No one seems to have much enthusiasm for this John Ford Western, despite the fact it stars James Stewart, Richard Widmark and Shirley Jones (remember when she was a star?), and touches on many of the themes of The Searchers. Stewart and Widmark play two cowboys, the latter a soldier, who try to retrieve a series of whites who've been raised by Indians; Stewart is doing is for cash and Widmark for duty, which means its already a less complex, interesting movie than The Searchers and certainly the characterisations and script isn't as good (although the comic brawls are as annoying).
Ford made a lot of buddy movies around this time - Liberty Valance, Donovan's Reef, The Horse Soldiers - but Stewart and Widmark lach chemistry. The film badly needs John Wayne and doesn't have him.
It's also a really depressing story - the Indians have kidnapped these women and basically made them sex slaves; some don't want to come back, others do. Linda Cristal comes back and faces lots of prejudice (especially from women who can't understand why she didn't kill herself) and eventually leaves town. Shirley Jones wonders where her brother has gone and when he's "rescued" he hates it, wants to go home, kills a white woman and is lynched, Stewart and Widmark being unable to stop it. The happy ending consists of Stewart and Cristal going off into the sunset together and Widmark marrying a traumatised Jones.
It lacks classic Fordian moments - the action isn't well done, and there's little warmth, despite antics at a cavalry post and Andy Devine, Woody Strode and Harry Carey Jnr lumbering around. It's also sexist and looks cheap.
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