The Charge at Feather River (1953)

Apparently one of the most successful films of 1953, this has now largely been forgotten and seems to be fairly little shown. It's easy to see why both these things are true – it's obviously a very entertaining adventure but there's any of the depth to it that the classics of the period have.

The plot starts as a variant of the classic "Dirty Dozen" story (I realise The Dirty Dozen was made a lot later, of course...) with a band of military misfits assembled to complete a dangerous mission. Fortunately this aspect of it becomes somewhat downgraded later on as the action picks up – I'm never a huge fan of this plot device since it always seems a contrived way of having a variety of characters with one obvious defining flaw who can then redeem themselves on cue later. The main body of the story concerns the rescue of two kidnapped sisters from the Indians.

The sisters are the weakest aspect of the script. The older one is traumatised by the experience and dreading having to face society. She doesn't seem to have much to do but pretend to be a nurse and have a slightly tame romance with the hero. The younger sister has adapted to life with the Indians, is looking forward to marrying the chief, and doesn't to return. Although potentially interesting, in this context it doesn't seem to make her anything but evil (especially coupled with her failure to help nurse her injured younger brother who was involved in her "rescue").

The action is good however, with a suitable building of tension, slow picking off of the heroes, and an enjoyable battle (the titular charge) to finish off. There's possibly a slight overdoing of 3D effects (i.e. arrows being flung at the camera) which just look out of place when the 3D is lost, but this doesn't really detract.