Fort Dobbs (1958)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

After being accused of shooting a man Gar Davis leaves the town of Largo with a posse in hot pursuit . His problems intensify when he comes across the body of a man which means the Comanche tribe are on the war path and with a return to Largo not an option he has to trek through hostile territory on foot . He spots a homestead and tries to steal a horse As someone who is not a fan of the Western genre I only watched FORT DOBBS because there was nothing else on but found myself enjoying the movie much more than I could possibly have expected . One reason for this is because it resembles the type of story that would attract a director like Walter Hill who made a career out of reworking Anabasis by the ancient Greek writer Xenophon which involves protagonists trying to reach sanctuary through hostile territory and this film makes the best of the scenario and just when the protagonists think safety is in sight another obstacle appears Perhaps even stranger as someone who isn't keen on Westerns I did notice the genre conventions which could be interpreted as clichés were are the fore such as a man's got to do what a man's got to do , men in white hats against men in black hats and the Injuns are portrayed as violent savages . We even have a kid in the mix but none of this harms the movie probably because it's an involving and exciting tale . One flaw to it is that it's filmed in black and white and one thinks if you're to set a film in a vast landscape which is to all intents and purposes a co-star then the film would have worked even better if it was shot in colour

This western follows a familiar genre theme of a loner who comes to the aid of a woman and her son and guides them to safety through Indian country. The plot is spare with a twist of mistaken identity thrown in as an innocent man on the run scrambles to escape a hanging posse hot on his trail. Clint Walker is the reformed gunfighter whose reputation places him on the sheriff's wanted poster as fate takes him to a woman's ranch in the midst of an Indian uprising. Virginia Mayo is the widow and reluctant trail companion of Walker along with her son as they make their way to Fort Dobbs. Brian Keith steals the film as an unsavory gun runner whose rifles play a large part in the Indian attack on the fort. The film is not a polished feature but is a straightforward, no-frills drama and is worth watching.

From the moment that kids of the 1950s got a look at Clint Walker on the opening episode of Cheyenne (fall, 1955), we knew that he would be the John Wayne of our generation, just as a year earlier Fess Parker as Davy Crockett became our combination of Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck. So why didn't filmmakers make use of their potential? At first, Warner Bros. didn't want Walker to do movies at all, perhaps thinking it would take away from the high ratings of his show. That was of course ridiculous. He threatened to walk out and they belatedly gave him the lead in this B+ black and white actioner. He's the strong silent type (what else?) who comes across a gorgeous woman (Virginia Mayo) and her little boy (Richard Eyer) on the prairie - after the success of Shane, every western had to have an adoring little boy! Eyer was a fabulous child actor, and there's a terrific performance by Brian Keith as the sort of friendly-enemy that Dan Duryea played in so many of the Audie Murphy oaters. The cast makes this routine western seem a cut above the average, and I can't remember any other cowboy getting off more shots per second with his Winchester (other than Chuck Connors on the Rifleman series, of course) than Keith does here. One bit you'll get a kick out of - at the end, Walker and company get to the title fort and are attacked by Indians. When they ride up, there is no water in sight. Anywhere! But when the Indians attack, they have to cross a large river. Wha? Here's the reason - the Indian attack footage is lifted from a 1954 big budget western called The Charge at Feather River. (guy 'wild bill hickock' madison was the star). And if Walker fans had a sense of deja vu, even in 1958, there was a good reason for that too: An early Cheyenne episode, titled "West of the River," was a remake of "The Charge at Feather River" with Walker substituted for Madison, and all the large scale action scenes taken from that film.

A fairly standard western tale is uplifted by the calm, towering presence of Walker. He plays a man on the run from a posse who throws them off his trail and winds up at the ranch of a woman and her son who are waiting for her husband to return. They hardly have time to exchange hellos when a Comanche war party shows up outside. It is now Walker's duty to get the woman (Mayo) and her boy to the title fort despite the fact that she blames him for her husband's failure to return and he risks arrest once he gets there. There are a couple of minor twists and turns in the story to hold interest (along with a lot of now-cliched dialogue....occasionally one can put words in the characters' mouths and like clockwork, out if comes!) Keith shows up in a stock role of friend/foe, but adds a spark of creativity to it through some effective character work. Mayo doesn't get a lot to do besides scowl and get into trouble, but does have one amusing moment when she realizes that Walker has seen her naked. Walker is his usual gorgeous self. His soothing, dulcet voice and his monumental frame add much to the film. He plays a sort of mysterious "yep/nope" character along the lines of something Gary Cooper would have done. He's believed to be a killer, but the audience knows that there's more to the story. His willingness to allow himself to be hunted and disdained is in order to protect the honor, even if undeserved, of others. Walker, a true western star, appears to have done most (if not all) of his own riding and stunts. Also, after one particularly wet scene, he is seen shirtless polishing his rifle....quite a visual treat. Anyone should have felt safe in his care. Indians in the film are nothing but savage, faceless plot devices with no discernible reason given for their behavior. This is pretty typical for the time this film was made. The film is nothing amazing, but is pleasantly brief, has some nice scenery, a Max Steiner score and has its share of action and drama to make it watchable.