. Flynn leads a small Confederate patrol out to California on a secret mission from Robert E. Lee to save the Confederacy. A dozen or so years earlier the film's director, William Keighly, had been replaced as director on THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. WB management was disappointed with the early rushes on ...ROBIN HOOD and brought in their workhorse and Master-Of-All-Genres, the great, Michael Curtiz, who picked up the reins and completed what is generally regarded as THE classic swashbuckler.

Errol Flynn was a great actor and he could save useless script or poor film. THis one is nothing unusual - typical western of Civil War times, with all the impossibly trite clichés - Indians, rocks, horses, lady in love, long talks, terribly poor pavilion shots, bravura music, sped-up battles, silly faces and caricature evil men. Then, there are impossibly handsome heroes and very valiant fervent soldiers who fight and die. OK, but here the film comes too close to a comedy and even farce, and the poor play of some younger men makes it almost a joke. The real nature is very good, and this alone saves the film, as well as Flynn's delivery. The Indians are shown typically - blood-thirsty villains on horses and with no wits at all. The film is mostly slow, sometimes too languid and even boring. Battle scenes are very usual and the bad montage made them, ahem, not so sad, but rather unappropriately funny. This is only for old Hollywood fans, not any one else