Pluma blanca

Notable B-Movie Director Phil Karlson Helmed this Above Average Early Fifties, Low-Budget Western with Little Style but its Social Concerns Rode the "New" Esthetic that Shined a much needed Light on Bigotry. There are some Corny Side-Elements to be sure, but the Aforementioned Elevate this one to Respectability.

The Plot is all about a Military Doctor (Robert Francis) and His Treatment of Indians and viewed Them as, God Forbid, Equal People as seen from the Eyes of a "Medicine Man".

Donna Reed is Awkward as a Centerpiece of the Soldiers Attention (one proposes to Her on sight), but the rest of the Cast do Yeoman's Work and it is left to Francis to Carry the Movie. He is Adequate, but the Strength is the Story and its Ramifications about the Mistreatment of a Defeated People thrown in the Trash Bin of History, until Recently.

There are some Wild and Wooly Battles that Punctuate now and then for the Action Oriented Crowd that could give a Hoot about Empathy and Inclusion of a whole Race of People that Desired Respect that was Initially Withheld.

This film starts out with a Calvary Army Officer being shot in the leg by a Native American Indian and is treated by an Army Doctor who is bombed out of his mind on booze and tries to operate on his leg and cuts an artery and the soldier dies. Philip Carey, (Capt. Peter Blake) is very upset about other Army doctors who have caused him problems in the past who were on drugs and booze also. Robert Francis, (Dr. Allen Sewart),"Caine Mutiny" '54 is a new doctor and commissioned by the Army to serve with Capt. Peter Blake. Blake mistrusts Dr. Allen Sewart and gives him a very hard time, because he seems to hate all doctors. Donna Reed,(Laurie MacKaye) takes a liking to Dr. Sewart and encourages him to stand up and fight back at Capt. Blake. May Wynn,(Manyi-ten) "Caine Mutiny" is a white woman who is married to an Indian and seeks the help of Dr. Sewart and falls in love with him. This is a great story and will hold your interest from beginning to the very end. It is very sad that in real life, Robert Francis, was killed in an airplane accident right after he made the great film "Caine Mutiny" he was only twenty-five (25) years of age.

What a shame that this young actor died so tragically after making his film breakthrough,I guess its a cruel irony we will never know how good he would have really been.In this western he is a dedicated doctor who helps friend and foe alike,this is a basic western but worth watching once.The action scenes are good,and it shows that the US army was split into two as to the treatment of indians.5/10

Robert Francis plays Army doctor Allan Seward who is posted to the remote outpost Fort McCullogh where his callowness and inexperience r incurs the enmity of the hard bitten Captain Blake (Phil Carey) .Blake is virulently anti-Indian and when Seward insists on treating Indians who have fallen victim to malaria Blake makes no bones about his antagonism ,feelings shared by the other troopers .He is arrested and faces a court martial while outside war is brewing over the determination of the Indians to leave their reservation and head for higher and healthier ground in the hill country.

Francis died tragically young and his strong performance shows what a loss he was to the movies .Carey is forceful and there are good turns from Donna Reed as the base Commnader's spoiled and coquettish daughter .Phil Karlson directs strongly and the movie is always entertaining if not quite top drawer One for western devotees in our midst

I saw this one at the theater as a kid and was somewhat disappointed, probably too much story and not enough action to suit my taste at the time. However by today's standards, this one treats the Native American much more respectfully than other movies of it's time, most notably the God-awful "Arrowhead"(1953). The story moves along well and there really is enough action to go around and Francis shows that he had some real star quality, had he lived. Not a bad one.