I guerrieri di Alce Azzurro

What was going on the production of this Lesley Selander western? Why the hell did they hire Tony Martin to play the lead? Why not Jerry Lewis? Or Lou Costello? The western itself is OK, not worse than another one, but Tony Martin in the lead.... Peggy Castle, John Doucette are helping a lot to compensate this huge midcast issue, and the settings of Utah are also responsible of the fact that I did not switch my TV set after the beginning of the film. Good western. The topic is used, and overused, a shipment of rifles and machine gun on the loose, with the dangerous proximity of Indians on rampage....

After enjoying Mr Martin's voice in many musicals, I found it very difficult to buy his casting and acting in a Western! The story line was ok, however Mr. Martin bombs as a cowboy and I wonder who put him upto this endeavor which falls very short of the mark.

The only reason I can think that Tony Martin did this film was to add a western to his film credit list. Maybe a nice cowboy ballad for him to sing would have improved Quincannon, Frontier Scout, but I doubt it. The film is collection of about every B western cliché under the sun.

The old some bad white people are selling guns to the Indian cliché is the plot premise here. Martin plays former officer now Indian scout Quincannon who quit the army because he was against killing Indians. Since that was their business that didn't leave him much room for career advancement.

But he's knowledgeable in frontier ways so Colonel Morris Ankrum hires him for a special assignment. As part of that assignment Peggie Castle comes along so Martin is interested.

Functioning as his Lucky and California to Martin's Hopalong Cassidy are John Bromfield and John Doucette. This probably could have been sold as a Hopalong Cassidy western. Also someone like Rory Calhoun or Robert Mitchum might have done something with the part. But Tony Martin looks like he wants to be back at the Copacabana opening night so much it's painful to watch.

Martin also rather stupidly confronts the villain after the villain gave himself away. That sets up all the action for the last third of the film.

I do love Tony Martin's singing, but this is one man who never should have tried to transition from musicals.

This movie seems to have been contrived from every Western cliché' known to film. I didn't have high hopes for its quality, and, in that, I wasn't disappointed.

It was nice seeing a '50s Western in beautiful color - especially in the scenic panoramic shots, but it showed up the thick pancake makeup terribly. The actors looked as if it had been troweled on.

As for the acting, it's the standard B-list roster except for Tony Martin. He deserved to be put on the Z-list. The man had a gorgeous singing voice, but couldn't act to save his life.

The others, with whom you might be familiar, are Ron Randell, John Smith, John Doucette and the blonde siren of B-listers, Peggie Castle.

There's plenty of action to keep you awake, the story is a standard one - the bad guy trading illegal goods with the Indians, the good guy who finds him out and routs him. And the pretty blonde who falls in love with our hero.

Have to say, aside from the pretty color cinematography, there's little to offer to anyone. I'm glad it was on in the morning on the Western Channel, because if it had been night, I'd have fallen asleep.

This is not an awful movie. It's certainly not a great movie. The best I can say about it is...

meh.

Linus Quincannon left the army to protest against the massacre of the Indian populations. He becomes a scout along the border and is sent on a mission to find clues to the disappearance of a convoy of weapons. He is joined by a young woman, Maylene, who is trying to find out if her brother was killed in the attack on a Fort ...

Firstly, I do sort of agree with Tony Martin being miscast as a frontier scout. He's ok, I suppose, but he looks more at home in a Las Vegas club singing Tony Bennett songs. He appears to be reading from a cue card and tends to talk loud, and is a little bit arrogant. Dale Robertson or Rory Calhoun would have been a better fit. However, Martin is ably assisted by western regulars Peggie castle, John Doucette, Morris Ankrum etc., and they do really well.

The western itself is fairly entertaining with the usual cliches, but the balanced treatment of Native Americans is well depicted and I liked the ransom demand angle regarding Peggie Castle's brother. Adds a little intrigue. There's some lively action towards the end. Plenty of nice scenery, too.