The director, William Keighley, a craftsman of old, was used to producing fast-paced, no-nonsense, movie but he's more or less undone here. A movie can't be fast paced if it begins with an action sequence (Indians, stagecoach, Confederate saviors) and ends with an action sequence (Indians and Confederates) but the two action sequences sandwich an hour or so of dullish talk on a location that's limited to the size of a tennis court.
The story involves Captain Errol Flynn leading a handful of Confederate soldiers of diverse backgrounds to California in order to stir up an army of sympathizers. They take a couple of Blue Bellies captive, along with Patrice Wymore -- not much of an actress, but attractive enough, and soon to become Mrs. Flynn. Flynn and his men sacrifice themselves for the sake of the lady.
The actual location, near Gallup, in the northern part of New Mexico, is impressive and scenic, despite its being limited to one set. But the photography by Ted McCord is lousy and spoils things. It's far too dark. Sometimes you can't tell whether it's supposed to be night or day. And it fails utterly in capturing the blazing Western summer sun. Wardrobe and Make Up are pedestrian. Everyone seems dressed in tatters except the captive lady. So much so that it resembles one of the TV Westerns becoming popular about this time.
As others have observed, Flynn doesn't bring much to the party. He underplays it, probably because he was running out of steam. And when he removes his hat, he looks positively ragged, although he was only about forty. A bottle or two a day will do that for you.
The biggest mistake the writers made -- aside from introducing a damned dog named "Spot" as the pet and companion of an innocent young boy -- was in giving Flynn's character the name of Lafe Barstow. Barstow, okay. It's a smallish truck stop on the edge of Kern County.
But LAFE? Listen, I have made a serious scientific study of genuine Western names during the period of the Civil War and there is no record of anyone's being name Lafe. Nor were there any Matts, Coles, or Wades. The four most common names in the historical register are Noble, Chauncey, Montmorency, and Governeur.
The story involves Captain Errol Flynn leading a handful of Confederate soldiers of diverse backgrounds to California in order to stir up an army of sympathizers. They take a couple of Blue Bellies captive, along with Patrice Wymore -- not much of an actress, but attractive enough, and soon to become Mrs. Flynn. Flynn and his men sacrifice themselves for the sake of the lady.
The actual location, near Gallup, in the northern part of New Mexico, is impressive and scenic, despite its being limited to one set. But the photography by Ted McCord is lousy and spoils things. It's far too dark. Sometimes you can't tell whether it's supposed to be night or day. And it fails utterly in capturing the blazing Western summer sun. Wardrobe and Make Up are pedestrian. Everyone seems dressed in tatters except the captive lady. So much so that it resembles one of the TV Westerns becoming popular about this time.
As others have observed, Flynn doesn't bring much to the party. He underplays it, probably because he was running out of steam. And when he removes his hat, he looks positively ragged, although he was only about forty. A bottle or two a day will do that for you.
The biggest mistake the writers made -- aside from introducing a damned dog named "Spot" as the pet and companion of an innocent young boy -- was in giving Flynn's character the name of Lafe Barstow. Barstow, okay. It's a smallish truck stop on the edge of Kern County.
But LAFE? Listen, I have made a serious scientific study of genuine Western names during the period of the Civil War and there is no record of anyone's being name Lafe. Nor were there any Matts, Coles, or Wades. The four most common names in the historical register are Noble, Chauncey, Montmorency, and Governeur.