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Set after the Battle Of Little Big Horn, 7th Cavalry sees Randolph Scott playing Captain Benson, who returns with his future bride to his post commanded by Indian fighter, Colonel Custer. Custer however was gone, he had taken the famous 7th Cavalry to war with the Sioux at Big Horn and lost badly. Guilt ridden and tarnished by whispers of cowardice, Benson volunteers to lead a dangerous mission back to Big Horn to reclaim the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

There doesn't appear to be much much love for this 1956 Columbia Pictures Oater. Seems it's either damned for being too talky, or on the flip side, it's too hokey within its plotting to actually merit worth. Well that's a shame for this has something of a vintage feel to it, the themes of guilt and redemption are Western standards, whilst the story also takes in interesting arcs such as religious beliefs and spiritual meanings. Yes this is definitely a "talky" picture - aside from some mano mano action and single horse pursuits that is - but it's a well thought out screenplay by Peter Packer (adapting from Glendon Swarthout's story). Instances such as a military enquiry and an exchange between Benson and a young Indian warrior are intelligent passages in the story (with Scott doing fine work in the process). What it lacks in gusto action it more than makes up for with the characterisations.

Other plus points are that it's also nicely shot in Mexico, the Technicolor doing justice to the splendid costumes on show. Backing Scott up in support are admirable performers such as Jay C. Flippen, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Michael Pate and Harry Carey Junior. Although the ladies (Jeanette Nolan & Barbara Hale) aren't given too much to do and the score conducted by Mischa Bakaleinikoff is at odds with the tempo of the film, 7th Cavalry still deserves a better reputation than it currently has. If you prepare for a work of fiction that is most assuredly dialogue driven, then hopefully your expectations will at the least be met. 7/10

This story revolves around an officer who is accused of cowardice after the battle of Little Big Horn but it's not really a case of an erstwhile hero trying to regain his honour in a dramatic and touching way as seen in a movie like SHANE and we don't get to see large scale battle scenes like in CUSTER OF THE WEST or THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON . As it appears from reading through the comments on this page it seems the reviewers were expecting so much more from 7TH CALVARY as western fans . I guess not being a western fan I wasn't all that disappointed

There is a stand out moment which someone has picked up upon which is in relation to the battle itself and that is that the Americans were armed with single shot rifles while the Indian war party was armed with the Winchester repeating rifle . This is something that is often over looked by historians and film makers at the battle of Little Big Horn - The Indians were better armed since the American military thought a rifle that had a massive fire rate would use up far too much precious ammunition hence the blue coats didn't use the Winchester very often , contrary to what you see in paintings and films commemorating the battle

Captain Thomas Benson returns to Fort Lincoln, the Seventh Cavalry's outpost in the Dakota wilderness, with Martha Kellogg, his bride-to-be. As the couple approach the fort, it is apparent that something is wrong. Benson enters to find the Seventh Cavalry's base strangely silent and motionless. Unknown to Benson, while he has been away General Custer has led the regiment to disaster at the Little Big Horn ...

The stillness and emptiness of the fort could serve as a metaphor for the film's lack of pace and content. The first half consists of endless breast-beating over the recent disaster, and the cavalrymen's torpid dialogue is unrelieved by motion or variety of any kind. It is fully 45 minutes before anything remotely resembling an action sequence occurs.

Benson is regarded with contempt by the remnants of the Seventh, both because he was Custer's favourite and because he managed to avoid the Little Big Horn. Matters are complicated by his choice of fiancee. Martha (Barbara Hale) is the daughter of Colonel Kellogg, the new commander of the regiment, and the man charged with investigating the recent military debacle.

A mundane and leaden horse opera, "Seventh Cavalry" lacks either a coherent structure, interesting action or even a convincing raison d'etre. Benson decides to rehabilitate himself by leading a burial detail out into the battlefield to recover the regiment's dead. He deliberately chooses the drunks and the shirkers, but it is never explained why these men, reluctant soldiers at the best of times, agree to be 'volunteered' for this dangerous work. Once in open terrain, Benson deserts his command to go chasing after a lone indian scout, in flagrant dereliction of his duty. During the pursuit, the two men ride past the same tree stump twice! They fight hand-to-hand, and Benson uses a stick to trap the indian's knife-wielding right hand. Why doesn't the indian simply transfer the knife to his free left hand?

