Escort West

Escort West is an unpretentious little Western starring that unpretentious actor Victor Mature. Vic was the original muscle man. Before there was an Arnold Schwarzeneger, even before there was a Steve Reeves, there was Victor Mature. Yet unlike those two aforementioned massive hulks, Vic was graceful and athletic enough to look good in a suit, at least the loose fitting types worn in the 'forties and 'fifties, which constituted his flourishing period. In My Darling Clementine they even managed to pass him off as a consumptive Doc Holliday by keeping him in a grossly over-sized coat and using extra shadow under his eyes. Vic apparently never took himself very seriously as an actor, nor did most film critics. One wag quipped that in a certain movie Victor Mature used all of his muscles except the ones in his face. Okay, he wasn't an Olivier, but in Escort West he turned in a solid, sensitive, charming and effective lead performance.

And he did it with out letting the dreaded presence of a child actress steal the show. Vic plays an ex-Confederate Captain, recently widowed and on his way to start a new life in Oregon with his young daughter (Reba Waters) soon after the Civil War. I must confess that as a life-long old grouch, I usually don't like movies where a cutesy kid plays a major part, but little Reba charmed the socks off of me in the first scene and continued to do it for 75 minutes. Seldom does a child actor or actress turn in such an understated and dignified, yet charming performance. The tender yet never syrupy relationship between the father and daughter amidst the adversity of war, losing their wife/mother and their home, and now hostile Indian attack is one of the elements that gives this story a slight edge over the average B oater.

Not that Escort West doesn't have other good points. The script, co-authored by Bruce Gordon, who also plays one of his typical brutish heavy parts in the movie, is conventional but lucid and entertaining. Francis D. Lyon's direction and smooth editing keeps the action-packed story tense and exciting. Good use is made of the black and white Cinemascope format in both action sequences and panoramic views of the scenery. Characterization is a strong point helped along by a platoon of veteran western character actors the like of Noah Beery, Jr., Slim Pickens, Rex Ingram, and Harry Carry, Jr. The female lead and second lead Elaine Stewart and Faith Domegue also make competent contributions.

This little B programmer displays an unusual authenticity for a western of this era. It was particularly impressive that the cavalry uniforms were true to the Civil War era and not the usual stock 1870's Indian Wars uniforms, which are quite different. The Sharps breech loading carbines used by the cavalry and the Indians were likewise accurate to the 1860's. The Remmington revolvers, though actually later cartridge models, did good service showing profiles that look like period cap and ball revolvers. The holsters looked like Civil War types, and the gun belts were lacking cartridge loops (cap and ball revolvers used delicate paper cartridges which couldn't be carried in loops). The renegade Modoc Indians, who were the principal menace, dressed as most Indians of the period would have -- not naked savages who had only just come into contact with civilization, but wearing mostly the same clothes the whites did with a few Indian flourishes like gaudy belts and leather leggings. Like any acculturated Indian criminals, they used rifles and pistols, instead of bow and arrow and spear, and they fired from behind cover instead of throwing themselves away in dervish-like rushes as we see in so many clichéd westerns.

Admittedly not in a class with Red River or even one of Randolph Scott's better numbers, Escort West nevertheless delivers exciting family entertainment for an hour and fifteen minutes. In many ways it was better than any number of more sumptuously turned out westerns, and for this old, weathered oat-burner fancier at least, better than all but the very best of those whistling, ricocheting spaghetti-burners.

Made during the height of the western film genre's popularity, "Escort West" overall isn't terribly exceptional, but it does provide an easygoing hour and a quarter of entertainment if you are not in a terribly fussy mood. Even under those circumstances, some minor flaws do arise. It was obviously shot quickly and fairly cheaply - there's nothing really in the way of eye candy on display here. The character of Victor Mature's daughter could easily have been edited out without having to rewrite the rest of the movie. And Victor Mature himself only gives an adequate performance. But the movie does move along fairly swiftly and does not overstay its welcome, and there are a few fairly tense moments here and there. This movie won't make western haters into converts, but if you are a fan of the genre it's an okay way to kill some time.

