Delmer Daves' initial success came with the influential 'Broken Arrow,' which was a beautiful and humane film... Daves made another film about Indians, 'Drum Beat', which he recognizes to be the most authentic of his movies...
The hallmark of Daves' Westerns is their authenticity... Where Ford pictured the West as it should have been, Daves has tried to recapture the West as it was...
The film provides Bronson with his real break-through role as a screen actor... He makes indelible impression on audiences in his vivid role as the renegade Indian heavy Captain Jack who repudiates peace talk... Captain Jack is proud, ruthless and treacherous, scaring everybody plenty...
The setting for this fact-based story is Oregon represented by location shooting in Northern Arizona's Coconino National Forest in 1872...
Indian expert Johnny MacKay (Alan Ladd) is presidentially appointed as Peace Commissioner, assigned to effect a treaty, without resort to arms, with the Modoc Indians of the Oregon-California border...
The Modoc majority leans toward the hoped-for peace, but a renegade band strongly resists, under the self-appointed leadership of the vicious Captain Jack (Bronson), whose men ravage the area and skirmish with the soldiers of Fort Klamath...
In the film's exciting climax, MacKay personally tracks down Jack and battle him in fierce hand-to-hand combat into the sweeping current of a river...
The sweet Audrey Dalton portrays the lovely eastern girl who loves Johnny 'more than any peace on earth.'
Marisa Pavan is the friendly Toby who dares to believe that she can bring peace and goodwill to her people...
Hayden Rorke is President Grant who knows in his heart that 'peace doesn't come cheaply.'
Anthony Caruso is the friendly Modoc chief who never trust Captain Jack...
Elisha Cook, Jr. is the unscrupulous trader who sells Winchesters to the Modoc Indians...
Rodolfo Acosta is Scarface Charlie who warns Captain Jack: 'You kill, or they kill you.'
Robert Keith is Bill the coachman, who yells after the murder of his woman, Lily: 'You dish out your peace, Johnny. I'll dish out my end.'
"Drum Beat" is a lively item, thanks to Delmer Daves, who keeps the familiar story line moving at a fair clip... The material is trite but the production value gives it gloss, and the film benefits greatly from its applied research on Indian character...
The hallmark of Daves' Westerns is their authenticity... Where Ford pictured the West as it should have been, Daves has tried to recapture the West as it was...
The film provides Bronson with his real break-through role as a screen actor... He makes indelible impression on audiences in his vivid role as the renegade Indian heavy Captain Jack who repudiates peace talk... Captain Jack is proud, ruthless and treacherous, scaring everybody plenty...
The setting for this fact-based story is Oregon represented by location shooting in Northern Arizona's Coconino National Forest in 1872...
Indian expert Johnny MacKay (Alan Ladd) is presidentially appointed as Peace Commissioner, assigned to effect a treaty, without resort to arms, with the Modoc Indians of the Oregon-California border...
The Modoc majority leans toward the hoped-for peace, but a renegade band strongly resists, under the self-appointed leadership of the vicious Captain Jack (Bronson), whose men ravage the area and skirmish with the soldiers of Fort Klamath...
In the film's exciting climax, MacKay personally tracks down Jack and battle him in fierce hand-to-hand combat into the sweeping current of a river...
The sweet Audrey Dalton portrays the lovely eastern girl who loves Johnny 'more than any peace on earth.'
Marisa Pavan is the friendly Toby who dares to believe that she can bring peace and goodwill to her people...
Hayden Rorke is President Grant who knows in his heart that 'peace doesn't come cheaply.'
Anthony Caruso is the friendly Modoc chief who never trust Captain Jack...
Elisha Cook, Jr. is the unscrupulous trader who sells Winchesters to the Modoc Indians...
Rodolfo Acosta is Scarface Charlie who warns Captain Jack: 'You kill, or they kill you.'
Robert Keith is Bill the coachman, who yells after the murder of his woman, Lily: 'You dish out your peace, Johnny. I'll dish out my end.'
"Drum Beat" is a lively item, thanks to Delmer Daves, who keeps the familiar story line moving at a fair clip... The material is trite but the production value gives it gloss, and the film benefits greatly from its applied research on Indian character...