User Reviews

Is that Bret Maverick moonlighting as Lt. Lee Rogers of Fort Wilderness. No, but all the Maverick charm is there. Cheyenne is an army scout this turn. He arrives to deliver a message and first runs into by-the book Capt. Quinlan and cowardly Major Heffler (cautious in his own mind). Heffler makes a decision, abandon the fort.

After being caught in an ambush while in a scouting party as they are leading the settlers out, both Cheyenne and Quinlan quickly learn respect for each other. Meanwhile Rogers is busy courting Ann Saunders with a charm offensive she is rebuffing but coyly.

All the soldiers of rank believe Quinlan would be better than Heffler, but Quinlan won't hear of it. But he too fears his Major is wrong and that the column of soldiers and civilians is doomed. And when the arrive at the Big Sandy River it's completely dry. Now Rogers rebels and takes over as Heffler as already put Quinlan under arrest.

Quinlan refuses to support Rogers and when the Indians attack the Major cowers in a wagon. But the Indians withdraw, Cheyenne believes it's a feint and urges Rogers to hold fast and prepare a surprise when the Indians return. A bit of a Trojan horse as Cheyenne will have the cavalry sharp shooters dress as civilians, including wearing dresses, and walk about the wagons; meanwhile the civilians and rest of the troop move forward and hide themselves.

The Indians attack, and Cheyenne's plan helps in reducing the number of Indians. The Major dies while hiding, and a number of soldiers die, including a baby-faced Michael Landon. Quinlan is hit by an arrow but survives. Cheyenne's last surprise occurs as the men and wagons are now running away but there is a howitzer in the last wagon which is employed as a mobile cannon.

The battle ends when Cheyenne kills Black Hawk, and the wagon train can now get to the next fort. Rogers, however, expects to face a court-martial for removing the Major from command but still returns command to Quinlan. And Quinlan is by-the-book. However, upon arriving at the fort, Quinlan decides not to turn the entire troop over. He and Cheyenne share a knowing glance, then fade out. All decisions have been made.

When Cheyenne Bodie flies into the fort with an urgent message, the laid-back Army scout and the staunchly by-the-book Captain Quinlan (Richard Denning) get off to a rancorous start, and things go downhill from there. On hearing that the Indians are on the warpath, the fort's scatterbrained commander rashly orders that everyone--soldiers and civilians, including women and children--leave at once for a fort miles away using a more hazardous route than the one the marauding Indians guard. On the ill-advised march, after removing Quinlan from his position in a fit of pique, the garrison's incompetent commander makes some dangerous miscalculations that cost him his command and later his life.

With the support of the enlisted men and of Cheyenne, too, young Lieutenant Rogers (James Garner) takes over, much to Quinlan's chagrin. An Indian attack leaves the garrison bloodied but not bowed, and the long dusty march ends with the wagon train largely intact. Quinlan, who had steadfastly assured Cheyenne and Rogers that a firing squad awaited them, winds up changing his mind when he observes that so many lives had been saved by their actions. Cheyenne had told him bluntly, "It's a pretty sorry man that uses a book of regulations for a conscience." In the end, Quinlan proved that he wasn't quite the inflexible stickler he thought he was.

All the players in this action-packed drama are very good, and Clint Walker proves yet again that no one else could have played the part of Cheyenne Bodie so convincingly. It was rumored that Garner was WB's first choice for the part, but if that's true (and I seriously doubt that it is), seeing him and Clint Walker together onscreen must have made Jack Warner heave a huge sigh of relief, knowing that he had been right in choosing Clint Walker from the start. James Garner was born to play Maverick and, no matter what anyone says, the stalwart, levelheaded, intelligent character of Cheyenne Bodie belonged to Clint Walker alone.