Código de Guerreiro

This tale of two brothers running from a posse and joining the CNMP after crossing the Canadian border isn't too bad. It's routine, yet still passes the time. The scenery is good, the interactions between CNMP and the Blackfoot chief is well done. It's not action-packed, there's more focus on trying to dampen the possibility of Sitting Bull getting the Blackfoot Indians to join them in a war, and it almost happens with James Craig's wayward brother being the light to fuse the powder keg. Lesley Selander directs competently.

Not that novel, because other Westerns have featured the Mounties, not least "O'Rourke of the Royal Mounted", also known as "Saskatchewan" starring Alan Ladd, which had a similar theme of the Sioux crossing the border and stirring up trouble.

But "Fort Vengeance" (listed as "Fort Retribution" on some streaming services) did make a change from other 1950s Westerns and, interestingly, did not include an instant and improbable romance between an ageing star (such as Randolph Scott) and a very attractive girl. Rita Moreno provided enough peripheral feminine interest.

The fort did not seem very defensible and on several occasions its garrison (of 29 men, augmented by the two Ross brothers) was halved when patrols of a dozen or more policemen rode out.

No doubt experts could comment on the accuracy of the uniforms, which were changed some time in 1876. But a nice touch was two men wearing brown jackets and trousers ( issued for stables and other fatigues) when the two brothers arrived at the fort.

Goof-spotters may have noticed two horses tethered to one side of the fort gates and two civilians chatting on the other when a patrol rode out. They were still there when the patrol returned the following day!

This colorful western is really an agreeable time waster, revealing the skills of this prolific western maker to provide such kind of material. Yes, Lesley Selander was not an ambitious director but was honest, generous for the audiences. This film is not exceptional but any western buff will be satisfied by a very well balanced script, story. Lesley Selander provided several westerns with FORT in the title, check his filmography. It's just amusing to notice it. This western is an Indian, military and fort scheme, as you had posse, stagecoach, riverboat, cattle baron, sheriff vs outlaws westerns.

A pair of brothers named Ross who are probably no better than they ought to be flee the USA and cross into Canada. As brother James Craig points out to brother Keith Larsen they left in rather a hurry and haven't got all that much liquid capital and at least Craig would prefer to make an honest living. When the opportunity presents itself to join the Northwest Mounted Police they join with Larsen a bit reluctant.

Their presence is welcome especially since they confirm that Sitting Bull has crossed into Canada after the Little Big Horn and is making for the Cree camp and Chief Morris Ankrum. He's looking for allies and the Cree are far more numerous than Mounties. But in Canada because there were so many fewer white settlers the Mounties become protectors of the Indians.

As for the brothers Craig gets into the Mountie spirit and starts taking up with the trading post owner's daughter Rita Moreno. But Larsen reverts to his old ways and the Cree are ready to join the Sioux because of it.

Fort Vengeance is nicely photographed with the players settling into familiar type roles for them. Before Rita Moreno won her Oscar playing someone of her heritage in West Side Story she was cast in a ton of films as exotic native types wherever the location of the film story was. Her she played a mixed race person known in Canada as a Meti.

Lesley Selander directed Fort Vengeance and he has a couple of hundred films and television shows under his belt. The man did know what to do with his players on a western set, albeit this one being a Northwestern.

Western and northwestern fans should be pleased.

This is pretty much a routine 50s Oater, set in the Northwest. The story concerns two brothers working for the RCMP, one good, one bad. It gets a boost from a better than average cast, nice color cinematography, and a fine score by Sawtell.