The widow Mrs. Reynolds wails like a soothsayer in the deserted barracks, but neither her text nor her acting carry any conviction. The returning survivors of the Little Big Horn ride into Fort Lincoln, hamming up the weariness and weakness for all they are worth - but where did they acquire the neat, clean bandages? When Benson fights with the loud-mouth Vogel, the scrap is all too obviously conducted by stunt doubles. Even an indian who has been brought up by white folk is unlikely to come out with preposterous lines such as "You are defiling sacred ground". The film's ending is a cheap and hurried reconciliation between the Kelloggs and Benson, shot in an interior to save time and effort.

Randolph Scott was Associate Producer of this piece of nonsense, as well as starring as Benson (despite being patently too old for the part). If one scrabbles around for aspects of the film which deserve praise, one could commend Donald Curtis for his believable Lieutenant Fitch, and the fort set, which is huge and impressive. But that's it.

Verdict - too much talking, not enough motion.

While George Armstrong Custer was getting massacred at Little Big Horn, Captain Randolph Scott was off wooing and fetching fiancée Barbara Hale, with Custer's permission he says. He escapes court martial, but no one wants anything to do with him. So when it's decided that someone needs to fetch Custer's corpse back - never mind the enlisted men - Scott volunteers to lead the expedition.

It's one of the superb westerns that Scott starred in during the last fifteen years of his movie career, and Joseph H. Lewis directs this with his immensely strong visual style, Technicolor specialist Ray Rennahan shooting from low angles in an ochre-based color matrix. Lots of Strong Men behaving nobly...but is the Comanche idea of nobility the same as the White man's? With Jay C. Flippen, Harry Carey Jr. and Frank Faylen.

Returning to Fort Lincoln, Captain Benson (Randolph Scott) learns of Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn. Meanwhile, Benson carries his girlfriend ,Martha Kellogg (Barbara Hale), to the fort commanded by Col. Kellogg (Russell Hicks) who's Martha's father. Benson who was branded a coward for not taking part in the festivities attempts to assuage his guilt by heading up the burial detail, along with a group drunks and misfits (Leo Gordon, Denver Pyle, Harry Carey Jr, Frank Faylen) . At the inquiry as Custer's Officers blame Custer for the defeat, Benson tries to defend him. But Benson was suspiciously absent at the time of the battle and is now despised by the troops. So when an order to retrieve the bodies from the battlefield arrives, Benson volunteers for the dangerous mission of returning back into Indian territory. Charging the battle lines of the Sioux and the Cheyennes !. "Charge!"...See Randolph Scott avenge the massacre at Little Big Horn...and General Custer's Last Stand!

The film depicts a somewhat different look at Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn, here an officer accused of cowardice volunteers to bring back General Custers's body after Little Big Horn. The muddled ending tries to tell us that the Indians were afraid of Custer's horse. One of Joseph H Lewis' two colour movies, a weird and occasionally enjoyable little Western focusing on the enmity between white and red man as Scott, accused of deserting Custer out of cowardice during the fiasco of Little Big Horn, sets out to discover the truth of the massacre. The film is acceptable and decent enough, being beautifully filmed and briskly paced. It's most interesting for a surprising anti-Custer stance, and for its surreal, almost supernatural event, which sees Custer's horse showing up like a ghost from the wilderness to allegedly bring peace between enemies. Stars Randolph Scott who gives a nice acting in his usual style as a cavalry officer accused of cowardice and is placed in charge of rebel soldiers detailed to bury the dead after the onslaught. In 7th Cavalry (1956) stands out a splendid plethora of secondaries at the time, such as: Jay C. Flippen, Frank Faylen, Jeanette Nolan, Leo Gordon, Denver Pyle, Harry Carey Jr. , Michael Pate, Pat Hogan, Russell Hicks, Frank Wilcox, Donald Curtis and Frank Hogan.

This Western is just a shade different thanks to Peter Parker's script and especially to the shooting of Joseph H Lewis, though nothing special. Professionally directed by Joseph H Lewis who chooses all the right angles for a real impact and never puts a wrong foot. He never really rose above the second feature, but turned in some fine work within the genre. During two decades, Lewis spent time at Columbia (1939-40, 1946-49), Universal again (1942), PRC (1944), MGM (1950, 1952-53) and United Artists (1957-58), reliably turning out a couple of pictures per year. While he helmed more than his fair share of horse operas, it was invariably his films noir which attracted the most attention. Lewis was a B craftsman who directed a lot of films of all kinds of genres with a penchant for Noir movies, as he made Drama, Thriller, Action, Western such as Terror in a Texas town, 7th cavalry, The Halliday brand, A lawless street, Cry of the hunted, Retreat hell, Desperate search , A lady without passport, The undercover man, So dark the night, My name is Julia Ross, The mad doctor of Market Street, The gang of mine and his greatest hits were The Big Combo and Gun Crazy . He spent a few more years directing episodic TV westerns (including several of the better episodes of The Rifleman (1958) and finally retired in 1966. Rating 6/10. Essential and indispensable watching for Western enthusiasts and Randolph Scott fans.

