A young cavalry doctor, against orders, treats very sick Indians who are forced to stay on unhealthy land, which could lead to a war.A young cavalry doctor, against orders, treats very sick Indians who are forced to stay on unhealthy land, which could lead to a war.A young cavalry doctor, against orders, treats very sick Indians who are forced to stay on unhealthy land, which could lead to a war.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Capt. Peter Blake
- (as Phil Carey)
- Wounded Trooper
- (uncredited)
- Bugler
- (uncredited)
- indian Woman
- (uncredited)
- Lt. Finlay
- (uncredited)
- Trooper
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
At first I thought Donna Reed's super-coy little flirt was nothing more than star-casting that would ruin the movie. But the script deals intelligently with her development as the plot darkens. Carey's excellent as the no-nonsense Captain, who's the realist counterpoint to the doctor's idealism. Note how he's never treated with disrespect even though some of his decisions seem ethically callous. Too bad, however, the writers included the tiresome cliché of a whiskey- loving sergeant as comedy relief. Nonetheless, director Karlson, who would later excel at crime dramas, keeps things moving, and wonder of wonders, even has the Indians shrewdly shooting horses out from under the cavalry.
The movie's theme reflects the growing racial consciousness of the 1950's. I like the way a bond is established between the doctor and the medicine man in their common human concern with healing. But just as importantly, the screenplay manages to make its point without getting preachy. Sure, the production is low-budget, never getting out of greater LA, with an Indian encampment that looks about as real as a Disneyland tableau. Still, it's a thoughtful and generally well-executed little horse opera that's better than it ought to be.
In the process, poor Robert Francis (playing Dr. Sewer) has to suffer the vexation of being called an Indian lover, a woodhawk, and a renegade - but still he remains faithful to the Hippocratic oath and he continues to treat whites and Indians as plain human beings and nothing but.
Francis performs credibily and is clearly the good man here, surrounded by others who appear to have sinister and racist motivations, like Captain Blake (played by Phillip Carey), who actually shoots an Indian in the back and never gets punished for it, even though he nearly started a war by doing so.
The two women in this film, Donna Reed and May Wynn, are important to the story in that they can see the good in the doctor and help him advance the cause of peace. Donna Reed gets a strangely small part after winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar the previous year.
All told, it is an enjoyable and highly moralistic Western.
Plenty of credibility holes.
They Rode West is a cavalry western and Francis is a young doctor assigned to an army post out west where both the Kiowas and Comanches are pretty hostile. The Kiowas are coming down with malaria living near a swamp as are the military, but the Kiowas have been put there by the government.
Like William Holden in The Horse Soldiers, Francis sees himself as a doctor first and a soldier second. He helps the Indian sick and then commits the unpardonable sin in the military by disobeying orders and telling the tribe they have to move to higher ground.
Nevertheless his sincere concern for the health of the Indians later stands the cavalry in good stead.
Along with Francis are Donna Reed as the niece of the commanding officer, May Wynn as a white Indian maid captive and Philip Carey as his rival who has a more traditional frontier view of the Indians.
Francis acquitted himself well in his first film, sad indeed his career was so short.
Did you know
- TriviaSecond picture in a row with Robert Francis and May Wynn sharing significant screen time together in each film.
- GoofsWhen the Indians ride away after attacking the fort, there are no dead bodies in sight, even though many Indians were killed.
- Quotes
Capt. Peter Blake: You've disobeyed orders by coming here. Let's go.
[pause]
Capt. Peter Blake: Doctor, I said let's go!
Dr. Allen Seward: Now we'll fix you up little fellow.
Capt. Peter Blake: I said let's go, Doctor.
Dr. Allen Seward: It's going to be alright. Now, son, drink this.
Capt. Peter Blake: [Cocks gun] You're under arrest.
Dr. Allen Seward: 2 people have already died of malaria here. 22 more are sick. Would you mind not shooting me until after I've treated them?
- How long is They Rode West?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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