La rivière de la dernière chance

"Smoke Signal" is an exceptional western in many ways. It has very good acting but more importantly it has excellent writing.

The story begins with a company of cavalry soldiers trying to make their way back to the fort...but hostile Ute Indians are trying to stop them. This is unusual because until recently, the Ute had been pacified. But now they most certainly are NOT and they want to wipe out the white men on their land.

When most of them manage to make it to the fort, things aren't a lot better. The fort's been under siege for some time and sooner or later, they're going to take the fort. However, the Captain (William Talman) is surprised when he and his men arrive at the fort...there's an unexpected prisoner there. Apparently Captain Halliday has been captured and his back story is an unusual one. It seems that Halliday objected to the way his commanding officer treated the Ute. The commander essentially wanted them dead...and Halliday's entreaties to treat them well had fallen on deaf ears. Eventually, in desperation, Halliday deserted...going to live with the Ute. So how did he get in the fort? Well, it seems that the Ute are so angry about the white men and their treatment of them, they want Halliday dead as well....so Halliday seems like a dead man regardless. There's a lot more to the story....try to see it if you can...as it only gets better.

"Smoke Signal" is a product of the 1950s. In the 50s, Hollywood was reassessing the way they portrayed natives. While still they often painted up white folks to play 'Indians' (fortunately they did NOT in this film), often these people were being portrayed more generously....and when they were warlike it was a reaction to their mistreatment and loss of land.

So what did I like about it apart from the acting and writing? Well, I liked the originality of the screenplay.... I cannot think of another western like it...and I've probably seen well over a thousand or more films in the genre. I also loved the Colorado River locale...it was beautiful and seeing the wilderness (mostly around Moab, Utah) is nice. My only complaint is that in closeup shots of the actors as they braved the treacherous river...well, these were done poorly and it's obviously they were rear projecting the river footage behind them...clumsily. It's a shame, as otherwise the footage is amazing...and it's one of the most breathtaking parts of America.

This fine production is in every way one of the best westerns, and the best adventures ever made by my standards. It is also a "sense-of-life" film, during whose course the viewer along with the characters discovers the truth about the central character for himself. The plot situation here is a tense one. This script has in fact one of the most interesting story lines of any western of which I have knowledge. A man named Halliday is being called a renegade, even accused of having started an Indian war. Yet Brett Halliday is a man who deserted to join the Ute Indians--who have now joined the Sioux---on a previous occasion for what he says was a different reason entirely. His story was he wanted keep the peace then and still does, but Evans, the man in charge at the local fort, wanted the war. The man who has captured him, Harper, leads his patrol back to the fort. Laura Evans, the Colonel's daughter, is also present. Her father is dead; and an overwhelming attack on the fort is now imminent. With no other choice, the few survivors have to make their way down the walls of the canyon beside which the fort is perched and try to escape via the river that flows there. The body of the film's many action scenes involve that attempted escape and Halliday's part played during it, which finally convinces a by-the-book Harper to let him go to the Indians and try to avert needless bloodshed. By this time, he has told the daughter the truth about her father--that he brought on the two wars by the way he had maltreated the tribes. And she has fallen in love with him and will wait for his return. Veteran Jerry Hopper directed the colorful scenes contained herein from a script by George W. George and George Slavin. In the good cast beside Dana Andrews, very good as Halliday, young star Piper Laurie as Miss Evans, William Talman in a his best role ever in film as Harper, Milburn Stone just before he achieved fame as "Doc" on "Gunsmoke's" long-running TV series, Rex Reason as Laura Evans' jealous suitor, Gordon Jones, Robert J.Wilkie, Peter Coe, Douglas Spencer and William Schallert. There are many good technical and creative contributions that make this a beautiful and memorable outdoor drama. Bill Thomas did the costumes and other fine professionals were involved; but the plot line concerning how men face adversity is so strong that a lesser cast, producers and artists could still have made this a creditable effort. That they did so much better than they might have done is a tribute to all concerned.

Since "broken arrow" it had become politically correct to treat the Indians as human beings and it was about time!Like James Stewart ,the hero lived with a tribe,married a squaw (who died too) ,but it was a bad idea cause he was a military man and by leaving his "people " behind ,he became a deserter .He was captured and held prisoner in a fort in jeopardy for the Indians are all around.The only way is the river which runs through the canyon.

The screenplay is predictable to a fault ,the female part (Piper Laurie)is essentially decorative ,but the landscapes are worth the price of admission.Like Richard Widmark in " the last wagon" ,Dana Andrews will "redeem himself" (but he is actually so noble there is nothing to redeem indeed).This is a "river movie" ,in which the enemy is actually not the Indians but the dangerous waters and the white men's jealousy and hatred .

Like this ? try these...

"River of no return" ,Otto Preminger

"The far horizons" ,Rudolph Maté

Capt. Harper's cavalry patrol returns to the fort to find it besieged by Ute Indians. The apparent cause is the recapture of Army traitor Brett Halliday, who deserted to the Utes in a previous war; but Brett has a different story. With capture imminent, the only chance for the surviving men (and one woman) is to boat down a wild, uncharted river, where Harper and Halliday must pull together, like it or not.

Like the better-known The Last Wagon, Smoke Signal features a despised 'Indian lover' prisoner ( Dana Andrews) helping a mixed band of whites made up of cavalry officers and a lady ( Piper Laurie) evade the Utes by crossing the Grand Canyon stretch of the Colorado River, and along with the intense drama between the characters, the river plays its part in conveying the turmoil of the situation they are in.

It's a rugged action western with good performances by the underrated Dana Andrews, Piper Laurie, the bitter William Talman and Rex reason - a stirring adventure film.

When Captain William Tallman returns to the fort with accused deserter Dana Andrews, he finds himself besieged by Indians who want him back. Tallman won't give him up, and the Utes threaten to kill everyone. So Andrews leads them on an escape by boat down the wild Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

There are some technical issues with the obvious process shots. You can easily see which shots re shot in the studio against a screen. Even so, the location shots by Clifford Stine are lovely, and the sparse lines well delivered by a cast that includes Piper Laurie, Milburn Stone, Gordon Jones, and William Schallert -- even though Miss Laurie ater stated that Andrews was drunk throughout the shoot.