kenjha A cavalry troop navigates through a remote territory while trying to overcome repeated Indian attacks. This looks very much like the second feature on a B-movie double-bill. The plot is somewhat meandering and the characters are nothing more than stereotypes. The flat direction doesn't help matters. There is intermittent philosophical discussion, but much of the dialog is amateurish. For example, McCrea says something like this about his late wife: "She wasn't much to look at, but she was kind. She would catch a fly with her hands and release it outside the house. I would swat." Goldsmith wrote such hard-boiled yarns as "Detour" and "The Narrow Margin" but seems to be out of his element with this Western.

drystyx You know you have a great action film when you realize you could make it work just as well as a stage play.And that's what we have here. An action Western about a "lost patrol" style cavalry unit, against the natives.Don't be misled by the "action" though. This is a deep story. McCrea gives an astounding performance, owed also to great writing, directing, and supporting cast, as a man who isn't what he seems.The movie gives us a look at how a man in position of leader can seem to be in one piece, but isn't. We see hints of the character's madness, and some, like Tucker's character, have seen him enough not to be fooled. A pair of peaceful Indians, one an old man, the other a beautiful woman, become pivotal in learning more about McCrea, and pivotal in his sole supporter's realization of how mad his leader is.The two Indians are exceptionally well written, and played to perfection. We see two humans, and so does the cavalry unit, all except McCrea.The ending is quite a surprise, even today. Very few cavalry films show characters who are this believable and three dimensional.

kyle_furr The best thing about this film is that there is no humor in it, unlike some westerns like the searchers. The plot has Joel McCrea in charge since all the officers have been killed and the men don't trust McCrea since he has such a deep hatred of the Indians, who killed his wife and kid. This is a lot like The Lost Patrol when which not too many are going to make it out alive.

Brian Camp FORT MASSACRE (1958) takes a standard "lost patrol" war movie plot and adapts it to 1879 New Mexico and a tale of remnants of an embattled cavalry platoon who have to make it through hundreds of miles of hostile desert terrain while fighting off roving bands of Apaches. It's a harsh, gritty take on the subject, uncompromising and fairly unpredictable. It has a tough, grizzled, nearly all-male cast, led by Joel McCrea as a Sergeant forced to take command after all the superior officers have been killed. The members of the platoon gripe and take issue with McCrea over the risks he makes them take, including the decision to attack a large band of Apaches who've taken over a needed waterhole. McCrea is driven by a hatred of the Apaches, who'd killed his wife, and his men are concerned that his emotions are coloring his decision making. It's well-told, gripping, and expertly photographed (by Carl Guthrie) entirely on location. The climax takes place in an abandoned Indian cliff dwelling. It also has a particularly strong cast. In addition to McCrea, the chief soldier characters include Forrest Tucker (TV's "F Troop") as an Irishman who makes light of everything but is especially hostile to McCrea; John Russell (TV's "The Lawman") as a son of privilege who joined the army to find himself; and veteran character actor Anthony Caruso, as Pawnee, a seasoned Indian scout. The other soldiers include Denver Pyle (BONNIE AND CLYDE), Robert Osterloh (WHITE HEAT), and Rayford Barnes (THE WILD BUNCH). Also in the cast are third-billed Susan Cabot (THE WASP WOMAN) in a small role as a Paiute Indian girl hiding out in the cliff dwelling with her grandfather, Francis L. McDonald (NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE). Comic character actor Irving Bacon (the BLONDIE series) pops up as a shady trader who puts the Cavalrymen in danger. It's a consistently suspenseful film with regular bursts of action, including two major gun battles with the Apaches. The action is never contrived and plays out in a believable fashion throughout, with no last-minute rescues or superhuman actions by the cavalrymen. The men behave in an authentic fashion and one can see this film as a respectable echo of earlier war-themed lost patrol movies, including Samuel Fuller's THE STEEL HELMET and Anthony Mann's MEN IN WAR. The ending is quite surprising. The script is by Martin M. Goldsmith (DETOUR) and the film was directed by Joseph Newman (PONY SOLDIER, THIS ISLAND EARTH).The cinemascope photography suffers considerably from the murky color print which ran in a full-frame presentation on Superstation TBS which didn't even bother to pan and scan. As a result, group shots of the men debating plans of action frequently feature off-camera speakers. This is one of many unsung westerns from the 1950s that would benefit greatly from a letter-boxed remastered DVD edition enabling it to be re-discovered by western fans.