They Rode West

This film starts out with a Calvary Army Officer being shot in the leg by a Native American Indian and is treated by an Army Doctor who is bombed out of his mind on booze and tries to operate on his leg and cuts an artery and the soldier dies. Philip Carey, (Capt. Peter Blake) is very upset about other Army doctors who have caused him problems in the past who were on drugs and booze also. Robert Francis, (Dr. Allen Sewart),"Caine Mutiny" '54 is a new doctor and commissioned by the Army to serve with Capt. Peter Blake. Blake mistrusts Dr. Allen Sewart and gives him a very hard time, because he seems to hate all doctors. Donna Reed,(Laurie MacKaye) takes a liking to Dr. Sewart and encourages him to stand up and fight back at Capt. Blake. May Wynn,(Manyi-ten) "Caine Mutiny" is a white woman who is married to an Indian and seeks the help of Dr. Sewart and falls in love with him. This is a great story and will hold your interest from beginning to the very end. It is very sad that in real life, Robert Francis, was killed in an airplane accident right after he made the great film "Caine Mutiny" he was only twenty-five (25) years of age.

Better than expected, with a complex script, lots of action (not all well-staged), and even some character development. Francis is fine as the idealistic young doctor whose dedication to his Hippocratic oath is greater than his oath to the army. As a result, he treats hostile Indians as equals, causing trouble for the cavalry when the tribe jumps the reservation. It's hard to tell if Francis's apparent unease is good acting or still a bit of stage fright for a newcomer. But whichever, it fits in perfectly with a tenderfoot trying to get his bearings in unfriendly surroundings.

At first I thought Donna Reed's super-coy little flirt was nothing more than star-casting that would ruin the movie. But the script deals intelligently with her development as the plot darkens. Carey's excellent as the no-nonsense Captain, who's the realist counterpoint to the doctor's idealism. Note how he's never treated with disrespect even though some of his decisions seem ethically callous. Too bad, however, the writers included the tiresome cliché of a whiskey- loving sergeant as comedy relief. Nonetheless, director Karlson, who would later excel at crime dramas, keeps things moving, and wonder of wonders, even has the Indians shrewdly shooting horses out from under the cavalry.

The movie's theme reflects the growing racial consciousness of the 1950's. I like the way a bond is established between the doctor and the medicine man in their common human concern with healing. But just as importantly, the screenplay manages to make its point without getting preachy. Sure, the production is low-budget, never getting out of greater LA, with an Indian encampment that looks about as real as a Disneyland tableau. Still, it's a thoughtful and generally well-executed little horse opera that's better than it ought to be.

Robert Francis plays Army doctor Allan Seward who is posted to the remote outpost Fort McCullogh where his callowness and inexperience r incurs the enmity of the hard bitten Captain Blake (Phil Carey) .Blake is virulently anti-Indian and when Seward insists on treating Indians who have fallen victim to malaria Blake makes no bones about his antagonism ,feelings shared by the other troopers .He is arrested and faces a court martial while outside war is brewing over the determination of the Indians to leave their reservation and head for higher and healthier ground in the hill country.

Francis died tragically young and his strong performance shows what a loss he was to the movies .Carey is forceful and there are good turns from Donna Reed as the base Commnader's spoiled and coquettish daughter .Phil Karlson directs strongly and the movie is always entertaining if not quite top drawer One for western devotees in our midst

Had he lived to make more than the four films he did Robert Francis might have done a lot of the roles Tab Hunter did. In his memoirs Hunter said that he did so many military based film that he could have qualified for veteran's benefits. The two looked like they could have been brothers and all four of Francis's films had a military background.

They Rode West is a cavalry western and Francis is a young doctor assigned to an army post out west where both the Kiowas and Comanches are pretty hostile. The Kiowas are coming down with malaria living near a swamp as are the military, but the Kiowas have been put there by the government.

Like William Holden in The Horse Soldiers, Francis sees himself as a doctor first and a soldier second. He helps the Indian sick and then commits the unpardonable sin in the military by disobeying orders and telling the tribe they have to move to higher ground.

Nevertheless his sincere concern for the health of the Indians later stands the cavalry in good stead.

Along with Francis are Donna Reed as the niece of the commanding officer, May Wynn as a white Indian maid captive and Philip Carey as his rival who has a more traditional frontier view of the Indians.

Francis acquitted himself well in his first film, sad indeed his career was so short.

Dr. Allen Seward (Robert Francis) is assigned to a western cavalry post, due to his predecessors failings he finds that he is instantly disliked, and even worse, not trusted. Things worsen when during a confrontation at an Indian Reservation, Seward attempts to help an ill Indian infant and befriends the tribe doctor. As the war with the Indians escalates, so does the hatred from the camp towards Seward, with the men even refusing his medical treatment, but with the support of the lovely Laurie MacKaye, and a bond formed with Manyi-ten, an Indian Bride, Seeward may just be the solution to end this troubled conflict?

They Rode West is nothing special in the pantheon of inspiring and intelligent Westerns, what it isn't is one of those boorish standard Cavalry Vs Indians shoot them ups. Playing out with a lot of heart and a purpose of intent, it's a film that has a nice colour sheen, has some real solid acting and doesn't outstay its welcome. Notable for being the first of only four films that a 25 year old Robert Francis would make before being tragically killed in an aeroplane crash, They Rode West will not excite those in search of wall to wall gunfights, it will however be of interest to those who like a story of humane conflict via verbal beliefs. Of the other notables in the cast, Donna Reed adds the required touch of prettiness as Laurie MacKaye and Philip Carey does a nice line as the grumpy commander, Captain Blake. Direction from Phil Karlson is as steady as you would expect for this type of production, to leave me only left to say that it's a recommended film to see the first work of an interesting actor in the making, and of course for a bit of nous in the story. 6/10