Le fort de la dernière chance

As every Audie Murphy buff knows, his best western was the near-classic No Name On the Bullet, with perhaps Destry a close second. But in the top three (setting the short but brilliant Red Badge of Courage and the autobiographical To Hell and Back, an A movie, aside), Guns of Fort Petticoat is at the top of the list, owing to splendid outdoor action sequences, a smart sense of humor that doesn't allow anyone to take this all too seriously, and . . . to put it bluntly . . . sex appeal. Also, a political consciousness, with Murphy a) going north, despite his being a southwesterner, to fight in the civil war because he's against slavery, and b) his attempt to try and stop the Sand Creek Massacre and save Native American lives. (One historical error: The massacre was not perpetrated by 'regular U.S. army,' as the film suggests, but by a self-styled civilian-soldier group called a 'militia outfit' though really noting more than racist vigilantes.) Knowing that an Indian war is impending, Murphy returns to the war torn southwest and, with men absent, trains women to fight and defend themselves. Something of a feminist western, way ahead of its time, but (thankfully) no polemics, only action, romance, and surprisingly effective comedy. Kathryn Grant makes an adorable female lead for Audie.

When I first saw the movie title as a boy, I thought it might be something almost ridiculous, but now that I've seen it my thoughts have been somewhat amended. The storyline is brief: during the Civil War an army officer (played well by the veteran western actor Audie Murphy) leads a group of women from Texas against hostile, attacking Indians who want to destroy the old fort where the women are found. Again, I was ready to laugh when I saw the title, but I do not think that in real life I would have wanted to tangle with any of these women who, led by Murphy, became practically sharpshooters. They held off Indians and outlaws well. This cinematic piece was exciting and the action good, which is shown through the fact that the women were very emotional. In one point the matter of killing is addressed, so in one place the movie is controversial. Because of the beautiful scenery, exciting western action, and good story, this has become a favorite western of mine.

Lt. Frank Hewitt absconds from the Union Army to warn fellow Texans that Indian attacks are inevitable due to a massacre at Sand Creek. What he finds is that all the men are away fighting in the Confederate Army so the homesteaders are mainly made up of women. Having to first earn their respect and trust, he convinces them to prepare for an Indian attack at a dilapidated mission station, teaching the majority of them to shoot and fend for themselves in hand to hand combat. Badly outnumbered when the day comes, it will take more than the hand of god to stop this from being another massacre to further darken the South.

What an absolute blast this picture is, for sure it's steeped in "B" movie tropes, but led by the amiable Audie Murphy as Hewitt, the picture is certainly most engaging and never lets the discerning viewer down. Perhaps struggling to shake off the need to be overtly serious, it is none the less dramatic at times and not without serious moments that put the ladies of the piece firmly in a good light. It's not a feminist picture of course because the characters still need their men to be with them, while Hewitt naturally creates a little pitter-patter amongst some of the women. What the picture chiefly portrays is that these gals can step up to the plate when required, and more crucially, the film doesn't rely on sentimentality to raise the story's worth.

Kathryn Grant (soon to me Mrs Bing Crosby), Hope Emerson, Jeanette Nolan, Peggy Maley and Patricia Tiernan are just some of the female cast that brighten up the play. From the intriguing training sequences as Hewitt gets tough with the gals, to the thrilling rush of the Indian attack on the mission, The Guns Of Fort Petticoat is a very enjoyable Western that most certainly doesn't waste the time of the viewer. 7/10

