Art Vandelay This is an MGM romance dressed up in civil war rags, with some old-fashioned injun-killing to satisfy '50s tastes. Dull Eleanor Parker is on screen far too much. Holden spendsmore time chasing her skirt than he does chasing escaped Confederates or marauding Indians. The only interesting scene is when the camp colonel tells Holden the skirt was playing him so the rebels could escape. Holden illustrates with facial expressions why he was such a great actor. Next scene he's yelling at the sergeant for some reason. Am I the only one who never believes a word Holden says when he's yelling his lines? Purring or growling, yes. But not yelling. I don't think the guy had the genetic makeup to get geniunely angry enough to yell. And the fight with John Forsythe. So much cheese. So many punches that don't come close to landing. Photography is excellent, so I gotta give it some credit. But it would have been a more interesting movie with much less Parker, more bullets put in Confederate jack@@ses, and more Indians that were better at warfare.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) MGM did not make many westerns but we knew when an MGM would come along it would be good and this one surpassed our expectations. How successful it was among the guys in my class in high school in the fifties! Most westerns had tepid love stories, but this had a torrid one with William Holden as the tough Capt. Roper and Eleanor Parker as the troublesome Carla Forester. No need to praise the director John Sturges he has to his credit "The Magnificent Seven", "Bad Day at Black Rock" and "Gunfight at the OK Corral". And what a supporting cast with Polly Bergen, William Campbell (Man Without a Star), John Forsythe… Frank Fenton who wrote the screenplay also did "Garden of Evil", "Ride Vaquero" and "River of no Return". And Robert Surtees the cinematographer has a lot of great films to his name. In spite of all those names, we know sometimes it can go wrong but not here. When they are surrounded by the Mescaleros, it is tense and exciting, memorable scenes. Don't miss this one.

David_Brown I had written a review of this film under a different variation of my name, but I watched it again, and learned a few things that I missed, so I am reposting and adding. What I missed was perceptive the character of Campbell (William Demerest who played Uncle Charlie from "My Three Sons") was. His remarks to fellow Confederate Soldier Cabot Young (William Campbell) were priceless. Like when Young asked him about old men fighting the war, and he said "Because you young men are losing it." Or when he said "Just go to sleep, I will wake you up when you are dead." Spoilers Ahead: He knew he would not survive, nor would Young (check out how they died together, at the hands of Indians). I do not think it was any accident about how linked the characters were (the name "Campbell" or the word and name "Young" were not there but accident). You could look at this as a father and son relationship or the Confederacy losing to the Union (or both). They were supposed to be comedic, but there were serious messages hidden in the comedy (messages I missed). As far as the main character, Capt. Roper is concerned, it certainly helped having William Holden in the lead. Holden excelled at Westerns ("The Wild Bunch", "Alvarez Kelly", "Streets of Laredo", "The Horse Soldiers" & "The Man From Colorado" to name a few), as he did in almost every film he was in. This film is no different. What makes it work is the complexity of the character Capt. Roper (an interesting name for a jailer (and again no. This is a man who is as tough as nails, and makes Javert (From Les Miserables), or Lt. Gerard (from "The Fugitive") seem like normal people, the way he hunts down Confederate Prisoners like animals (Like he did with Bailey (John Lupton)). Note: Even the name Roper is an interesting name for a jailer and how he captures escaped prisoners (and again not done by accident). Yet, underneath it all, there is a very different person. He does stuff like grow roses "Roper's Roses" that would be unexpected from such a hard a**. I love the relationship between him and Carla Forester (Eleanor Parker), who is very much like him (putting love and happiness last (but unlike Roper, does not know it)). She is a Confederate Spy who is engaged to Capt. Marsh (John Forsythe), and breaks him out of the stockade, and goes with him, not because she wants to, but because of duty and obligation. Marsh, who is the other major character in the film, is another very interesting character, he (like Campbell) seems to know that things will not work out the way he planned. Spoilers ahead. He knows that Carla really belongs to Roper, like when he had to snap at her to go with him when he and the other Confederate Soldiers escaped, and when after a fight and he was mortally wounded, he told Roper that Carla fell in love with him, and she only did her duty (Helping them escape). Finally he died with a smile on his face when Bailey (The only Confederate soldier to survive), ending up learning from Roper & Marsh how to be a hero, by escaping the Indians, and instead of running away, like he did earlier, he went back to the fort, and brought back the soldiers to save Roper, Carla, and Lt. Beecher (Richard Anderson), who was the only other survivor (interesting that Campbell somehow knew that would happen?). He also knew that Roper was the right person for Carla, because of his willingness to sacrifice himself for her and Beecher (When he went out to face the Indians alone, just before the Calvary showed up). Now in real life, it would be logical to assume that Carla would be Court Martialed and imprisoned for being a spy (they wound not hang a woman back in those days), and Bailey would be returned to the POW Camp to wait out the Civil War's end. But you get the feeling that since they were far from Washington, Col. Owens (a very wise, decent and humane Commander), would let Bailey go home (as a reward for saving Roper and especially Beecher (who married his Daughter, Alice)), and since no Union Soldiers died in the escape, he will probably let Carla go as well. Why? He never liked Roper's harsh tactics, and Roper might be even harsher to prisoners (or simply stops doing his job) if Carla is locked up, so why not simply let her go (provided Roper goes far away with her?). By freeing both Bailey and Carla (and taking Roper out of the equation), he can create a better POW Camp for everyone involved (certainly the Rebel POW's will appreciate that act, and Owens may need their help with the Indians down the line). Basically in the end, Roper goes from a "Roper" to being "Roped BY her" and like Bailey, is able to erase his personal demons, by physically and psychologically "Escaping From Fort Bravo." I really love this movie, and it deserves my highest praise 10/10