Captain Benson (Randolph Scott) returns from the east with his new bride-to-be (played ably enough by Barbara Hale) only to find out that his post under General Custer was wiped out at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The men who were left behind at the post resent Benson because he wasn't there to die gallantly with the rest of his troop.

A presidential order is given for the army to go into Sioux territory and gather up Custer's dead for burial. Benson quickly volunteers for such a dangerous mission, probably to redeem himself. After all, the Big Horn is still surrounded by hostile Sioux and Cheyenne, drunk with victory.

When Benson and his men reach the site, they find that the Indians won't let them un-bury the dead because it is now considered sacred ground and not to be violated. That is, until Custer's riderless horse strolls into view, scaring all the Indians into thinking it's bad medicine and Custer's spirit has returned.

There's a subplot about how this horse came onto the scene involving Harry Carey Jr. and all, but I'm not gonna get into that. Anyway, the Indians are plenty superstitious about the whole thing so they allow Benson and his men to pass, unscathed.

Although it's nowhere near as good as the oaters Scott did with Budd Boetticher, this one nonetheless still rises above most of the other western dreck Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures was putting out. It also helps filming it out in the California pine country away from the usual Columbia ranch locations that we've seen a zillion times before. It still doesn't pass for the plains, though.

Still, it's better than most of Scott's RKO westerns from the late 40s

5 out of 10

A very satisfying western with Scott as a cavalry officer who returns with his fiancée to his detail to find the fort apparently deserted. There's a nice 360-degree shot of the surroundings as Scott surveys the area, then he's interrupted by the voice of a woman (Jeannette Nolan) whose claims that Scott is alive at the expense of her husband who took his place in the infamous battle of the Little Big Horn.

The story deals with the aftermath, not the battle itself, so anyone looking for an epic confrontation in the manner of THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON or even one as budget conscious as that in THE GREAT SIOUX MASSACRE is bound to be disappointed. However, there are rewards to be found - one of them Scott's performance. Even at about age 57 or 58, he still looks splendid in a uniform, and while of course doubles are used in two fight scenes, there's enough of him present to debunk the rumor that he was not exactly at his best in such scenes. In the inquest scene alone he delivers more dialog than he probably had in his previous three films, and does so convincingly. This scene also features testimony by Captain Benteen and Major Reno, two survivors of the battle who are treated sympathetically.

Director Joseph H. Lewis claimed to not be inspired with the assignment of this film, but he does not let it show. Granted the story may seem slow to start by those who are expecting more than exposition, but here is where we find the first filmic questioning of the judgment of General Custer in what was one of the great military debacles in history. The chase scene in which one comment claims the same stump was passed twice is actually passed three times, once by the Indian brave being chased, next by Scott and then last by two riders following Scott. The scenery is not that of the Montana plains, but it subs nicely. If John Ford can shoot MY DARLING CLEMENTINE in Monument Valley, then Lewis should be allowed his own dramatic license.

The cast is filled with familiar faces, including Michael Pate, Leo Gordon and Harry Carey, Jr., all more recognizable as being part of the Duke's stock company. Add to that Frank Faylen and Jay C. Flippen, as well as Barbara Hale who did deserve more screen time. Just about all are questioning Scott's decision to voluntarily take a patrol to retrieve the dead from the massacre site, but Scott's reasons are to redeem himself for various reasons to each.

A nice touch is in the scene where Scott questions a Sioux "peacemaker" who claims that the bodies, cavalry included, are all now part of sacred ground and instill in each brave the courage and honor of the tribe that conquered them. Scott asks if this is not just mere "superstition" whereas the brave turns the term back at Scott relative to his own spiritual beliefs. This was heady stuff in the mid-fifties when religious epics such as THE ROBE and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS were treated with such reverence. In turn, the appearance of Custer's riderless horse, further takes up the issue of superstition although it would spoil the outcome to reveal just how it does. 7TH CAVALRY is an interesting piece of historical fiction that can take its place among the better non-Boetticher westerns for Scott.

