La rivière de la dernière chance

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

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.

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.

This is an interesting and thrilling one for any Western lover. The heavies are an especial Indian tribe , the Utes , we do not often come across the movies . While the Apaches , for a change , are characterised as peacemakers. Here a group of soldiers ,Willam Tannen , Rex Reason , Milburn Stone , Willam Schallert , Robert J Wilke , and one detained : Dana Andrews who is a suspected Cavalry deserter and a woman : Piper Laurie , are surrounded by hundreds of revengeful Ute Indians , then they escape by Colorado River , being usually harassed by them .

The movie has a formidable combination of of nice performances , espectacular pursuits by river , drama , and gorgeous outdoors. The hothouse plot drives relentlessly forward with noisy action , thrills , shootouts and turns . Convencional casting giving adequate interpretation . The moving tale is enjoyable one and the yarn is marvelouslly set against a background of Grand Canyon . Locations were filmed on the Grand Canyon stretch of the Colorado River , as the picture is attractive and charming to look when it flags dramatically. This picture bears remarkable resemblance to The Last Wagon by Delmer Daves with Richard Widmark in similar role Dana Andrews . The latter gives fine acting as a despised Indian Lover proving the deliverance of a mixed group of whites , these form the motley band of prestigious secondaries such as Rex Reason , William Tannen , William Schallert , Milburn Stone , Douglas Spencer , Pat Hogan and Robert J Wilke .

The motion picture was well directed by Jerry Hooper. He was a good artisan who first worked for Paramount , then he passed to Universal and immediately proved himself on more intimate subjects, especially those dealing with sentimental or comedian elements .Jerry directed all kinds of genres , such Western : Madron , Pony Express , The Bull of the West . And Thriller as Naked Alibi , The Atomic City , The Square Jungle . And particularly adventures as Alaska Seas , The Sharkfighters, Secret of the Incas and The Missouri traveler , it was the best of Hooper last movies before he became entrenched un Television. As he filmed a great quantity of episodes of notorious series as Voyage to the Bottom of the sea , The Fugitive , Perry Mason , Shenandoah , Adams Family , Caravans and Gunsmoke. Rating 6.5/10 . Decent and acceptable Western .

As a child in the 1960s I watched as many Westerns at the cinema as possible, and "Smoke Signal" was one of those that left a lasting impression. I had to wait many years for it to be shown on British TV, and then it wasn't quite as good as I'd remembered, but still quite novel, with the US Cavalry taking to the boats to escape Indians. Certainly the Grand Canyon made a spectacular background to much of the film, though with the white protagonists being confined to two small boats quite a lot of rather obvious back projection was necessary whenever one of them spoke.

Few films of the 1950s (or indeed of any period)dared omit a female from the cast, however contrived her inclusion might be, and here we have Piper Laurie visiting her father at one of the most primitive forts I've seen portrayed in a film at a time of tension with the Indians.