La trappola degli indiani

Little Big Horn (AKA: The Fighting Seventh) is directed by Charles Marquis Warren who also adapts the screenplay from a story by Harold Shumate. It stars Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland, Marie Windsor, Reed Hadley and Jim Davis. Music is by Paul Dunlap and cinematography by Ernest Miller.

A small U.S. Cavalry unit snake their way towards Little Big Horn to warn General Custer of the mortal danger that awaits. But beset with inner conflicts and with the Sioux on their tails, chances of achieving their goal gets slimmer by the hour.

Low on budget but big on impact, Little Big Horn may just be the finest film to come out of Lippert Productions. With history as it is, the only thing going against Warren's film is that we know this band of men will not achieve their ultimate goal, but that's OK, for this is not about cheap heroics. Film is very grim, both in texture and thematics. With Warren and Miller painting a stark noir look to the visuals, story unfolds with futility the order of the day.

Heading the group are Capt. Phillip Donlin (Bridges) and Lt. John Haywood (Ireland), who we have witnessed at film's beginning forming a messy love triangle with Celie Donlin (Windsor). Captain Donlin is stickler for the rules, but are his motives clouded now? With the rest of the troop believing Haywood is a wife stealer, friction is palpable, yet Haywood keeps proving himself to be an admirable man, consistently doing things to make the troop reevaluate their feelings towards him. The group dynamic set up by Warren is first class, it crackles with intensity.

As the journey proceeds a number of potent scenes and scenarios come into play. A man staked up like a scarecrow as a trap, the drawing of cards to see who rides point - which the men know is almost certainly going to result in death - unmarked graves and wedding rings of the dead, these things really strike grim emotional chords. The Sioux are a constant threat out in the rocks or shadows, this troop, as we soon find out, are at the mercy of their better equipped enemy. There's a resignation residing within the group, yet it is that which binds them together. Arrows thud into bodies and blood pours from mouths, and then the finale comes storming in to close down this quite excellent film noir Western.

DVD packaged with Rimfire (1949) as a Kit Parker double bill of film noir Westerns, Little Big Horn is very much the better film. Both have the considerable visual skills of Ernest Miller to enjoy, but LBH is the more essential film on account of its across the board excellence. 8/10

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!

Perhaps the finest film to come from 'quickie' producer Lippert, this grim story of a band of calvary attempting to warn Custer holds up well after almost 50 years. Outstanding performances by a great supporting cast over-shadow what must have been a miniscule budget. Although the film claims to be based on a true incident, the curator of the Custer Battlefield Monument denies such an occurrence. Nonetheless, if you can find this one on video(not likely)or on the late show, it is well worth while.

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.

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.