After an atmospheric opening sequence recalling the discovery of the silent Fort Zinderneuf in 'Beau Geste', this cavalry western from a story by Glendon Swarthout anticipates 'The Dirty Dozen' as Randolph Scott under a cloud for not being at Little Big Horn for the massacre leads a "gang of scroungers" on a most unusual mission.

What ensues is played under the tutelage of director Joseph H. Lewis for drama rather than action as the troop proceeds to spend far more time squabbling among themselves rather than fighting the indians; to the accompaniment of a rousing score arranged by an uncredited Mischa Bakalenikoff.

Yes, I know the disclaimer in the opening credits says there is no relationship between the film characters and events and real persons and events, but I think such disclaimers in films that obviously portray real persons are a cheap cop-out.

This screenplay is so badly written it should be in the comedy genre. We begin by transplanting the northern plains to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where we find Ft. Lincoln about a day's ride from the Little Big Horn battle site.

As was the cavalry custom back then, forts are left almost entirely deserted when the troops go into the field. When Capt. Benson enters the fort, he finds Capt. Reynold's widow, who apparently read the Indians' wire report on the teletype immediately after the battle, for she knew all the details even before the surviving cavalry returned from the battlefield.

The returning survivors include Harry Carey, Jr. playing bugler John Martin, who in reality was immigrant Giovanni Martini, who the real Capt. Benteen complained could barely speak English.

For the sake of the film, the battle inquiry takes place a couple of days afterward rather than the several years in real life. Benson volunteers to lead the burial detail after the inquiry. On the ride to the battlefield he engages in hand-to-hand combat with a white man dressed as an Indian. You see, the Indians decided they enjoyed the Sierra Nevada, er, the Big Horn area and wanted to stay. Surely the U.S Army would leave them in peace now that they had massacred several companies of cavalry. (In reality they fled post-haste.)

Upon arriving at the battlefield, instead of finding naked and mutilated bodies as at the real battle site, Benson finds the Indians have thoughtfully prepared a Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Sorry, I just can't go on further.

This scheme is for Randolph Scott what THE MAN FROM ALAMO was for Glenn Ford. Remember this Universal Studios western where Glenn Ford was accused of being a coward and escaped from Alamo slaughter? So replace Alamo by Little Big Horn, two battles that Americans lost, and you have an idea of what you deal with here. This is not my favorite from director Joseph Lewis, it could have been from André De Toth, but not from Budd Boetticher though. Because Boetticher and Lewis had their own trademark. Here, the plot, directing, camera work, are rather common, nothing to remember of. Nothing in particular, I mean. Good western not more.

Captain Benson (Randolph Scott) returns to the 7th cavalry with his fiancée (Barbara Hale) to find most of his outfit had been wiped out with General Custer at Little Big Horn. The men under Benson's command resent him for being close friends with Custer, who they hold responsible for the death of their fellow soldiers. Benson's superiors, including his fiancée's father, suspect him of cowardly asking for leave because he knew a battle was looming. So Benson volunteers to lead a detail into danger to recover the bodies at Little Big Horn to prove he isn't a coward.

Scott's always good and he's backed up by a fine supporting cast, including Jay C. Flippen, Frank Faylen, Denver Pyle, and Harry Carey, Jr. In most early movies dealing with Custer, he was portrayed as a martyr and American hero. But by this time the reexamination of Custer had begun and we're starting to see a little historical accuracy seep through. This film tries to please both sides by offering plenty of condemnation of Custer as arrogant and reckless but also having the lead character (played by movie hero Randolph Scott) defend him as a man of honor and "a great human being." Custer is still, to this day, a divisive figure and any movie that portrays him in anything less than a villainous light often attracts soapboxers. Judged strictly on its merits as a film, this is a decent western. Not great but certainly watchable and enjoyable enough.

At 58, Scott was just too old for the role. Not just being only a Captain, but still in cavalry. Not realistic he would have physicality for the activity his character displays.

This is an astonishingly bad movie even for a B movie quickie. As history it is farsical as entertainment it is grindingly dull and full of errors and mistakes of every sort from roads through the badlands to very obvious stunt doubles the list goes on and on. Scott seems ambarrassed throughout and gives a pretty dreadful performance but the terrible scrip gives him almost nothing to work with. This is surely one of the weakest westerns ever put on screen I kept watching thinking there must eventualy be some kind of action but no this rank stinker wimpers to a conclusion with the most rediculious finale yet seen. Oh dear, at least the scenery is pretty good if totaly inacurate.

