During the old days of Hollywood, westerns fell into three categories: ones where the Native Americans were never mentioned, ones where the Natives were all one-dimensional and bad, and ones where the film actually tried to portray them as people and with some degree of sympathy. "They Rode West" is one of those in the latter category, as it tries to show the natives in a more favorable way.
The story begins with a Cavalry officer getting shot in the leg by an Indian arrow. Unfortunately, the doctor who removed the arrow is an incompetent and his butchery kills the guy! Not surprisingly, the commanding officer writes to the Surgeon General requesting a COMPETENT doctor to replace the idiot who killed the patient needlessly.
Fortunately, the new doctor (played by Robert Francis) IS competent and not some old drunk. But he also doesn't fit in very well, as unlike the average soldier of the day, he treats the local Indians kindly and offers them medical care. This does not fit in with the attitude of the day* and you wonder what's going to happen next with such an unusual man. Additionally, the new doctor being inexperienced with military life doesn't help either...as well as his casual disregard of orders and is quite naive. Not surprisingly, soon it's the Doc versus most everyone else at the fort.
Robert Francis is good in the lead though you might wonder why you likely never heard of him. Shortly after making this film, he was killed in a plane crash and he was only in his mid-20s.
Overall, this is a very good western...especially since it avoids the usual cliches. Well worth seeing.
*This quote has been attributed to General Philip Sheridan. When meeting a local chief, he reported said "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead." Sadly, this probably was the prevailing attitude of the day.
The story begins with a Cavalry officer getting shot in the leg by an Indian arrow. Unfortunately, the doctor who removed the arrow is an incompetent and his butchery kills the guy! Not surprisingly, the commanding officer writes to the Surgeon General requesting a COMPETENT doctor to replace the idiot who killed the patient needlessly.
Fortunately, the new doctor (played by Robert Francis) IS competent and not some old drunk. But he also doesn't fit in very well, as unlike the average soldier of the day, he treats the local Indians kindly and offers them medical care. This does not fit in with the attitude of the day* and you wonder what's going to happen next with such an unusual man. Additionally, the new doctor being inexperienced with military life doesn't help either...as well as his casual disregard of orders and is quite naive. Not surprisingly, soon it's the Doc versus most everyone else at the fort.
Robert Francis is good in the lead though you might wonder why you likely never heard of him. Shortly after making this film, he was killed in a plane crash and he was only in his mid-20s.
Overall, this is a very good western...especially since it avoids the usual cliches. Well worth seeing.
*This quote has been attributed to General Philip Sheridan. When meeting a local chief, he reported said "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead." Sadly, this probably was the prevailing attitude of the day.