zardoz-13 "Bad Day at Black Rock" director John Sturges' first period horse opera, "Escape from Fort Bravo," takes place during American Civil War at a remote cavalry stockade doubling as a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. Of course, the plot concerns an escape attempt by the Confederates and they take advantage of inside help. The Frank Fenton screenplay based on a story by Philip Rock and actor Michael Pate is rather formulaic stuff right up to its cavalry ex machine ending. Nevertheless, the dialogue with its philosophical ramblings about life, death, and love surpasses the usual oater.Lensed by Robert Surtees in Death Valley as well as locations in Gallup, New Mexico and at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in California, this western boasts striking scenery that Sturges puts to great use during the last half-hour when the Indians launch an attack on our stranding group of heroes. Indeed, this was the first time that Sturges and Surtees paired up. Later, they worked together on "The Law and Jake Wade," "The Satan Bug," and "The Hallelujah Trail." "Escape from Fort Bravo" has an isolated look thanks to these arid looking locales that heightens its authenticity. Sturges makes great use of the landscape, especially during the climactic Indian attack and does a splendid job of setting up the attack. William Holden heads up a solid cast including Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest, William Campbell, Richard Anderson, Polly Bergen, John Lupton, Carl Benton Reid and Glenn Strange.The film opens with a foreword. In 1863, while the War Between the States still raged, a large group of Confederate prisoners were held in a sun baked stockade at Fort Bravo, Arizona Territory. Captor and captive—these men in blue and gray—eyed each other with hatred. In the wilderness around them, a common enemy eye them both—deadly Mescalero Indians. Afterward, in a series of long shots, we see a horseman in a blue cavalry uniform with a man in gray tagging behind him on a rope. Bob Bailey (John Lupton) has tried to escape, but U.S. Cavalry Captain Roper (William Holden of "Golden Boy") has recaptured him. He takes him back to Fort Bravo and few are happy to see him return with the prisoner.The situation at the outset promises a compelling tale. Fort Commandant Colonel Owens (Carl Benton Reid) sums it up when he explains to Roper that the POWs outnumber the guards at an outpost in the middle of nowhere infested with hordes of bloodthirsty Mescalero Indians watching their every move. Owens makes explicit his sentiments about Roper. "When I see you soldiering, Roper," Owens observes, "I'm glad we're in the same army." Nevertheless, adds Owens, "I use to have a full regiment now I've got one troop. I've got as many Confederate prisoners as I have men." Roper understands their predicament. "Colonel, I don't know whose going to win this war, the North or the South, but we're here to hold this country for one of them, even if we have to arm those Reb prisoners." Owens wonders about his fitness for command. Roper observes, "This is a hard country to stay alive in colonel, much less to stay young." "Escape from Fort Bravo" documents the enormous lengths that the Confederates go to so they can escape. After Roper buries a cavalry detail wiped out in the desert by the Indians, he has a stagecoach skid into his camp. Indians had been chasing the coach and a woman, Carla Forrester (Eleanor Parker of "Detective Story"), in the coach wields a derringer, and kills an Indian. Carla explains that she was heading to Fort Bravo to attend Alice Owens marriage. Alice (Polly Bergen of "Arena") plans to wed U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant Beecher (Richard Anderson of "Macho Callahan"). In truth, Carla has come to Fort Bravo to help her lover, Confederate Captain John Marsh (John Forsythe of "Destination Tokyo"), and handful of soldiers, including Bob Bailey (John Lupton of "Julius Caesar"), Sergeant Campbell (William Demarest of "All Through the Night") and Cabot Young (William Campbell of "Backlash") escape. After Alice's wedding, a general store owner, Watson (Howard McNear of "The Andy Griffith Show"), will smuggle the Confederates out of Fort Bravo in his wagon.Matters grow complicated, however, when Carla begins to reciprocate the love of the man that she is supposed to distract. Roper shows Carla his roses and bares his heart to her. He wants to marry her and she loses control of herself and joins the Confederates in Watson's wagon. The following day, Roper and a small patrol light out after the Confederates. Roper catches up with the cowardly Bailey at a nearby town. Bailey learned about the Mescalero Indians on the warpath and decided to await Roper's arrival. Roper takes Bailey with him and they recapture the Confederates. No sooner has Roper caught them than the Indians come breathing down their collective necks. Roper and company outrun the Indians and take refuge in a wash surrounding by mountains. Our heroes blast away at the Indians until the redskins retreat to the heights and surround Roper and company with lances. The Indians use the lances to aim their arrows and they unleash dozens of arrows.The resolution to our heroes being cornered by the Indians is the cavalry appears at the last minute. Right up until the cavalry arrives, "Escape from Fort Bravo" looks pretty bleak. Sturges direction is competent enough in the dialogue scenes where the exposition and philosophical notions are crisply and effectively delivered. The bulk of the humor comes from the byplay between the older Demarest and younger Campbell. Jeff Alexander's music is nothing special, though the theme song is vibrant. The final set-piece where our heroes are pinned down by the Mescaleros is exciting stuff. Holden is appropriately gruff at the hard-bitten Roper and Parker is easy on the eyes. You can tell when the filmmakers are on location and when they are using a studio. Nevertheless, this is a very good western drama.