The Bravos

Not a bad film: an interesting-looking fort, good scenery, L Q Jones gets some decent screen-time and there's no contrived love interest (just a bit of on-off-on romance between two youngsters in the wagon train). But Peppard's persona is a bit too genial for a disciplinarian CO of an undermanned garrison; it was a bit of a shock when, after it has been surprised by the Indians, he puts enlisted men on 18 hours of duty a day and officers on 24 (for three days); not a good idea when there's meant to be 2,000 hostiles threatening 70 just soldiers. We don't get to see many of the 2,000, and the rescue bid (which, thankfully, doesn't descend into the A-team heroics that Peppard came to be identified with) seems to involve taking on just four or five of them. Funny title: I understand "bravos" to be hired ruffians or killers, and none of the protagonists fill this description. Even the fugitive from justice isn't really a bad guy.

George Peppard is the commander of a cavalry regiment out west in Apache territory. His motherless young son has just been sent out to him. Pernell Roberts is a civilian who wants him to do lots of stuff that Peppard resists. And the natives are restless.

It's an episodic TV movie, and shows all the signs of being a pilot for a series that was never picked up. Peppard plays his usual post-60s larger-than-life character, but there's still a blankness to him; earlier in his career it lent a certain juvenile appeal to his roles; now it's just..... impenetrable. Ted Post offers his usual competent but bland direction.

Typical seventies TV movie. Actors did not bother cutting their hair for the period period, over acting and under acting. Prunelle Roberts way out of character, And should not have even accepted this role.

It's movies like this that give westerns a bad name. Yes, it was made for TV, but that's no reason to bore the viewers. But at least the Kiowas were played by Native Americans and not not a bunch of white guys with feathers in their rugs.

I like Westerns and was hopeful for this one, which I had never seen before. Didn't like it. It seems like a failed pilot for a Western series on TV. And it happens to be a TV movie. It's long, filled with a lot of characters and plot (young lovers' quarrel, convict on the run, insubordinate officers, etc.), and is -- boring, still... .... On second viewing, it seems better. Well acted, interesting, moves a long.

***lots of spoilers****

The movie is unique to its detriment. There is no love interest for the star, Peppard. And Peppard is the commanding office of this little military post 500 miles from civilization. It would have been more interesting if he had a middle rank and bucked the system to achieve final success. Those are clichés but would have made for a more interesting movie.

I didn't like the soap opera little disputes among the characters. I didn't like the way Peppard's trusty scout L.Q. Jones was constantly going out alone into barren hostile Indian territory finding all sorts of things and information and returning quickly and safely, as though he had strolled through his own backyard.

One example of the flatness of the movie is that the little wagon train that gets to the fort for safety, at the end of the movie decides to return to St Louis for safety. The other main plot of the movie is this trite and incredible happening: the fort is attacked by Indians, and Peppard's young antagonistic son, who was just kicked out of boarding school in the East, is kidnapped by one of the Indians! So Peppard and L.Q. Jones go off alone into the wilds to rescue him.