Río de sangre

The Indians, under Chief Mike, have been defeating the Army in Oregon for years. The new commander, Major Archer, plans to defeat the Indians once and for all, but his orders are changed to attempt a peaceful settlement. But there are certain people who do not want Oregon to become a state and they will attempt to keep the Indians on the war path.

The Battle of Rogue River is an unpretentious, straightforward, typical "Cavalry vs Indians" tale from Columbia Pictures . It's paced well, the plot holds things together and it has a modicum of action with a bit of a twist in regard to who is really a bad apple. Richard Denning plays the bad apple. George Montgomery is usually reliable and plays a stern officer with an obsession for following rules. Martha Hyer is quite stunning. The dialogue between Chief Mike and two of his braves when the braves are relating their experience with the "terrible weapons" that the major used against them is quite amusing.

Battle Of Rogue River is fought by George Montgomery as a newly arrived major in the Oregon territory who is charged to bringing the Indians under Chief Mike down and when that's done the path to admission as a state will be smooth. A very important issue for many reasons, those expressed in the film and with the Civil War looming another free state in the union. Curious that that fact was never brought up in the film.

Montgomery finds the discipline lax at the fort and soon puts that to right. As for the Indians and the tribe is never mentioned it is probably the Shoshone and they've been causing havoc the way Cochise and the Apaches were in Arizona. It's either beat them or deal with them.

His new orders opt for the latter, but some sinister forces have their own reasons for keeping Oregon wild and free. They pull some mighty despicable treason to do it.

Evenly matched against Montgomery is frontier girl Martha Hyer who's full of sass, she's the daughter of the post sergeant Emory Parnell. And leader of the civilian militia Richard Denning has more than a passing interest in her.

Battle Of Rogue River is produced by Sam Katzman who over at Monogram Pictures never saw the kind of budget this B western had. A good western it's still the kind of item that was showing up frequently on the small screen for free.

12 O'Clock High Meets Virginia City in Castle-directed "B" programmer. George Montgomery is adequately tight-lipped as non-nonsense Major taking over failed outpost. Richard Denning gives a marvelously multi-dimensional performance as Stacey Wyatt, as militia leader with a hidden agenda. John Crawford adds an interesting interpretation of the Hugh-Marlowe-type role of reformed reprobate. Martha Hyer provides eye candy and adds a bit of sass to boot. Good, clean, fast, and unchallenging fun.

There are a Few Things of Interest in this "Assembly Line" Picture that was made in the Middle of the Decade Long Love Affair with the "Western".

Directed with a Surprising Lack of Style by Horror Manipulator William Castle. It has a Strong B-Movie Cast Playing Cookie Cutter Characters. Nothing here Elevates but it is Competent, in Color, Widescreen and Short (71 min).

It is one of those Professional Only Entertainments that 1950's Movie Going Audiences were Offered that didn't Give a Hoot about Anthony Mann or Budd Boetticher. It's sort of a Pedestrian Escape and one of Many Traditional Following the John Ford Mantra.

Try and Catch all the Interesting Names of the Leading Characters. Slightly Above Average of its Kind and Plays it Safe all the way.

It Stars Middle Budget Stalwarts George Montgomery, Richard Denning, Michael Granger, as "Chief Mike" the most polite and even handed "Savage" You're likely to see, and Martha Hyer as the Only Woman in the Movie, a Feisty Female with Brains and Beauty.

George Montgomery is the hard-nosed "Maj. Archer", sent to command a frontier post that has been struggling to defeat a local tribe under the accomplished command of their Chief "Mike" (Michael Granger). Quickly disliked by those under command for his brusque manner, he must try to lick them into shape as battle lines are drawn with his shrewd foe. Sadly, though this has some decent action scenes now and again, there is an annoying romance between "Archer" and "Brett" (Martha Hyer) and the plot proceeds to follow a rather timid and predictable route as the adventurous elements give way to a standard tale of betrayal and, ultimately, a rather underwhelming degree of common sense. It's produced to a decent enough standard, but sadly the story and the efforts from all concerned are pretty unremarkable.