A group of confedarate prisoners is sent to a unionist fort in the west to help the local garrison to fight the indians.
Direction
Wise builds claustrophobic dread before a single arrow flies.
Acting
Cotten's simmering Confederate pride vs. Chandler's rigid honor code.
Writing
Prisoner-of-war thriller dressed in cowboy clothes—tight and mean.
Director
Robert Wise
Joseph Cotten
Col. Clay Tucker
Linda Darnell
Elena Kenniston
Jeff Chandler
Maj. Henry Kenniston
Cornel Wilde
Capt. Mark Bradford
Dale Robertson
Lem
Jay C. Flippen
Sgt. Terrance Duey
Noah Beery Jr.
Cy Davis (as Noah Beery)
Johnny Sands
Lt. Adams (as John Sands)
Arthur Hunnicutt
Sgt. Pickens
Harry von Zell
Ephraim Strong
Robert Adler
Hank (uncredited)
Stanley Andrews
Col. Hoffman (uncredited)
Marjorie Bennett
Mrs. Simpkins (uncredited)
Chet Brandenburg
Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Carter
Lt. Reynolds (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot on location at Fort Union, New Mexico, using actual 19th-century military ruins.
Released during the Korean War, its 'enemy cooperation' plot read as Cold War allegory to contemporary audiences.
US
