Blood on the Arrow

Blood on the Arrow is a rather confused western that stars Dale Robertson, Martha Hyer and Wendell Corey. It's got everything in it, cavalry, outlaws, Indians and a damsel in distress. Lest no one be confused the damsel is Martha Hyer.

Martha finds a wounded Dale Robertson, an outlaw separated from his men, and brings him back to the trading post where she endures a loveless marriage with Wendell Corey. But before the film is over they will have to put up with Apaches jumping the reservation and Robertson's men, none of whom are as scrupulous as he.

For an outlaw Dale's a little too good to be true. When the Indians kidnap young Dandy Curran, Hyer's son, Robertson gets his men involved in a scheme to rescue the lad that involves stealing army rifles and arming the Apaches. A big old no-no in any Hollywood western.

Personally while I think Martha's beautiful, one of the most beautiful women ever in films, I just can't swallow Dale risking all for her. If I was him, I'd have kept on riding.

The cast performs well, certainly Robertson is no stranger to the Hollywood west. But the film's just a tad bit too unreal for my taste.

The film started off badly for Wade Cooper: a handcuffed prisoner of the US Cavalry, ambushed by Native Americans, wounded in the shoulder by an arrow, staggering through the wilderness . Then he sees Martha Hyer bathing nude in the river ... She takes him back to her husband's trading post and nurses him so well that within a day or two he's able to defeat in hand-to-hand combat a brave who assaults her.

Suspiciously well-graded roads also serve to diminish the film's worth.

Often I feel that monetary values in these old Westerns reflect the era when the film was made, rather than the one that it features. At one point a bad guys reflects that his share of the loot - $4,000 - isn't that much, but in 18971 it would have been very useful indeed - worth some $88,000 in 2021 values.

A predictable ending.

I never cared for dale robertson in any western role ... he always seemed like the out of place easterner ... he was especially terrible in the series "tales of wells fargo" ... in this film he played an outlaw on the run because he held up an army payroll ... the only series he did any good at was "ironhorse" marth hyer was especially hot in this film, her only naked scene i know of and even one indian brave thought she looked good enough for him

"Blood on the Arrow" (1964) is a "B" Western, which mixes together several staples of the genre: Calvary, outlaws, saguaro cacti, Indians, gunfights, a trading post, a hottie, a mine and gold. It rips-off blatant elements of "Shane" and transplants them to the Arizona desert, but gets away with it because there are enough differences. It's just severely mediocre by comparison, although Dale Robertson is stalwart as the hopefully redeemable outlaw protagonist and Martha Hyer is a blonde beauty worth risking everything.

Regrettably, there are some "Why sure!" plot problems and what's up with the trap door that's anything but hidden? Also, you'll clearly see power/telephone lines on 3-4 occasions. I'm assuming that the producers felt they'd pass for telegraph lines, which WERE present in 1871 when the story takes place. I'll accept that argument, I guess.

GRADE: C/C-

In 1871 Arizona, after Geronimo's escape to Mexico and Apache return to the reservation, a tribe of Coyotero Apaches are defying orders to lay down their arms. They attack army patrols and settlements. Captured outlaw Wade Cooper is transported by an army patrol to the nearest fort when they are attacked by Apaches. All are killed, except Wade who is wounded. Making his way to a creek he's saved by Nancy Mailer who washed in the waters. She takes him to the nearby trading post which is run by her family. Clint Mailer is her husband and Tim is her son. The husband has a secret gold mine nearby and has extracted 20,000 dollars in gold nuggets already. The family hides Wade but an army patrol, en route towards the troublesome Apache, tells the Mailers to leave the unsafe area immediately. While they all pack to leave, Apaches attack the trading post and take all rifles they can find. When they want to kill the whites, Clint Mailer promises them many more rifles in exchange for their safety. The Apaches agree but they take the young Tim as hostage. The Apaches promise to return Tim in exchange for the promised rifles in ten days. After their departure, Wade Cooper offers to help the Mailers retrieve their son by stealing army rifles for the Apaches. In return, he wants the gold nuggets Clint has been stashing inside a wagon and under the floorboards inside the trading post. The Mailers reluctantly agree but Wade first needs to contact some of his old buddies to help him steal the army rifles. Wade's buddies eventually arrive at the trading post but the ensuing events prove that no one can be trusted. ...

Quite an enjoyable western with an interesting story, a plot that pulls you in and interesting characters, especially centering around Wendell Corey and his wife. Corey seems more interested in his gold than his wife and son, and predictably Hyer and Dale Robertson are going to fall in love with each other. It's a familiar story, well told, has some fine action sequences, great landscape, but what plays against it is its plodding pace.