The title of this film almost sounds like it will be a comedy.....sort of like "F Troop" meets "Petticoat Junction". It is, however, a relatively serious affair with some decent action sequences and some (sometimes unintentional) amusing moments. Murphy stars as a Cavalry Lieutenant who deserts his post in order to go a warn the people of his nearby hometown of an impending Indian attack. Unfortunately, virtually every man is gone from the area and the remaining women all resent him for wearing the blue instead of the gray uniform. Once the Indians start to make their mark, the ladies begin to change their mind and Murphy rounds them all up in an abandoned mission, determined to convert them into soldiers for their own sake. An already slightly campy film (check out the Indian grandma doing a child's hair at her camp right before a marauding cavalry unit appears), gets even loonier at this point. The mere idea of women brandishing guns and fighting physically must have been otherworldly in 1957. The enterprise is treated with all the expected attention and detail for the curio that it is. Murphy refers to the ladies as "men" and appoints sergeants, etc... He drills them in target practice, hand to hand combat and skirt-tucking (turning skirts into makeshift pants!) Naturally, there is every type of woman imaginable.....the old love, the new love, the haughty rich bitch, the one "in trouble", the religious fanatic, the tart, etc... What gives the film a great boost in the arm is the irascible, irreplaceable presence of burly, sarcastic Emerson as the leader of the women. Always intriguing to watch, she gets a plum role here as a bossy, tough, but good-hearted pioneer woman. It also helps that the film isn't dumb enough to suggest that this sort of thing wouldn't lead to casualties. So the unusual aspect of seeing women holding a fort with guns is accented and enhanced by seeing some of them take a fall as well. This adds to the realism of a film which is, at heart, pretty trite and coy. There are some fairly tough scenes and the Indian attack is actually pretty tense. (And it's awful nice of the Indians to wait and WAIT before coming until Murphy has trained all the gals, drained the water from the well, taught them how to make "bombs" and ammunition and solved various other problems!) Maley as a saloon singer and Elsom as a society matron help push the camp envelope. A few other ladies (like the one who gets upset and literally gobbles like a turkey with her face in the ground) take it even further, but Nolan rips it open. She is downright embarrassing as a devout Christian who clutches her Bible and spouts messages of nonviolence. However, when push comes to shove and arrows come to necks, she has a freak-out scene that is one for the books! Even with the pat situations and mundane dialogue, there's a certain curiosity value to the film and scattered laughs throughout (Wade, as Elsom's maid, has a real zinger of a closing line for her character!) Grant would later become better known as Mrs. Bing Crosby.

Opposing his commanding officer's decision to attack a group of innocent Indians and wipe them out , Lt. Frank Hewitt (Audie Murphy) leaves his post , while the commandant carries out a brutal slaughter , the famous ¨Sand Creek massacre¨. Then Frank heads home to Texas , there he gets a chilly reception back home however . With most of the folkmen away having drafted in the Confederate army , Frank, the Union officer, is seen by the local women as a traitor . Hewitt knows an impending Indian attack , as they will send all of the tribes on the warpath and subsequently Frank wants to forewarn everyone. He meets some homesteaders , all women (Kathryn Grant , Hope Emerson, Jeff Donnell , Jeanette Nolan, Patricia Tiernan , among others) whose men are away fighting in the Confederate Army to take refuge in an abandoned mission and old fort . He overcomes initial distrust and eventually convinces them . They have to defend a cavalry fort while their men are away, enlisted at army . Problems emerge when other women arrive at the besieged mission and their different relation among them . Hewitt trains them to fight and shoot in anticipation of the attack. The only other man at the fort runs away o save his scalp and ends up leading the Indians back to the mission. As they defend against violent furies , Indian attacks , a thousand of perils and hardships . Some were hussies in silk who became heroines in calico . Surrounded and outnumbered, the defenders prepare for the final assault .As the Indians threaten to overwhelm . Of all frontier annals .. Here's the heroic stand that stands alone¡ The thundering story that challenges all filmdom to match its excitement¡ GOOD WOMEN...BAD WOMEN...BRAWLING WOMEN...BRAVE WOMEN! They were all soldiers in skirts!

