War Paint

source: War Paint

A Cavalry lieutenant is assigned to deliver a peace treaty to an Indian chief, but two Indians have vowed to kill the officer and his men before he completes his mission. The two Indians who are brother and sister and chief's children sabotage the patrol's supplies at every turn in various undetected ways. On their journey the patrol discovers the remains of Commissioner Kirby's escort. The patrol finally get wise to Taslik when they discover that he has led them in a giant circle looking for water. With time rapidly vanishing, Lt. Billings collects all the remaining water of the rapidly diminishing patrol to fill one water bottle. This is given to one of the troopers, who is to make his way overland to the Indian village while the rest of the men conserve their strength by traveling only at night. Wanima ambushes the trooper and kills him but is wounded herself and becomes unconscious. At night the patrol discovers what has happened, but Billings refuses to kill Wanima. This causes discontent among the patrol, who have lost other members through poisoned water and suicide. Wanima agrees to lead the patrol to water but leads them to an abandoned gold mine, creating further discontent. After a brief struggle between the troopers, Wanima, and Billings, Wanima resents leading them to water. With renewed strength and the knowledge of the gold, some remaining troopers plot to collect the gold and flee. When discovered a shootout occurs, ultimately only Billings and Wanima survive, finally arriving at the village to deliver the treaty. I guess that everybody could have remembered the movie if John Wayne or Henry Fonda were the leading actors instead of Robert Stack (who was great by the way). I enjoyed it. One of my favorites.

Yes, a rather good western from a chain director, who gave us more westerns than there are mosquitos in Louisiana swamps. In the fifties, as I have already said, Lesley Selander was far, far better than one decade earlier, maybe because he became better with the experience and also the budgets whom the producers allowed him to dispose. I don't know why tere are so many bad comments. Ok, the topic is used, overused, but it remains a good yarn, with supporting characters such as Robert Wilke, Charles Mcgraw, Peter Graves, Robert Stack - Jim Phelps and Elliot Ness - John Doucette. A lost patrol scheme, as we had so many in westerns.

There's been Enough written in the reviews about the who's who, so I won't waste your time with more. This is THE Slowest moving western I've Ever seen. If your expecting action then forget it. There's NO ACTION! They had no business calling this a B western. No matter what was going on in the world at the time of writing & filming this movie, I give it a "D" rating! The government would NOT have sent such a small regiment to deliver a "treaty", Especially one that was so I'll equipped with the necessities & know how. There were enough REAL LIVE NATIVES who were acting at the time they could have made it a bit more realistic by using them. Even putting Joan in a short, short dress isn't enough to save this movie. I can't believe I watched it as far as I did. With the Pandemic and No cable I was bored, but by watching this movie I was BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!! Don't waste Your time with this one, it isn't worth it. Believe me. Your time would be better spent CHEWING ROCKS!!!

Here's a great example of a Western with all the fat and unnecessary baggage trimmed from it. The story is brutally simple and shows no mercy. Hard-bitten Lt. Billings (Robert Stack) and his motley crew of cavalrymen are charged with delivering a vitally important peace treaty to Chief Grey Cloud. If Grey Cloud doesn't get the treaty within a certain time limit, he and his braves will go on the attack, leading to a bloodbath. The mission is plagued with mishaps from the start. The Indian guide Tasslik is Grey Cloud's own son and he has his own agenda. Merciless heat and thirst stalk the soldiers, as well as a mysterious sniper and saboteur. The more misfortune strikes, the more tension grows between the men, until it explodes into violent conflict. Nothing is sugar-coated in this story and death can strike anyone at any time. Real Death Valley settings make heat and thirst almost palpable. The story starts with tension which only grows. But character is not ignored. Billings' strict discipline actually masks a man who is tired of war and hungry for peace...an optimist, at heart. The plight of the Indians is also given a sympathetic turn, even though their actions here lead to pain and death. The cast can't be described as "A-list" but everybody does their job just right. Stack is excellent and other reliable actors like Peter Graves, John Doucette, Charles McGraw and Douglas Kennedy provide great support. You want a tough, tense Western? "War Paint" is a perfect choice.

