La Rivière de la mort

When one looks at lists of all time great westerns, its not likely that you'll see "Little Big Horn" among them. It is nonetheless worthy of greater appreciation. Produced by the small independent Lippert Company and directed by first time director Charles Marquis Warren, it has a riveting storyline and contains some great performances.

Captain Phil Donlin (Lloyd Bridges) returns home from a patrol to find his wife Celie (Marie Windsor) in the arms of fellow officer Lieutenant John Haywood (John Ireland). Donlin accepts his fate (for the moment) and leaves on a three week patrol. On patrol, Donlin learns of the impending ambush of Colonel George Custer and his men at Little Big Horn. Still distraught over his wife's unfaithfulness, he decides to embark on a three day 250 mile journey to warn Custer of the oncoming attack.

Haywood meanwhile, has been ordered to call in all patrols from the field due to the Sioux threat. When he reaches Donlin's patrol, Donlin decides to "take the long way around" in obeying his superior's orders to return to the fort. As a measure of revenge, orders Haywood to accompany him on his suicide mission. Haywood decides to prove that he is a worthy soldier and not let the love triangle interfere with his duties.

One by one the patrol are being killed off by the Sioux as they press on toward their objective. The tension grows between Donlin and Haywood until the two finally come to blows. And then...............

Bridges, in one of his rare starring parts is excellent as the leader of the patrol. Ireland as well, stands out among the cast of familiar western movie faces. Reed Hadley plays S/Sgt. Grierson a former officer who had been a Major in the Civil War, Jim Davis as Cpl. Moylan, Hugh O'Brian as the card playing Pvt. DeWalt, Wally Cassell as Pvt. Zecca who is in and out of trouble, Sheb Wooley as the scout, Quince, Rodd Redwing and King Donovan and John Pickard as other members of the patrol.

Given the historical events of the Little Big Horn, the ending of the story is fairly obvious, but nevertheless, you'll find yourself rooting for the patrol that they will somehow achieve their objective.

Probably the best film to ever come from Lippert.

Lippert Pictures was never, to put it mildly, known for its extravagant productions. Its budgets were minimal, the talent it used--both in front of and behind the camera--was usually second- or third-string, its product was churned out quickly and cheaply for the second- and third-run market. Every so often, though--almost in spite of itself--Lippert managed to turn out a top-notch film. Sam Fuller's "The Steel Helmet" and "The Baron of Arizona" were two, and this is a third. In fact, this looks like it could have been made by Fuller--it has the gritty edge that's typical of his films, and the issues of duty, honor and sacrifice that infused so many of Fuller's movies. Writer/director Charles Marquis Warren was a somewhat inconsistent filmmaker; he made some moody, tense, first-rate little westerns ("Hellgate," "Arrowhead") and some absolute crap ("Charro"). This is one of his best (so good, in fact, that he remade it--badly--in 1958 as "Desert Hell", changing the story from soldiers in the American west to Foreign Legionnaires in the Arabian desert). A small cavalry patrol stumbles upon a huge gathering of Indians about to ambush Custer's 7th Cavalry troopers. The only way to warn Custer's unit about the impending attack is for the patrol to ride directly through the hordes of Indians. There are no false heroics here, either; the officer in charge of the patrol knows that the action he must take will result in almost certain death for everyone in his small unit, but he also knows that if they don't warn Custer, it will result in certain death for Custer's entire command. He has no desire to die or to cause the death of his men--several of whom he doesn't even like--and he's torn between what he knows is his duty and his reluctance to order his men on what will almost certainly be a suicide mission. This is a tough little film, full of short, brutal--surprisingly so, considering the era in which it was made--action scenes where nobody dies prettily. It's a nail-biter and will have you on the edge of your seat. Tightly directed, sharply written, with a great supporting cast of veteran western actors, including Jim Davis, John Ireland, John Pickard, Reed Hadley and Wally Cassell. Do yourself a favor and don't miss this one.

Viewed "Little Big Horn" tonight for the first time in over 40 years. Growing up in New York in the late 1950's and early sixties the movie stations to watch were Channel 9 (WOR) an Channel 11 (WPIX). Seems like after baseball or basketball practice or on weekends there was always a movie to watch on one of these stations.I remember quite well those which we always talked about the next day and would watch over and over. "Little Big Horn" was one that we watched over and over. Others were Yankee Doodle Dandy", "The Steel Helmet", and "The Great John L". Never understood then why we enjoyed these movies but we did. Watching "Little Big Horn" tonight told me why. A great story line and outstanding acting, pure and simple.Each character is developed and the story line never fails to surprise although the final outcome is known by every student of history. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as much as I did 40 years ago except that I now have an understanding of why this particular movie has stood the test of time. Highly Recommended!

Saw this when it first came out and have seen it several time over the years. Still stands up and is worth watching.

The performances, story and production are tops and keep you glued to the screen through the entire movie.

The attention to detail of uniforms and other costumes is excellent, along with the horse handling.

It is well photographed and edited, with good lighting, especially the night scenes.

I haven't seen it in about 20 years, wish they would put it on television again.

Hope they at least bring it to my local video store.

Ever watch a movie that was so good you wished it would never end? That's the feeling when watching "Little Big Horn", an unheralded, unheard of (at least by me),old fashioned, Cowboys-and-Indians movie that Hollywood used to turn out by the Conestoga wagon-full. But this one is more suspenseful and well-acted, the characters more developed and the storyline just plain better than most oaters. This is a western with an edge.

Others have outlined the plot in reviews above, but rarely did LLoyd Bridges, John Ireland and Marie Windsor (the quintessential femme fatale in a cameo) get roles they could sink their teeth into as those found in "Little Big Horn". The realistic atmosphere here rivals that found in some of Hollywood's greatest achievements, for example "Treasure of The Sierra Madre" or "Paths of Glory", made on much bigger budgets. If you are a fan of Hollywood movies, when movies were movies, try not to miss this one. It's available on Amazon now and it's a bargain.