Yes, the majority of those protecting the forts, guiding the wagon trains and rescuing settlers in trouble may have been men, but they were aided by some pretty tough women, and it went beyond Stanwyck, Crawford and Dietrich. All eyes will be on the tough loveliness of Ann Sheridan (who made her share of big screen westerns, a few with the male lead of this, Errol Flynn) and future head nurse of "Emergency", Julie London. But the surprising standout performance is by the always busy character actress Irene Tedrow as the head of the local town who stands up to Flynn like a combination of Hope Emerson and Mercedes McCambridge, far different than anything I've ever seen her in.
Flynn is protecting sisters Sheridan and London from the natives who allegedly killed their husbands, and with the chief in custody, the nearby community where they end up is in danger, if not from the Apaches then from Tedrow and her posse. John Ireland costars, flirting with the lonely London, a bit of a wildcat her older sister can't control. I noticed that the print of this Playhouse 90 episode is quite a bit longer than most anthology shows of the time, more like a feature length film. Flynn underplays his part, allowing the women to dominate the story, a nice switch in a darker style of western the big screen rarely attempted.
Flynn is protecting sisters Sheridan and London from the natives who allegedly killed their husbands, and with the chief in custody, the nearby community where they end up is in danger, if not from the Apaches then from Tedrow and her posse. John Ireland costars, flirting with the lonely London, a bit of a wildcat her older sister can't control. I noticed that the print of this Playhouse 90 episode is quite a bit longer than most anthology shows of the time, more like a feature length film. Flynn underplays his part, allowing the women to dominate the story, a nice switch in a darker style of western the big screen rarely attempted.