War Paint is directed by Lesley Selander and adapted to screenplay by Richard Alan Simmons and Martin Berkeley. It stars Robert Stack, Charles McGraw, Joan Taylor, Peter Graves, Keith Larsen, Robert Wilke and Walter Reed. Music is by Arthur Lange and Emil Newman, and cinematography by Gordon Avil. A cavalry patrol trying to deliver a peace treaty to Gray Cloud are being destroyed from within by an Indian brother and sister. Paper of lies! Filmed out of the superb presence of Death Valley, War Paint is as solid as one of that location's rocks. The title hints at some cheapo "B" Oater, the kind that is all hooray and jingoistic as the cavalry mow down the Indians, but that is not the case. Though an air of familiarity exists, with the core of the story about an army unit literally dying out in the desert, with saboteurs operating within, there's a two sides of the coin pinch in the narrative, with dialogue nicely written with thought and sincerity. Opening with a scalping, drama and suspense is never far away, so as the group implode, with suspicions, thirst and gold fever taking a hold, the viewer is always intrigued as to who will survive and will the treaty ever reach its destination? Plus you may find yourself feeling very thirsty during the viewing... Very nicely performed and handled with underrated tidy hands by Selander, this is well worth a look by Western fans. 7/10

A courageous US cavalryman is given a vitally important mission - to deliver a peace treaty to a powerful Indian chief, preventing further conflict. However, a band of bloodthirsty rebels are determined to see him dead before he completes his task, while the officer's guide may not be as trustworthy as he appears. Filmed in Death Valley, War Paint opens up with a pre-title sequence with an action sequence that sets the scene for the rest of the grim excursion with Keith Larsen's Indian guide leading a cavalry on a mission to destruction. What you get is a tense and involving plot with a bunch of characters not exactly clean as the driven snow. It's sort of like a lost patrol story but with an unusual slant. It's not the most action-packed film, but there's enough going on to keep one captivated and it is quite thoughtful. It also boast solid performances by Robert Stack, Joan Taylor, Keith Larsen and the rest of the cast.

A hot, dusty, situation-western filmed in the oven like alkali desert of Death Valley. Not really very good, it's a variation on the "Lost Patrol" theme. It does have a thing in showing a remarkable variety of gun battles from cover. It's almost like a stock shot catalogue of Winchester fights. There's some excellent overwrought character acting here. Charles McGraw is at his most stalwart and he's in fine voice here too- tough and gravelly. Paul Richards - I never realized he was so short! is the ripest of all and mercifully dies early. John Doucette has a different role here as a Polish immigrant who left Poland because they wanted to put him in the army. Peter Graves gets to try the villain thing before STALAG 17. Actually my first thought when I saw the picture was to complain to myself- When are they going to show a cavalry patrol with a remuda (the cavalry took several horses per soldier so they could switch horses on long rides), a chuck wagon, a water tank (one may ration water for the men but cannot stint on water for the horses. Always remember, the cavalry is limited by what the horses can and cannot do and since horses can't forage in the desert they need to bring along grain too- enough for 40 horses or more.) and a wagon-load of ammunition? They always seem to be set-up for what my old German producer used to call "ein kleine schpatzierung" and not a journey of two weeks through the desert. I didn't realize that the whole picture would be one long, long patrol. A sub-sub genre then, the western/cavalry /patrol picture. If there is any irony here its that the Indian who resisted was right. The White Man's Peace was merely temporary, a stratagem used on the way to the White Man taking everything. A professionally made second feature. A good period piece, interesting only to the specialist. PS For this Martin Berkeley gave up over a hundred names during the blacklist period?

Simply horrendous imitation (like countless other films) of John Ford's cavalry westerns. Director Lesley Selander delivers no surprises in this stinky flick that features stoic Bob Stack as an army commander; Keith Larsen as an Indian - Keith Larsen? .... yeah, right; and gorgeous Joan Taylor as a squaw (not even close, but who cares? Joan is beautiful). Unfortunately, Peter Graves, one the poorest excuses for an actor in cinematic history, plays one of the stupid soldiers (type-casting, I guess). Film has virtually nothing of value (except Joan), but at least it's short, though even at only 90 minutes, you'll still consider hanging yourself from the big tree in the backyard to escape the boredom this movie has to offer. Cut the cowboys and indians off at the pass and watch something else, preferably John Ford's 'Fort Apache' (1948).

This western has great natural beauty but more talk than action in a film that should have been better than it was. The plot is simply that of a cavalry patrol that has a few days to deliver a peace treaty to a chief and prevent the Indians from going on the warpath. Robert Stack is the big cast name here and he is in complete "Eliot Ness" mode as a no-nonsense lieutenant who drives his men hard in the name of honor and duty. The patrol is guided by the chief's son who has a completely different agenda. The supporting cast is terrific, with names like Charles McGraw, Douglas Kennedy, Peter Graves, Robert Wilke and John Doucette along to carry out their mission. The picture is not a cavalry-Indian western as the title implies but instead focuses on the travails and frustrations of the troopers, not the least of which is thirst, as they make their way to the Indian village. The movie is worth watching for the old-time character actors and the striking beauty of Death Valley.