Last of the Comanches *** (1953, Broderick Crawford, Barbara Hale, Lloyd Bridges, Johnny Stewart) – Classic Movie Review 6690

Director André De Toth brings adroit, way more than merely just adequate handling to a standard, unsurprising US Cavalry versus the Indians tale about a group of stranded soldiers facing a remorseless Native American raid at a ruined desert mission, where they hole up for survival. The Comanches, led by Black Cloud (John War Eagle), are on the warpath.

De Toth’s 1952 Western stars Broderick Crawford as Sergeant Matt Trainor, who is running out of water as he treks across 100 miles of hostile Indian land with a tiny band of troops, the remains of a massacred cavalry troop, and some stagecoach passengers.

The strong leads, the solid cast and De Toth’s tense direction come to the rescue of a slightly plodding, regulation story in Last of the Comanches, which is a Western version of Sahara (1943) and The Lost Patrol (1934).

It also features Barbara Hale, Lloyd Bridges, Martin Milner, Johnny Stewart as an abandoned Comanche boy Little Knife, Mickey Shaughnessy, George Mathews, Hugh Sanders, Ric Roman, Chubby Johnson, Milton Parsons and Jack Woody.

Last of the Comanches, also known as The Sabre and the Arrow (in the UK), runs 85 minutes, is a Columbia release, written by Kenneth Gamet, shot by Charles Lawton Jr and Ray Cory, produced by Buddy Adler, and scored by George Duning and Moris Stoloff.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6690

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com