One thing I like about THE DESERTER is that it pulls no punches. No political correctness here to take your eye off the prime considerations of survival and revenge.
Captain Viktor Kaleb, convincingly played by the largely unknown then Yugoslav actor Fekim Behmiu, finds his wife skinned and otherwise tortured by marauding Apaches, and he kills her to end her misery. After doing that, he returns to base only to be threatened with court martial by the unsympathetic and bureaucratic Major Brown (played by Crenna, in a largely thankless role as ineffective fort commander).
Kaleb decides to desert the army and go on on the path of revenge right in the heart of Apache territory.
By all accounts, Kaleb is more successful on his ace than Brown's entire troop of misfits that include a lieutenant blandly played by Brandon de Wilde (a child star in SHANE who lost luster as he grew older and sadly died at 30); a chaplain who is a dynamite expert (Chuck Connors, possibly in his most memorable supporting role after THE BIG COUNTRY); Jackson, the Afro-American who hates Kaleb for no particularly clear reasons; the extremely reliable British actor, Ian Bannen, as guest officer of the Imperial Majesty's Army; and Kaleb's only friends, Tattinger (played by the always interesting to watch Slim Pickens) and Natchai (Ricardo Montalban, with a superlative minimalist performance).
And then you get John Huston as Gen. Miles. Montalban and he steal the show. Miles sees the need to use the revenge-driven Kaleb to hit at Apache Chief Durango, who's weaving nefarious plans to overrun the fort from his hideout in Mexico. Behmiu, always accompanied by his trusted wolf, has no sense of humor: he is out to do a job, picks the men for it, and heads them across territory that CHATO'S LAND would seem inspired by, two years later.
Thus Gen. Miles gives Kaleb the mission to strike at Durango and his marauding braves. Kaleb picks a team of men that he knows will test and undermine his authority. He knows that he will have to prove himself and his leadership capacity every step of the way. He and his lone wolf will do it in a relentless atmosphere of desert sand, sun, sweaty men, struggle for survival. Everyone knows the odds are very much against.
THE DESERTER is no masterpiece but it has the great merit of never seeking the easy way out and it certainly avoids any type of hypocritical political correctness. These are human beings pushing against the elements and against a barbaric enemy. No quarter given, none taken. Even children are no saints here.
Footnote: I found it interesting to see Behmiu close the eyes of the lieutenant played by de Wilde. There is something premonitory about that scene: de Wilde would be killed in a car accident in Denver just over a year later.