This fresh , genial picture gets Western action , shootouts , agreeable outdoors , a lot of attractive roles and turns to be quite entertaining . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . A good Western by the professional and craftsman filmmaker George Marshall who brought ¨When the Dalton rode¨and ¨Destry rides again¨. Excitement and entertainment mount in the closing stages as the brave women begin to fall little by little , one by one , while defending a cavalry fort . The main and enjoyable plot line results to be the Union Army deserter, Lt. Hewitt, trains a rag-tag band of all-female homesteaders to defend themselves against a Comanche tribe on the warpath , as he convinces them of the perils that lie ahead and trains them to repel the attack that will eventually come. Gritty and decently written Western with interesting screenplay by Walter Doniger , based on a story by William Harrison , exploring the anguish of women , the hard relationship among them and including jarring bursts of action and emotion . This is a thrilling tale of a valiant and a hard-bitten lieutenant assembling a detail of misfit women to hold-off rampaging Indians . This is a moving story about a surrounded mission/fort and director takes a fine penned script creating a women-cavalry-Indians tale that is far from ordinary , exploring the distresses and desperation of some fainthearted women . This Western is predictable and conventional but entertaining . It is an uneven Western with a plot that several times reminds ¨Beau Geste¨in female style and following an typical American style , such as ¨Chuka¨ and ¨Only the valiant¨ by Gordon Douglas , ¨Mutiny at Fort Sharpe¨ by Fernando Cerchio with Broderick Crawford , all of them dealing with forts also besieged by Indians , as well as taking parts here and there of ¨Westward the woman¨by William A Wellman with Robert Taylor , Denise Darcel . It's the regular plot concerning a motley team stranded by hostile Indians , unfortunately, despite a few good elements like these , I didn't overall care for this movie that results to be decent one , but including some flaws . The movie is sometimes slow-moving , and the characters mostly act alike . As the picture contains nice moments but partially unsatisfying , that's why of the excessive scenes shot at the claustrophobic environment of the mission interior . Audie Murphy gives a nice acting as Lt. Frank Hewitt who deserts the Union Army to warn former Texas neighbors of impending Indian attacks triggered by Army massacre. The WWII hero Murphy won more than 10 medals , being the most decorated American soldier , including Congressional Medal of Honor and he was prized by 5 decorative medals by France and Belgium , post-WWII . Murphy starred a great number of Westerns as The kid from Texas , Cimarron kid , Gun point , Night passage , The gunrunners , Posse from hell , Gunfight at Comanche , Rifles Apaches , The unforgiven, Legend of Sam Ward , Whispering Smith , 40 guns at Apache pass , Texas Kid . Support cast is pretty well , as Audie Murphy being well accompanied by a fine -mostly women- cast , such as : Kathryn Grant , Hope Emerson , Jeanette Nolan , Jeff Donnell , Patricia Tiernan , Peggy Maley , Isobel Elsom . And the bad guys and good guys include a whole crop of familar faces you love to see , such as : Sean McClory , Ray Teal , Francis McDonald , John Dierkes, Nestor Paiva , the usual nasty James Griffith and Charles Horvath who usually plays Indian roles , here as Yellow Horse .

It provides a rousing and stirring musical score by Mischa Bakaleinikoff , Columbia Pictures's regular , though uncredited. It contains brilliant and colorful cinematography in Technicolor by Ray Rennahan . Being shot on location in Old Tucson , Arizona, Amado, Arizona,Sierrita Mountains, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Tucson Mountains, Sonoran Desert, Picacho Peak State Park, Sedona , San Xavier, Flagstaff, Arizona . The motion picture well produced by Harry Joe Brown and Audie Murphy himself , though uncredited , being directed in sure visual eye by George Marshall . Pretty good serious and acceptable Western with George Marshall's inspired direction and a sensational cast . Marshall realized a variety films of all kind of genres , though especially Western , the best are starred by James Stewart and Glenn Ford . Marshall directed Western along half century , his first Western was ¨Wild gold¨(1934) and he subsequently made his masterpiece ¨Destry rides again¨(1939) in which combines action , charmingly natural story , humor and drama ; in 1951 directed a new version under title ¨ Frenchie ¨ with Eddie Murphy and Marie Blanchard in similar characters to James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich . As Marshall introduces comicalness in realist Western , including a little genre satire on the conventional Western thrown in for good measure . As he directed Western with funniness such as ¨Texas¨ also starred by Glenn Ford and Edgar Buchanan . He went on filming parody/western such as ¨Fancy pants¨(1950) , ¨Advance to the rear¨(1964), and musical Western as ¨Red Garters¨and ¨The second greatest sex¨. Other Westerns he directed are the following ones : ¨When Dalton rode¨, ¨Valley of the sun¨, ¨The savage¨, ¨Pillars of sky¨, ¨the guns of Fort Petticoat¨ and the episode titled ¨The railway¨ from ¨How the West was won¨ . Rating 6.5/10. Better -than -average. Well worth seeing . The picture will appeal to Eddie Murphy fans .