7th Cavalry provides a different character for Randolph Scott, even though sometimes it's tough to tell his 1950s westerns apart. Yes, he's played a soldier before, but not a cavalry officer accused of cowardice and hated by all the men in his company. Just before the massacre of Little Big Horn, he requested leave from General Custer to visit his fiancé, Barbara Hale. Since he was Custer's best friend, the rest of the company believe Scottie knew about the impending attack and requested leave on purpose to save his own life.

But we know Scottie McScottie Pants - he's no coward! He's an upstanding soldier, the king of westerns, and looks better atop a horse than anyone else in the business. But, in addition to the eye candy of Scottie in Technicolor, you'll also get to see an interesting story as he has to prove his honor. No one believes him, so he feels forced to take a desperate measure: return to Indian-claimed territory and gather the fallen corpses so they can receive a proper burial.

You might see some familiar faces in the supporting cast: "Ernie the cab driver" (Frank Faylen) is one of the volunteers who goes on the suicide mission with Scottie. Jay C. Flippen, Leo Gordon, and Harry Carey Jr. Join them as well. The story, as well as the relationship between the Cavalry and the Indians, make this one really worth while.

The first problem with this movie is that it attempted to be somewhat relevant to actual historical events. They should have crafted the screenplay based on total fiction. No historical names. No historical battles.

The second problem is that most of the action had nothing to do with the 7th Cavalry's interaction with Indians. It was mostly infighting between soldiers.

The most glaring issue was the central plot issue: retrieving the bodies of the dead soldiers. How many soldiers were to be retrieved in 2 tiny wagons?

This would have been a poor episode of the TV show Cheyenne.

"7th Cavalry" picks up just after General Custer and his command is wiped out at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Captain Benson (Randolph Scott) was away on personal leave, so he somehow missed out on the massacre. However, folks are looking for a scapegoat and folks second-guess Benson and brand him a coward. Not wanting to live with disgrace, he volunteers to do an insanely difficult duty--to go into Indian territory and bury the Cavalry's dead. Oddly, instead of taking competent soldiers, he takes the scum of the regiment--guys who DID survive due to their own cowardice. Can these guys somehow redeem themselves?

The film is not based 100% on real history--which is VERY typical of most westerns. Benson and his mission is entirely fictional. However, one thing that isn't is that some officers, rightfully, questioned the competence of General Custer. He was, according to most historians, an incompetent who made many serious blunders due to his own hubris. So, when the soldiers openly question his decisions that led to the battle, that is pretty much fact--despite Benson defending his commander's decisions.

So is it any good? Well, I gave the film an 8. This is mostly because they acting is very nice and compared to other films of the genre from this age, it stands well above most due to very nice acting and an interesting what if scenario.

Does anyone know where in the 'California pine country' this film was made? Of course, the otherwise beautiful locations don't do a credible job of passing for The Great Plains where 'Custer's Last Stand' actually occurred. However, they are interesting and quite beautiful, never-the-less.

Since I live in Northern California, I wonder, where these scenes were shot.

For instance, in the scenes of the impressive 'Fort Lincoln' set, a majestic mountain is depicted in the background. Unless this was added as a matte shot, it looks real enough. Does anyone know which mountain was depicted or does anyone have more precise info about where this scene (and the rest of the movie) was filmed?

Randolph Scott is one of my favorite western actors, but this is a poor movie. Blame the screen writer, the director and probably the budget. There's not much action or tension, just a lot of horse operatics with a stable of unsympathetic and unlikable characters. Even the usual team of normally good character actors (Jay C. Flippen, Harry Carey Jr., Barbara Hale etc) can't pull this broken wagon out of the mud of bad writing. The scenery's not bad,the pine country of California, but it's a far cry from the Montana plains where Custer met his doom. Everybody's against Scott as an officer who went to bring his fiancé to Fort Lincoln instead of joining Custer, Benteen and Reno with their rendezvous with destiny on the Little Big Horn. He tries to redeem himself by undertaking a dangerous mission to retrieve Custer's body from the battlefield. They meet up with some superstitious Indians and the way they get out of the mess is not bad. For a more compelling story, even the wildly historically inaccurate "They Died With Their Boots On" is scalps and shoulders above this entry.