Not much going on here. Made on the cheap by John Wayne's Batjac Productions. Veteran director Francis D Lyon moves the story along without much in the way of character development or a great deal of real western action. Black and white cinematography gives it the look of a television western episode. To it's credit,the film boast a very capable cast led by Victor Mature.Mature seems a bit out of place as a widowed former Confederate soldier taking his young daughter to the Oregon Territory to begin a new life. Leo Gordon,who gets credit as one the screen writers, is his usual intimidating self as one of the cavalry troopers who is up to no good. Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr,, Slim Pickens, and Noah Berry Jr are in the cast but are kind of wasted in nothing roles. Faith Domergue and Elaine Stewart portray sisters who are also heading to Oregon to start new lives and you just know one of them will wind up in Vics arms. Domergue is over the top as she hates Mature because her fiancé was killed in the Civil War by the Confederates Rex Ingram turns in a nice performance as the black cavalry quartermaster who is critically wounded in an attack by renegade Modoc Indians.

Most of the action is off screen, so we get a lot of Mature and his daughter bonding and Domergue whining and griping.The outcome is fairly predictable. This isn't the worst Western ever made but considering the talent that was available and wasted it's pretty disappointing.Mature once said of his career" I'm no actor and I got 52 movies to prove it!"

I rarely have seen a film where nearly everything about it is good but one character simply ruins the film. It's that bad with Martha (Faith Domergue)...as her character is tough to believe and is unbelievably annoying and abrasive.

When the story begins, Ben Lassiter (Victor Mature) is taking his daughter out west to live. After all, the Civil War just ended and he wants to raise the child in the wilderness. But when the pair stop to get a bite to eat, a group sitting nearby make it hard for the Lassiters. As they're eating, Martha keeps talking about 'them dirty Rebs' and the like. This is rude...but not too surprising considering the war just ended.

Later, the Lassiters are attacked by renegade Modoc tribesmen*. After escaping, they soon meet up with what's left of a group who was attacked by the Modoc...and only a black soldier (played very well by Rex Ingram) and two sisters.... Beth (Elaine Stewart) and, you guessed it, Martha!

Now you'd think after Ben rescues and helps them that Martha would be a bit nicer. Well, you'd be wrong. Throughout most of the rest of the film, Martha whines, cries, shouts and pretty much behaves like a wolverine with a toothache! After a while, it becomes tiresome....not just because it's hard to believe anyone would be this nasty and ungrateful but also because you just get tired of watching her. Yes, it's THAT bad.

What makes this even more awful is that the film is generally pretty good...and if they'd totally eliminated Martha from the film, it would have worked very well. The acting (aside from Domergue) is excellent and the story interesting (aside from when Martha is in it). Rarely have I ever seen a film that could have been so good simply ruined because a character is so difficult to believe and it so annoying to watch.

*Apparently, Modoc did attack various groups of settlers during this time. Considering their land was being invaded, you could understand why....but according to one source I read, they accounted for about 400 deaths.

"Escort West" takes place in Nevada, a few years after the Civil War has ended. Victor Mature plays Ben Lassiter, a widowed ex-Confederate soldier travelling West with his 10 year old daughter Abbey (Reba Waters). Deadly Indian warriors named the Modocs are on the prowl, and Ben realizes that they have caused death and destruction in a way station that he had very recently visited. He gathers together the survivors: the bitchy, grudge carrying Martha Drury (Faith Domergue) and her much nicer sister, Beth (Elaine Stewart), and amiable old sutler Nelson Walker (Rex Ingram). He promises to stay with them as they make their dangerous trek through hostile territory.

There's nothing particularly distinguished about "Escort West", but it's still a solid and engaging movie of this type. An uncredited John Wayne was one of the producers. Director Francis D. Lyon creates some scenes of genuine suspense, and the action is likewise decently executed. This is all photographed in atmospheric, black & white widescreen by William H. Clothier. The antagonists are not exactly a faceless bunch, but they're a fairly scary group of men: relentless, unspeaking, unemotional, one-dimensional killers. The lovely music score is courtesy of composer Henry Vars.

The cast is full of familiar faces and excellent right down the line. Mature is just the kind of hero you want in this sort of thing: kind, compassionate, but tough and dependable. Beautiful women Stewart and Domergue are effective, although some might find Domergues' character a bit tough to take. Noah Beery Jr., John Hubbard, Harry Carey Jr., Slim Pickens, William Ching, Ken Curtis, Claire Du Brey, and Syd Saylor co-star. Also in the supporting cast is the great screen heavy Leo Gordon, who co-wrote the screenplay with Fred Hartsook. Child actress Waters is appealing without becoming overly saccharine.

This is a good, diverting story told in fairly trim fashion and running a very reasonable 77 minutes long.

Seven out of 10.