Guet-apens chez les Sioux

At least, from Republic pictures, we don't deal with a cabaret western, a music hall western, as were BELLE LE GRAND or JUBILEE TRAIL or one of those numerous semi - false - westerns that Republic pictures gave us in the forties and fifties. Westerns taking mostly place in burlesque atmosphere, with choregraphy, dancing, intrigue plots, more than Indians, outlaws, posse , sheriff. So, this one, directed by Lewis Foster, is taut, action packed, despite bland Dale Robertson's performance, as usual, about which poor Linda Darnell tries her best to do her best. It was hard for her to co star such a lousy actor; she deserved better. So, if you are a western buff, don't miss this one.

"Dakota Incident" is a film made with TruColor film stock. Surprisingly, unlike the first generation of TruColor stock, it really does have true color, as it uses three colors to create the whole spectrum of colors. The original was a two-color process....one that made a kind of color palate...one that is much more orange-green than true color. Sadly, despite this, the print on YouTube is also very fuzzy....and you can't truly enjoy the film stock.

The story spends much of its time in a small town. John (Dale Robertson) arrives there, angry, because his two partners shot him and left him for dead....and now he wants revenge. But John isn't quite as bloodthirsty as you'd expect and after shooting only one of them in self-defense, he and a group of folks board the stage coach for Laramie.

On the way, their stage coach is attacked by some of the natives. This really challenges the beliefs of one of the members of the group, the Senator (Ward Bond), who is for trying to make peace with the Indians. And, the rest of the film consists of the small group slowly getting picked off as they're out of water and trapped in a ravine.

This is a very tense film...and well made. I was also surprised because it seemed to have a message that Indians are horrible murderers...though by the end, that is fortunately not the case. Well made, well acted and well worth seeing.

As an American actor/ screenwriter who loves Westerns, I find "The Dakota Incident" a hidden classic, with it's deft dialogue and uniquely clever romance between the lovely, talented Linda Darnell and the surprisingly skillful Dale Robertson. The scene where they are trapped in the dry wash in the desert and playfully fence with each other, is priceless. When Darnell says, "You throw all the rules right out the window, don't you?" And Robertson replies, "That's just the way you like it, barroom style", is one of the best moments in Western films. A very, underrated Western.... Beau Dare.

Republic's Waning Years Brings Us this Colorful, Film Filled with Lamenting.

A Good Cast Sparked by Linda Darnell's Fiery-Red Dress and Equally Flammable Female Hubris, Full of Spunk and Preen.

Dale Robertson is the Laconic Anti-Hero with Help from Ward Bond, John Lund, Regis Toomey, Whit Bissell, and Skip Homier.

A Stagecoach Full of Talky Characters with Ward Bond Playing Against Type as a Pacifist Senator and a Host of Others who Readily Jabber.

The "Tru-Color '' Template Allows for a Surreal Look at Things that is Always Interesting and Skewed.

The Action is Moderate and Pedestrian with the Thirsty Bunch Pin-Downed in a Gully Without Water, and that Supplies Most of the Suspense.

It's Darnell's Show All the Way with the Passengers Bouncing Off Her Charming Attractions.

The Indians are Painted as War-Mongers (except by the Senator) Until a Twist Ending.

Slightly Above Average.

Worth a Watch.

A story like this would perhaps normally be told from the point of view of John Lund's bank teller, an honest man who is wanted for the robbery committed by fellow stagecoach passenger Dale Robertson. But it's mostly told from Robertson's perspective, a decision that helps prolong the audience's uncertainty about how things will end up. Despite making a few interesting choices like this Dakota Incident only occasionally manages to raise above its Poverty Row roots.