Rocky Mountain

It's 1865. In a desperate last move, Lee had sent eight men led by Captain Lafe Barstow (Errol Flynn) to recruit Cole Smith and his 500 men for an attack on California. They save a stagecoach from a Shoshone war party. Passenger Johanna Carter (Patrice Wymore) is on her way to join her Union Army fiancé Lt. Rickey (Scott Forbes).

I don't like the narrations. It sounds like someone lifelessly reading a book. This has the potential to be a western classic. The story is good old fashion civil war fighting Indians. It has Errol Flynn. It has the epic landscape. They keep cutting to the little dog for the animal lovers. It has the fighting and the melodrama. It's an old fashion western. It's not a classic, but it is better than most.

This was Errol Flynn's last Western and not one of his best ,alas ,although it does have its moments. He plays a Confederate officer ,sent to California with a small troop to make contact with Southern sympathisers with the aim of stirring up rebellion in the state and diverting Union resources from other battle fronts.Two problems arise --the promised support is not forthcoming and he is sidetracked when riding to the rescue of a stagecoach coming under Indian attack.It proves to contain the fiancee of the local Union cavalry commander and when a troop is sent out to find her Flynn is forced to take them captive as well.When Native American scouts of the Union army turn out to be traitors and launch an attack his hands become even more full. Effectively shot in black and white there are some good action scenes and the acting is fine ,but it suffers by comparison to other "Indian attack " movies like "Apache Drums " Not bad but a notch or two short of classic status

"For it being 1950, I was stunned to find so many real and honest performances. There was none of that obnoxious "Studio Acting" where everyone is chewing scenery and pretending to be their character."

This was the comment of a previous reviewer. Anyone who is "stunned" to find good acting in a 1950 movie has probably not seen many movies from that period. As for "chewing scenery", I wonder if this person has ever paid attention when "method" icons like Dean, Brando, Cobb, Palance, and Penn are on screen. It's often a miracle there's any scenery left uneaten to finish the movie with!

"Rocky Mountain" is one of Flynn's better films (of many good ones), and as always, this underrated actor is real and natural. The movie is also of interest as the debut of noted character actor Slim Pickens. The story is gritty and dark, and the scenery and photography are spectacular. The ending is quite moving. This is a movie worth seeing.

Excellent black and white photography showcases the area around Gallup, New Mexico. Every scene is methodically planned out to take advantage of the surroundings. Add this to a strong cast and it makes it one of my favorites to watch over and over. The story line kind of comes in second on this one.

This movie has a few surprises that make it far better than one might expect from a "forgotten film".

What I was surprised most about was the directing, which comes across as almost an homage (or "rip-off", if you're cynical) to the great John Ford. What Mr. Ford did for Monument Valley, William Keighley tries to do for Gallup, New Mexico. And, for my money, he does an extremely respectable job of it. The scenery is really beautiful, and all the more dramatic due to the fact this is shot in black and white. There are some great angled shots, clever compositions, and the director does well with the action sequences.

The screenplay dispenses with all the heavy-handed messages and over-the-top, unfunny comedy sequences one might find in a Ford film, and aims its sites on a human drama of confederate soldiers on a mission who are forced to go to Plan B, C, and D in order to not only complete their mission, but to get two Yankee civilians to safety in spite of entanglements with Union soldiers and Indians on the war path. I agree with another IMDb reviewer who commented on the middle of the film dragging, and the suspense that should have been building never quite gets a full head of steam, but there are some really nice moments that make it worth sitting through the few dull spots. And I must admit to being utterly shocked by the ending...I really never saw it coming...which made the final moments in this film extremely poignant.

For it being 1950, I was stunned to find so many real and honest performances. There was none of that obnoxious "Studio Acting" where everyone is chewing scenery and pretending to be their character...everyone in this movie WAS the character they were playing. Errol Flynn is one of my all-time favorites and his restrained performance here was wonderful. This was my first time seeing Patrice Wymore on screen and I really enjoyed her performance...it could have easily become an annoying, whiny, shrill character, but Ms. Wymore made some very nice acting choices and created a believable character. The supporting cast is all solid, but three must be mentioned as stand-outs: 1) The great Chubby Johnson as the stage driver has a small but wonderful role. You might not know his name, but you'll know his face and voice immediately...one of the all-time great Western character actors. 2) A very young Slim Pickens has a wonderful role and proves himself the master horseback rider he was in real life. Great riding, great acting, and pure fun to watch. 3) The real surprise here for me was young Dickie Jones. What an absolute pleasure he was. And, in my opinion, he steals the movie away from all of the far more experienced and well-seasoned actors. He is genuine and earnest throughout, with a great monologue in the middle of the film that sucked me right in and made me believe. He was absolutely wonderful in the part and it's a shame he quit the business to go into real estate...I really think he might have had an Oscar in his future had he continued making movies.

This is not a perfect film by any means, but with strong performances, beautiful scenery, and interesting direction, this "John Ford Lite" Western has enough going for it to make up for any of its shortcomings. It's a real tough movie to find, but if you run across it, I sincerely believe it is worth a viewing.

Hope you enjoy!