Arrow In The Dust

4/25/19541h 19m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Ablaze with the gun-thundering terrors of the West's most violent days! ~

Overview:

Director Lesley Selander's 1954 western stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen, Tom Tully, Lee Van Cleef and Jimmy Wakely.

Director:

Lesley Selander

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

attack
wagon train
indian attack

Cast

Sterling Hayden

~ as ~

Bart Laish

Coleen Gray

~ as ~

Christella Burke

Keith Larsen

~ as ~

Lt. Steve King

Tom Tully

~ as ~

Crowshaw

Jimmy Wakely

~ as ~

Pvt. Carqueville

Tudor Owen

~ as ~

Tillotson

Lee Van Cleef

~ as ~

Tillotson Henchman

John Pickard

~ as ~

Sgt. Lybarger

Carleton Young

~ as ~

Maj. Andy Pepperis

Iron Eyes Cody

~ as ~

Chief Rasacura (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 9 year(s) ago
6.5
The Laramie Redemption.

Arrow in the Dust is directed by Lesley Selander and adapted to screenplay by Don Martin from the L. L. Foreman novel. It stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larson, Tom Tully and Tudour Owen. Music is by Marlin Skiles and Technicolor cinematography by Ells W. Carter.

Bart Laish (Hayden) is an army deserter, a gambler and a killer, but soon he is going to get a shot at redemption...

It's all very formulaic in plotting, yet there's some thought gone into the screenplay, whilst Selander wastes no chances to keep things brisk by inserting another finely constructed action sequence. Laish (a typically robust Hayden) finds himself in command of a wagon train, with soldiers and civilians, all now looking to him to stave off the wave after wave of Indian attacks, which interestingly sees the Pawnee and the Apache teaming up.

Naturally there's trouble in the camp, not only via some suspicious business men whose motives will reveal a key narrative thrust, but also by way of Gray's Christella Burke. She wanders in from some Estée Lauder advertisement (we don't care, we love 50s Westerns!), and pulses quicken for protagonist and viewers alike. Thematically the narrative is honourable, with decent amounts of angst and tortured heroics. There's some nifty war tactics, plenty of splendid gun play, and of course there's a human redemptive beat pulsing away - just begging to be found?

There's the usual "B" Western issues, such as weakly choreographed fighting between man versus man, dummies being flung over cliffs, and some average acting in support slots (not Lee Van Cleef, though, who is pottering around with menace). However, the Burro Flats location filming is beautifully photographed - in sync with Skiles' genre compliant score, while Hayden does enjoyable stern backed machismo, which plays off of Gray's sensuality perfectly, and Tully does grizzle to actually provide the film's best performance.

One for fans of this era of Western genre film making. Not a waste of time. Good show. 6.5/10