Back home

Escape from Fort Bravo

77 votes

Producing House

A Southern belle frees a Rebel officer and his men from a Union captain's Arizona fort.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1953-12-04

Runtime: 99 mins

Director: John Sturges

Spoken language: English

Genres: Western

Original title: Escape from Fort Bravo

Production Companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

J

John Chard
When you're in the grave, Beecher, it doesn't matter too much how you got there. Escape from Fort Bravo is directed by John Sturges and collectively written by Michael Pate, Phillip Rock, Frank Fenton and John Forsythe. It stars William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest & William Campbell. Jeff Alexander scores the music and Robert Surtees photographs it primarily in and around Death Valley in California, USA. "In 1863 while the War Between the States still raged, a large group of Confederate prisoners were held in a sun baked stockade at Fort Bravo, Arizona Territory. Captor and Captive - - these men in blue and grey - - eyed each other with hatred. In the wilderness around them a common enemy eyed them both - - the deadly Mescalero Indians" Escape from Fort Bravo has some notable points of interest that go with it. 1953 was the year that William Holden went "A" list and started to get "big" money, along side this picture he also made Stalag 17 and picked up the Best Actor Oscar for his efforts. The film also serves notice of what a fine director of action John Sturges would become, he of course would go on from here to be known for such film's like Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. Of interest, too, is that the film was shot in the rarely heard of Ansco Color. Ansco Color was the American off shoot of the German Agfa Color, used notably by MGM, Ansco would eventually evolve into Metrocolor. As for the film itself? Entertaining and efficient with just enough in its last quarter to keep it away from merely being routine. The premise is a solid one, we have a unique situation where the prisoners of this stockade are not manacled or locked up. Such is the harshness of the surrounding desert and the hostile Indians that dwell there, Holden's tough and grizzled Union Captain doesn't feel the need to properly incarcerate the men. We then get a crafty "infiltration" of the stockade and it's here where the film sags a little as too much time is spent on fleshing out a potential romance. Thankfully Sturges pulls it all together for a grand last quarter that sees enemies forced to come together in the hope of surviving. It's here where we are treated to some psychological warfare and a memorable form of attack from the Mescalero's. The acting across the board is effective, with Holden naturally the stand out doing one of his moody turns, while Surtees brilliantly captures the beauty, yet perfect harshness, of Death Valley. Major plus point is the score from the often forgotten Jeff Alexander (Jailhouse Rock/Party Girl). The title song for the film is "Yellow Stripes" by Stan Jones, this is reworked to good effect throughout, this is also notable for being used in John Ford's Rio Grande in 1950. There's the tender strains of "Soothe My Lonely Heart" (also used in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) and Alexander cleverly mixes that up to portray the pace and tones within the piece. It's a top score that wouldn't have been out of place in an "A" Western. There's some distracting sound stage work that belie the fine work of Surtees' outdoor shooting, and the afore mentioned overkill of tedium as the romance angle is stretched too far. But it's a good production and never less than enjoyable. 7/10
2015-11-02

Recommendations

Wicked Spring
3.5

Wicked Spring

2002-03-02

During the 1864 battle of the Wilderness, three Union soldiers and three Confederate Soldiers get se

The Hallelujah Trail
3

The Hallelujah Trail

1965-06-23

A wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whisky for the miners. Chaos ensues as the Temperance

A Genius, Two Friends, and an Idiot
3.1

A Genius, Two Friends, and an Idiot

1975-12-16

Expert conman Joe Thanks teams up with half-breed Bill and naive Lucy to steal $300,000 from the Ind

The Valley of Death
3.3

The Valley of Death

1968-12-12

An army gold shipment and its escort vanish in the Ozarks, prompting accusations of theft and desert

The Outlaw Josey Wales
3.7

The Outlaw Josey Wales

1976-06-30

After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to tra

Flaming Frontier
0

Flaming Frontier

1958-08-01

Army officer whose parents are white and Indian tries to avert an Indian war.

The Dead Don't Hurt
3.3

The Dead Don't Hurt

2024-05-01

In the 1860s, fiercely independent French-Canadian Vivienne Le Coudy embarks on a journey with Danis

A Time for Killing
2.3

A Time for Killing

1967-08-01

During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers escape from a Union prison and head for the Mexican borde

Young Guns II
3.3

Young Guns II

1990-08-01

Three of the original five "young guns" — Billy the Kid, Jose Chavez y Chavez, and Doc Scurlock — re

Hondo
3.3

Hondo

1953-11-26

Army despatch rider Hondo Lane discovers a woman and her son living in the midst of warring Apaches,

The Searchers
3.9

The Searchers

1956-05-16

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation

The Horse Soldiers
3.5

The Horse Soldiers

1959-06-11

A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail supply center.

The Naked Spur
3.5

The Naked Spur

1953-01-29

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-

Jonah Hex
2.5

Jonah Hex

2010-06-18

Gunslinger Jonah Hex is appointed by President Ulysses Grant to track down terrorist Quentin Turnbul

Dead Birds
2.9

Dead Birds

2004-05-19

Towards the end of the Civil War, a group of Confederate soldiers hole up on an abandoned plantation

Ride with the Devil
3.1

Ride with the Devil

1999-11-24

Ride with the Devil follows four people who are fighting for truth and justice amidst the turmoil of

Apache Blood
1.3

Apache Blood

1975-01-06

After a massacre of an Indian village by the U.S army, a survivor, Yellow shirt (Ray Danton) goes af

Virginia City
3

Virginia City

1940-03-23

Union officer Kerry Bradford escapes from a Confederate prison and races to intercept $5 million in

The Keeping Room
2.9

The Keeping Room

2014-09-25

In this radically reimagined American Western set towards the end of the Civil War, Southerner Augus

The Colt
2.8

The Colt

2005-02-06

During the heat of battle in the midst of the Civil War, a beguilingly innocent colt is born to Unio