The Bravos

The Bravos was a failed TV pilot that became an ABC Sunday night movie in early 1972. Despite a first-rate cast and surprisingly high production values, it isn't very interesting. I stuck with it to the end, mostly because I was glad to see LQ Jones in a fairly large role.

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.

George Peppard stars in The Bravos a cavalry western where Peppard is a captain in charge of a badly located fort some weather beaten troops and a wagon train that has taken refuge in his post out of necessity. It seems as though they have a martinet of a wagon-master in Pernell Roberts who went and shot a Kiowa chief's son and now he wants protection. The Kiowas want Roberts and to insure they get him they take Vincent Van Patten playing Peppard's son who is visiting.

The Bravos is a routine cavalry western to be sure. Some of the themes however could have used a more poetical director. Coming to mind immediately is Rio Grande where John Ford gets the most out of scenes involving Claude Jarman, Jr. with his parents John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Would that Ford been directing Peppard and Van Patten.

Pernell Roberts between his television series Bonanza and Trapper John, MD. played a lot of villains. His arrogant wagon-master is someone you love to hate and is the highlight of the film.

This one is OK for western fans.

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.

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.