Little Big Horn [The Fighting Seventh] **** (1951, Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland, Marie Windsor, Reed Hadley, Hugh O’Brian) – Classic Movie Review 12,072

Marie Windsor plays Celie Donlin.

Writer-director Charles Marquis Warren’s 1951 black and white Western film Little Big Horn [The Fighting Seventh] stars Lloyd Bridges as Captain Phillip Donlin, the unsuccessful rescuer of General Custer. Donlin and his small troop of US Cavalry soldiers rush to reach Little Big Horn to warn Custer of an impending attack by the Sioux, who start killing the soldiers one at a time.

The good cast and the very capable, skillful handling turn up the heat on the well-known tale in this sombre and familiarly themed but always intriguing and slickly crafted Western. Little Big Horn is notable for fine turns from Bridges and John Ireland as Lieutenant John Haywood, plus plenty of tension and authentic atmosphere in the gripping direction.

There is romance too, as Donlin clashes with Haywood, who Donlin knows is having an affair with his wife Celie (Marie Windsor).

It is based on the real-life story about the US Cavalry unit who are murdered individually by Indians as they advance to advise Custer of a planned Sioux ambush attack at Little Big Horn.

Little Big Horn is one of the best Westerns from the underrated writer-director Charles Marquis Warren.

Also in the cast are John Ireland, Marie Windsor, Reed Hadley, Hugh O’Brian, Wally Cassell, King Donovan, Richard Emory, John Picard, Robert Sherwood, Sheb Wooley, Jim Davis, Larry Stewart, Rod Redwing, Dick Paxton, Gordon Wynn, Ted Avery, Barbara Woodell, and Anne Warren.

It runs a fairly short 86 minutes. It is made by humble Lippert Pictures, Marie Windsor recalled that a Lippert executive announced that the film had run out of money, so several pages were torn out of the script and the film was finished without several scenes. Nevertheless, the film was a small box office hit, taking $500,000, and it launched leading writer Warren’s career as a director. Warren was best known at the time as writer for Only the Valiant.

The films of Charles Marquis Warren: Little Big Horn (1951), Hellgate (1952), Arrowhead (1953), Flight to Tangier (1953), Seven Angry Men (1955), Tension at Table Rock (1956), The Black Whip (1956), Back from the Dead (1957), Trooper Hook (1957), Without Incident (1957), The Unknown Terror (1957), Copper Sky (1957), Ride a Violent Mile (1957), Blood Arrow (1958), Cattle Empire (1958), Desert Hell (1958) and Charro! (1969).

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,072

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