Though a fictionalized Western based on George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the film is almost a generic war story covering the enlistment, training, and operational deployment of a group of recruits that could take place in any time period.
Tom Tryon
Capt. Demas Harrod
Harve Presnell
Sol Rogers
Senta Berger
Lou Woddard
Michael Anderson Jr.
Pvt. Martin Hale
James Caan
Pvt. Anthony Dugan
Slim Pickens
Sgt. James Gregory
Erik Holland
Pvt. Clark Gentry
Adam Williams
Pvt. Lucas Crain
Andrew Duggan
Gen. Frederick McCabe
Walter Scott
Lt. Cook
Michael Forest
Fred Cushman
George Ross
Hanavan
Robert McQueeney
Maj. Oliver Marcus
Wayne Rogers
Lt. Mike Moran
William Meigs
Capt. Rand Treadway
Alice Backes
Mrs. Doris Poole
Dal McKennon
Karl Harpane
Paul Birch
Commanding General
Stephen Chase
Gen. Hoffman
Henry Beckman
Salesman
Claudio Brook
Rev. Poole
Director
Arnold Laven
Novel
Hoffman Birney
Writer
Sam Peckinpah
September 5, 2024
6
This is way too long, but maybe the absence of a star to top the billing gives the plot a little more of a chance, and the story is OK. It's a not unfamiliar love triangle type of tale - with soldiers "Harrod" (Tom Tryon) and "Rogers" (Harve Presnell) vying for the affections of the rather fickle "Lou" (Senta Berger) who seems to me quite adept at stringing both men along quite nicely. Once we escape from the rather dull romantic elements, the action sequences as both men have to put their hormonal differences aside and focus on the marauding Sioux start to hot up, and soon we've got a decent amount of whooping and tomahawk throwing as the army and the natives square up for quite a conflagration. It's colourful and entertaining once it gets going and though it offers little new, it is still a well produced and photographed western which with some pruning (almost all of the romance could go for a start) would still make for a decent cavalry story.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00