La ruée sanglante

Dr. Allen Seward (Robert Francis) is assigned to a western cavalry post, due to his predecessors failings he finds that he is instantly disliked, and even worse, not trusted. Things worsen when during a confrontation at an Indian Reservation, Seward attempts to help an ill Indian infant and befriends the tribe doctor. As the war with the Indians escalates, so does the hatred from the camp towards Seward, with the men even refusing his medical treatment, but with the support of the lovely Laurie MacKaye, and a bond formed with Manyi-ten, an Indian Bride, Seeward may just be the solution to end this troubled conflict?

They Rode West is nothing special in the pantheon of inspiring and intelligent Westerns, what it isn't is one of those boorish standard Cavalry Vs Indians shoot them ups. Playing out with a lot of heart and a purpose of intent, it's a film that has a nice colour sheen, has some real solid acting and doesn't outstay its welcome. Notable for being the first of only four films that a 25 year old Robert Francis would make before being tragically killed in an aeroplane crash, They Rode West will not excite those in search of wall to wall gunfights, it will however be of interest to those who like a story of humane conflict via verbal beliefs. Of the other notables in the cast, Donna Reed adds the required touch of prettiness as Laurie MacKaye and Philip Carey does a nice line as the grumpy commander, Captain Blake. Direction from Phil Karlson is as steady as you would expect for this type of production, to leave me only left to say that it's a recommended film to see the first work of an interesting actor in the making, and of course for a bit of nous in the story. 6/10

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

Directed by Phil Karlson who later helmed the excellent GUNMAN'S WALK, this one involves an army surgeon (Robert Francis) who is at odds against his commander (Philip Carey) over the treatment of a malaria outbreak amongst the Kiowa.

Carey hates army doctors as much as the Kiowa since the last three he's had on his post were drunkards who should never have been in the service to begin with, so he doesn't take too kindly to Francis and treats the guy with contempt. Francis also feels he has to step in order to prevent another Indian war and he disobeys a direct order from Carey to treat the Kiowa chief's ailing son.

It's fairly standard fare that could have been better if the dialog wasn't so silly and they avoided using old stock footage of battle scenes that looked out of place with the rest of the film. Not to mention the fact that the rest of it was filmed on the same Columbia ranch locations that we've seen a hundred times before. It makes the whole thing look more typical than it should be.

With Jack Kelly & James Best as the junior officers, and Donna Reed as the niece of the post commander who spends a lot of time flirting with the officers, I'd give this one a less than average rating than a subject treatment like this deserves.

4 out of 10

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

When I found this on YouTube, I discovered that it was chopped up into various highlight segments that altogether ran only about maybe 50 min., more or less. Still, I highly enjoyed what I saw with Robert Francis as the new Calvary doctor sticking with his oath of caring for all human beings including the American Indians forced into the reservation near him. That gets him in plenty of hot water with superior Philip Carey who already doesn't trust doctors since the previous ones were drunk or just plain unreliable. May Wynn, Francis' co-star from The Caine Mutiny, is a white woman who was raised on the reservation after her parents were killed. And Donna Reed is the initial flirt who eventually gets on Francis' side when the others call him an Indian lover (the actual name they called him was "woodhawk".) Quite compelling what I saw so I decided to review this here in case I don't have the chance to watch the whole thing. Still, if I do, I'll come back here and either add some comments or rewrite the whole thing...