Ambush (1950)

Truly Dreadful Film

Sadly Over-hyped

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's good to see John Hodiak face off against Robert Taylor and winning, although I would have thought that Taylor being the bigger star would have won. Although Hodiak is a good actor he wouldn't go on to anything significant except a premature death. He's probably most remembered for his part in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Lifeboat', but that was in the early part of his career. You don't have that much time at the top.As for the film itself it's a bit pedestrian. It lacks a good script and storyline. The characters are one-dimensional, but the performances by both Taylor and Hodiak are good. The direction is not that good, but if you haven't got a good script then there isn't much you can do.

In the 1930s, Robert Taylor was hugely successful playing "pretty boy" roles. This isn't meant to demean his talents, but the idea of him playing a gritty part at that time was about as believable as Marjorie Main playing romantic lead in a Clark Gable film! However, by the mid-late 1940s, Taylor filled out a bit and as he approached his 40s, he was suddenly finding himself in several gritty cop films--but he still was a bit on the pretty side. However, with "Ambush", Taylor makes a break with this matinée idol image, as the film finds him dirty and unshaven through eh first 20 minutes. And, instead of begin well dressed and sexy, he was a frontiersman who was used to fighting Indians and roughing it. I liked the new Robert Taylor look and style--he was grittier and more believable and seemed to grow older quite well.The story is pretty typical of many westerns of the day. There is a renegade Indian, Diablito ("Little Devil"), who has killed a group of settlers and took the women and children prisoners. While Indians did sometimes take women and children into their tribe this way, the notion of "renegades" is a bit of a misnomer, as this sort of thing was pretty rare in the west--despite what you see in films. As for Taylor, he is asked to guide the cavalry to find the prisoners, but he's less than thrilled with the idea, as he thinks it's pretty useless. Ultimately, however, he relents and leads a small group of soldiers to Diablito's camp. In a couple scenes he's shown conversing with the natives in their language. While I assume he's speaking gibberish, it did sound pretty good and I'd love to know if he's actually saying anything.Aside from this plot, there are subplots that give the film some depth. In other words, it's not just a film about killing Indians. there is a subplot involving a drunk brute named Conovan who amuses his long-suffering wife and goes so far as tries to kill the commanding officer! Acting commanding officer John Hodiak is a tough-as-nails guy who is awfully rigid--and not the sort to work out the Indian problem with any finesse. So, as you can see, it's not just a Robert Taylor film but it's more complex than that. Plus, in one scene where Taylor and Hodiak get in a fist-fight, it's interesting to see Taylor (the once pretty-boy) lose! This certainly isn't the Taylor film of old! Overall, there's nothing that unique about this western, though it still is very good and definitely better than the typical film of the genre (and frankly, I think there have been way too many westerns over the years). I also appreciated how the natives actually looked like they were American-Indians--not the white guys in paint like many films. And, I liked how they had intelligent battle plans--not the usual riding right into the whithering gunfire of the "good guys" or riding in circles around a wagon train (which didn't actually occur) while they get shot!! By the way, I agree with the review by bkoganbing. While John Ford made quite a few cavalry and western films, this sort of film isn't his style at all and can't be confused for one of his films. Sam Wood's style and direction is much more direct--and this film lacks the overt sentiment of a Ford film. It is simple, unflinching and well made--the final film of an accomplished but mostly overlooked director now in the 21st century.

Story involves the Army's rescue of a General's daughter, captured by the Apaches when the surveying team she was with, was wiped out by a war party. Ward Kinsman (Robert Taylor), a former Army scout now gold prospector, is called upon by local Army commander (Leon Ames) to save her.Arlene Dahl is her worried sister who (as we guessed) falls in love with Taylor. Of course there's a love triangle between those two and Army Capt. Ben Lorrison (John Hodiak) to make this film more steamy than necessary. And of course Robert Taylor reluctantly agrees to help find the woman since he is falling in love with Dahl and really can't refuse her.What complicates things even further is another love triangle between Lt. Delaney (Don Taylor), Jean Hagen and her no-good enlisted husband played by Bruce Cowling. I guess director Sam Wood didn't think ONE steamy love triangle was enough so he had to have two. It's too bad all this nonsense chews up too much of the film because this oater had a lot of potential.What saves this from being a total soap opera is the decent battle scenes at the end of the film. The Calvary knows where the Apaches are massing and ambush them inside a canyon. The second ambush involves those Apaches who have escaped this first battle, led by their chief Diablito (Charles Stevens), who hide in holes on the vast plain and ambush John Hodiak's patrol. They hide in their covered holes and wait until they are on top of them.All but the master Sgt. Mack (Pat Moriarity) are killed in the ensuing gun battle, thereby freeing Robert Taylor to hook up with Dahl, and Don Taylor to hook up with the now widowed Hagen. No more Hodiak. No more Cowling. A little too convenient, I think.And all this lovey-dovey stuff brings what would otherwise have been an exciting western, down a couple of notches. So I'm gonna only give it a 5 out of 10 for complicating things more than need be.

Robert Taylor is a scout, John Hodiak is the captain and Don Taylor is the lieutenant who is in love with another man´s wife. Arlene Dahl is searching for her sister who was captured by an Indian chief called Diablito. Both Taylor and Hodiak are in love with Arlene Dahl, as they leave the fort to attack Diablito and his warriors. Entertaining, action packed western.