Le fort de la révolte

And I had the habit not to ever miss a Lesley Selander's feature, though he has made so many of them, mostly grade Z, but I have never cared, on the contrary. So small budgets films have so much charm, precisely this lack of ambition, that I have an inner software that permits me to appreciate, love them for they are: not pretentious. I agree that the bulk of them are lousy, forgettable, but sometimes you may find some true gems, where screenwriters dare to show unusual stuff, ideas, schemes, characters. This is unfortunately not the case for this western. No surprise, but so much charm for western buffs.

A reviewer considered ot a lost opportunity and suggested a remake, as the conflicts amongst the troopers against the background of a common enemy: the ethical conundrum between duty and the emotional call of home loyalties, at a frontier cavalry post, as the US Civil War begins, was fertile ground for a deeper examination.

I agree. A remake could be an allegory of the present deeply and bitterly racially and politically divided US, against the backdrop of circling enemies, China, Russia, Iran, Nth Korea, smelling 'blood in the water' from what they perceive as a declining and wounded power.

Revolt at Fort Laramie is directed by Lesley Selander and written by Robert C. Dennis. It stars John Dehner, Gregg Palmer, Frances Helm, Don Gordon and Robert Keys. Music is by Les Baxter and cinematography by William Margulies.

Upon watching this above average Oater one word kept coming to mind, brief! Be it the battle scenes, the finale and of course the running time, it'as all so brief. Which when you have such a powder-keg premise at the core of the pic, is hugely annoying.

We have the Fort of the title made up of Southern and Northern soldiers, all standing together to repel the Red Cloud led Sioux Army. Then the First Battle of Fort Sumter opens on April 12, 1861, and what was once a harmonious force is now divided. Into the mix is shifty shenanigans involving gold, a lovers relationship under strain and murder! If only we could have had a bigger budget, another thirty minutes run time, and someone to throw a firecracker over it and BOOM!

Still, it's an entertaining piece with well staged battles - one a siege and one on the river - good scenes such as the opposing soldiers singing against each other with their respective "homeland" anthems, and fun moments like Dehner's Major Bradner being restrained in leg irons to stop him sleepwalking to his doom! Baxter's score is mostly standard stuff but occasionally shows inspiration like incorporating the said North/South anthems, while the Kanab locations are beautifully utilised (so not Laramie then? So what).

If only everything wasn't so brief. Grrrr. 6/10

At the start of the Civil War, the soldiers manning Fort Laramie are split between Yanks and Confederates but the real threat is the warpath Sioux surrounding them all.

Fairly good western with all round performances, especially from John Dehner, who for once isn't a shady character but a conflicted major of a fort. The idea of North and South conflict plus Indians on the warpath is quite fresh, and the action scenes are well done, though I wish the script was sharper, there was a longer running time and a more famous lead hero. Such things would have fulfilled the film's potential.

In the run-up to Maj Bradner's fateful announcement, we are led to believe that there is a "tension" between Northern and Southern soldiers at this far west outpost. Also, the announcement that we are expecting is not forthcoming. Great movie but left me scratching my head when Maj Bradner said that Fort Sumpter had just been attacked by Confederate forces and that President Lincoln had called for an "intervention." This error is later repeated by Captain Tenslip. What the major and the captain should have said was that Fort Sumner, located in South Carolina, had been attacked. It was this attack that precipitated the Civil War. Fort Sumpter was fired on by the British during the Revolutionary War!