Cavalry Scout

This low-budget western programmer is as bland as they come. Even the colour, after half-a-century and nobody (understandably) showing any interest in restoring it, is pale and washed out. Rod Cameron plays the eponymous cavalry scout on the hunt for a stolen Gatling gun the government believes someone is trying to sell to restless Indian natives. He's a little too old for the role of leading man, but he probably needed the work and so was no doubt cheap to hire. The plot is strictly by-the-numbers stuff with no attempt at characterisation beyond the good-bad template Hollywood studios seemed to apply to all characters in their minor westerns. This one was produced by one of the Poverty row studios – Monogram or Republic, I forget which one – which probably goes a long way to explaining why it is so insipid and unambitious. Unless you're on some sad mission to be one of the few people in the world to have viewed all Rod Cameron or Poverty Row Studios' output I'd give this one a wide berth.

OK so this is a routine western but why is that, in itself, so bad? Studios such as Monogram and Republic were adept at turning out exactly what B western audiences wanted to see and understandably worked on the principle of "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

For those of us who still enjoy reliving those magical days of yesteryear, this is perfectly acceptable stuff. Rod Cameron is noble and heroic, the bad guys are very bad, the pretty girl is feisty but needs male support and the soldiers and Indians sort out their differences in the end. In other words, all is as it should be in B Western Land! And to the reviewer who commented that no one had shown any interest in "restoring" the pale and washed out colour, I would make the point that the Cinecolor process was notoriously bad and what you see now is exactly what cinema-goers saw half a century ago. So there's really nothing to restore......

Cavalry Scout is a better than average western.

Its part of the genre of westerns that revolve around an investigation of 'x. And broad community safety rather than dealing with a deadly gunslinger type of film.

They don't exactly string out the investigation but its more than effective.

The acting is enjoyable and the soundtrack is great.

Doesn't have a particular highlight that I could pinpoint, instead the story continues in an even and engaging manner from beginning to end.

You won't come away from the movie blown away but you will have had a good time rooting for the good guys and booing the baddies :)

Just routine, folks, just routine western, produced by Monogram, Allied Artists to be, and starring the eternal Rod Cameron and Jim Davis, both very used to work with director Lesley Selander. Just routine but quite enjoyable for western fans, no problem. Colorful and action packed enough to keep you awake, unless you swallowed a handful of sleeping pills. The stolen Gatling gun scheme is not new in western, and the Indian element either. The Indians must not get this machine gun...Good stuff but quickly forgettable. The quality of this western is a bit above average, good paced, not boring at all. Worth the watch.

It is a routine western starring the dependable Rod Cameron, but as one poster rightly said, routine isn't a bad thing, not when it passes the time well enough. It's not a boring western, matter of fact it's brisk with some thoughtful dialogue especially with a pro-Indian slant, however it can be a bit too talky at times. It needed more action, and that really comes at the end of the film with the stolen Gatling gun spitting bullets. Nice passable western where the good guys were just that and the bad were bad ( just how I like it)