La flèche sanglante

I don't understand why such a good western is so rare, hard to find. There is not many surprises, but a quite exciting pace and action scenes. The Indians are here not the only villains and Dale Robertson the good hero; I know, that may sound cheesy, predictable, and it partly is too...This is not ULZANA'S RAID, but really worth purchasing. Sidney Salkow was really a good adventure, western director, but not noir though, except CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL...Such a shame. Here, the performances are quite convincing, even Dale Robertson, who seems better than usual. Wendell Corey too, in a supporting role and not a good guy one. Good directing.

The film started off badly for Wade Cooper: a handcuffed prisoner of the US Cavalry, ambushed by Native Americans, wounded in the shoulder by an arrow, staggering through the wilderness . Then he sees Martha Hyer bathing nude in the river ... She takes him back to her husband's trading post and nurses him so well that within a day or two he's able to defeat in hand-to-hand combat a brave who assaults her.

Suspiciously well-graded roads also serve to diminish the film's worth.

Often I feel that monetary values in these old Westerns reflect the era when the film was made, rather than the one that it features. At one point a bad guys reflects that his share of the loot - $4,000 - isn't that much, but in 18971 it would have been very useful indeed - worth some $88,000 in 2021 values.

A predictable ending.

Outlaw Wade Cooper (Dale Robertson) is a prisoner of the US Cavalry. When the Apache attacks, he is the sole survivor. Nancy Mailer (Martha Hyer) rescues Wade and brings him back to the her miserly husband Clint's (Wendell Corey) trading post. When the Apaches raid the post, Clint propose to trade their lives for all the guns that the Apaches would need. The Apaches take their son for leverage.

There are outlaws, Indians, gunfights, Cavalry, and melodrama. This is quintessential Western B-movie. The characters are all iconic. There isn't much subtlety. Not all of it makes sense. It's questionable why the outlaws didn't just fight for the gold, but instead help to rescue the boy. I get Wade's motivation for the Mrs Mailer. The other outlaws make little sense.

I never cared for dale robertson in any western role ... he always seemed like the out of place easterner ... he was especially terrible in the series "tales of wells fargo" ... in this film he played an outlaw on the run because he held up an army payroll ... the only series he did any good at was "ironhorse" marth hyer was especially hot in this film, her only naked scene i know of and even one indian brave thought she looked good enough for him

In 1871 Arizona, after Geronimo's escape to Mexico and Apache return to the reservation, a tribe of Coyotero Apaches are defying orders to lay down their arms. They attack army patrols and settlements. Captured outlaw Wade Cooper is transported by an army patrol to the nearest fort when they are attacked by Apaches. All are killed, except Wade who is wounded. Making his way to a creek he's saved by Nancy Mailer who washed in the waters. She takes him to the nearby trading post which is run by her family. Clint Mailer is her husband and Tim is her son. The husband has a secret gold mine nearby and has extracted 20,000 dollars in gold nuggets already. The family hides Wade but an army patrol, en route towards the troublesome Apache, tells the Mailers to leave the unsafe area immediately. While they all pack to leave, Apaches attack the trading post and take all rifles they can find. When they want to kill the whites, Clint Mailer promises them many more rifles in exchange for their safety. The Apaches agree but they take the young Tim as hostage. The Apaches promise to return Tim in exchange for the promised rifles in ten days. After their departure, Wade Cooper offers to help the Mailers retrieve their son by stealing army rifles for the Apaches. In return, he wants the gold nuggets Clint has been stashing inside a wagon and under the floorboards inside the trading post. The Mailers reluctantly agree but Wade first needs to contact some of his old buddies to help him steal the army rifles. Wade's buddies eventually arrive at the trading post but the ensuing events prove that no one can be trusted. ...

Quite an enjoyable western with an interesting story, a plot that pulls you in and interesting characters, especially centering around Wendell Corey and his wife. Corey seems more interested in his gold than his wife and son, and predictably Hyer and Dale Robertson are going to fall in love with each other. It's a familiar story, well told, has some fine action sequences, great landscape, but what plays against it is its plodding pace.