Muralla de sangre

I like Clint Walker, I'm a fan of Gordon Douglas' movies (e.g., "Them!", "Rio Conchos", "The Detective") and I can even tolerate Edd Byrnes--in small doses--but I really wasn't expecting much from "Yellowstone Kelly" when I first saw it a few days ago. Turned out that I got a lot more than I bargained for.

First off, Walker is a hell of a screen presence. I haven't seen "Cheyenne" in many, many years, and I kind of forgot just how much he can fill up the screen, and not just physically; he has the kind of commanding presence that John Wayne has, and although Wayne's a better actor, Walker's no slouch himself. He does a first-rate job here, and Burt Kennedy's script doesn't make him the kind of stock "hero" type that many "B" westerns tend to make of their stars.

Second off, the scenery--as pointed out by other reviewers--is spectacular. It has the kind of power that John Ford brought to the screen with his Monument Valley locations yet it doesn't overwhelm the overall film, as Monument Valley tended to do. In addition, Gordon Douglas' westerns are noted for their "balls to the wall" action scenes, as in "Rio Conchos", and this film doesn't disappoint in that department. There are several of them, from bar-room brawls to full-out Indian attacks, and they're all extremely well done.

Then there's Andra Martin. She's not given much to do, actually, but she is one of the most strikingly and exotically beautiful women to have ever graced the screen, and she does the most here with what she's given, and she's actually quite good.

A good supporting cast--Claude Akins and Warren Oates stand out, and even Edd Byrnes is far less annoying than he usually is--helps greatly. If there's any downside to this picture, it's the casting of white actors in Indian roles. John Russell and Ray Danton are good actors, but they don't even come close to being convincing as Indians and, as this practice usually does, actually hurt the picture.

Overall, though, I was more than pleasantly surprised with "Yellowstone Kelly". Walker turns in a first-rate performance, the scenery is beautiful, the action is well done, and on top of everything else there's Andra Martin. A very good combination. Walker made another western that I haven't seen, "Fort Dobbs", and if it's half as good as this one was, I'll have to check it out.

I can't believe that there is only one comment about Yellowstone Kelly, I know you couldn't really call it a classic or anything but I know films that are a lot worse that have been much better received in your lists. That is only my opinion and I don't wish to upset anyone but again as previously stated I think this film is a real cracker and has lasted the test of time! Graham Lenegan.

Young Anse is the most endearing character in the whole movie:when you deal with the experimented tough guy /sensitive greenhorn team,generally the latter is told lessons in life and survival by the former ;in "Yellowstone Kelly", on the contrary ,it's the young one who,all in all,shows the way.He's an orphan ,an uneducated young boy ,whose only "culture " is his "Our Father" prayer.He has understood,long before Kelly ,that life is sacred and that you can't "own" anybody.One can dream of what Nicholas Ray would have done with this subject.

That said,this low-budget western is enjoyable even though the Indians look like white guys with wigs ( they are ,particularly the Indian beauty everyone covets ,about as "Indian" as Debra Paget in "broken arrow" or Barbara Bush in "Taza Son of Cochise" )

In 'Yellowstone Kelly,' Clint 'Cheyenne' Walker plays a muscular fur-trapper who prevents war between Indians and U.S. Cavalry, and who survives only to find true love in the arms of a beautiful and talented newcomer Andrea Martin...

Becoming a 'squaw man' and a devoted one, Clint Walker goes Western all the way in this standard action film with routine excitements and a cast of TV faces: John Russell as the tall, darkly chief prancing across the plains; Ray Danton as the Indian with conviction and authority; Claude Akins as the heavy tough sergeant; and Warren Oates making his debut as a proud soldier...

With the absence of a strong story line in the screenplay, but displaying an outstanding Technicolor photography, 'Yellowstone Kelly' is

Warner Brothers came up with a winner in this film of a fur trader who finds himself caught in the middle of a cavalry-Indian just wants to run his trap lines in Montana high country but proposed treaty-breaking by the government poses the threat of an Indian uprising. The film dwells a bit on a sub plot that has Kelly saving an Indian maiden's life as well as playing wet nurse to a tenderfoot who seeks to win the trapper's friendship and respect. There is a fine battle scene between the soldiers and the Indians, one of the best of its type and is the film's high point. John Russell, Ray Danton and Claude Akins are among the cast names that contribute greatly to fine story. Andra Martin is striking as the Arapahoe girl and a point of contention between Kelly and the Sioux warriors. Edd Byrnes is okay as Kelly's young helper. Outstanding camera work and music score make this forgotten western one of the genre's best pictures.