Massacre River

In this routine oater, Larry (Guy Madison) and Phil (Rory Calhoun) are officers in the Army stationed at a remote fort at the edge of Indian territory. The Indian chief (Iron Eyes Cody) represents the native inhabitants near the end of their fight with the white man; therefore, the fort and nearby town of Jackson are populated by mostly settlers and other civilians. Larry is engaged to Kitty (Cathy Downs), the daughter of the fort commander, and Kitty's brother Randy is the mild comedy relief. Although the film's poster promises some violent Army-Indian clashes, there is only one mildly good battle scene and a skirmish near the finale. The bulk of the movie is a leaden soap opera concerned with how Larry jilts Kitty after he falls in love with the hardened co-owner of Jackson's saloon (Carole Matthews). This sets both Phil and Randy against Larry. The divisions this causes leads the death and tragedy in a "character-driven" western which, despite good performances from Madison and Matthews, strains to make us believe that their characters have any sort of believable future together.

A beautiful little unknown western, made in beautiful settings, natural settings, which brings much charm to it. The story is not that exciting, because a bit too predictable but it deserves to be seen. The ending seems missed for me but that doesn't spoil the whole. I guess that film is among the best that John Rawlins gave us, above the batch of B movies he made in his carrer. He was a good technician, with no ambition, but in the Hollywood industry of this period, only a handful of ruthless sharks could make what they really wished to.

I know nothing about Director John Rawlins but he certainly should have avoided the pitfalls of a script that keeps trying to surprise but just seems contrived, what with all the contradictory directions that love relations keep taking.

Incredibly beautiful Carole Matthews plays a hardened saloon lady and her chemistry with Guy Madison is very convincing. She is the proverbial heart of gold saloon lady until she kills to save the man she loves... and, of course, back in 1949 there was a price to pay for killers.

Good friends and army officers Madison and Calhoun share a playful relationship until they fall in love with the same woman, who has to say no to one, only to see the other fall for the above mentioned saloon lady. Sadly, these characters are too fast for typical late 19th century characters and they keep ditching and trading partners with undergarment-changing frequency, which may initially raise the tempo and threat of some thorny situations, but not even very good B&W photography and engaging action and acting save the film from its shifty script.

Still, it is watchable. 6/10.

Massacre River is directed by John Rawlins and written by Louis Stevens. It stars Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun, Carole Matthews, Cathy Downs, Johnny Sands and Steve Brodie. Music is by John Leipold and Lucien Moraweck and cinematography by Jack Mackenzie.

Three army buddies, two ladies, and Indians unhappy about land encroachments. Spells trouble for sure.

Massacre River is a tricky Western to recommend in that it is not one for those expecting a Cavalry and Indians actioner, this is no high energy "B" Western. It relies heavily on character dynamics and a story ripe with surprising forays into darker territories. In fact it is far from routine stuff, a tag that even the New York Times reviewer of the time was quickly wrong to call it.

We have five people caught in a devil's pentagon, friendships and passions are tested and emotions reach boiling point. Thankfully the makers involved here have the courage of their convictions to make bold decisions with some of the characters. Decisions that bring the pic into a film noir realm, which when aided by some pleasing monochrome photography, and shadow play when the story goes bleaker, marks this out as very being aware of that style of film making that was bubbling away with menace at the time.

It begins all jaunty with pals larking around, even bordering on the homo erotic as two of the guys wrestle in a bath of water (seriously), and with a meeting of the fort colonel and the Indian chief (Art Baker and Iron Eyes Cody) outlaying a problem brewing between the two factions, it appears to be heading into "formula". But once the action switches to Jackson (the last outpost bordering Massacre River), the whole tone shifts, very much so, and it becomes a spicy hotbed of human agonies and vagaries of fate.

Problems exist of course. It's nice to have Calhoun and Brodie in the same movie, but the former's fans are made to wait for him to be seen at his best, while the latter is very under used. Story wise there is a hint of under staffing at one of the forts, but it's not explored for benefit, while the Indian angle ultimately feels tacked onto the human drama. But it's nicely performed by the cast, there's some nice photography and camera work, while the comforting sight to Western fans of the Iverson Ranch locale is boosted by shots filmed at Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

Well worth a look for Western fans familiar with noirish angles of the period. 7/10

Footnote: Some sources have it listed as being in Sepiatone. Not sure if it was filmed originally in that format? But the print I saw via TCM's HD channel wasn't so, it was a straight and very nice looking monochrome print.

Lts. Guy Madison and Rory Calhoun, real pals, both love the colonel's daughter Kitty. Kitty turns Rory down in favor of Guy. Rory accepts this...

But then the triangle becomes a love quadrilateral when Guy meets and falls for a racy saloon gal, Laura (Carole Mathews), and breaks off his engagement with Kitty. Which causes Kitty's brother to try and kill Guy but he gets killed - from here tragedy strikes.

In the back ground, Chief Yellowstone (Iron Eyes Cody) and Colonel Reid (Art Baker) want peace but the chief has trouble controlling his young hothead braves, who prefer the warpath.

A cavalry western called Massacre River would usually mean plenty of injun clashing with the cavalry, arrows flying and tomahawks crashing, but this western hasn't got much action; it has more drama and romance. It is quite involving and moving nevertheless. The performances are great, especially Carole Matthews as Laura and Guy Madison as the lieutenant whose decision to settle down with Laura sets off a series of tragic events. Usually not keen on tragic love stories, which this is, but the plot of Massacre River gets a grip on you and doesn't let go. The stark atmosphere adds to the story.