The Charge at Feather River

After two white women are abducted and taken hostage by the Cheyenne, a frontiersman by the name of "Miles Archer" (Guy Madison) is recruited by the commander of a nearby fort to retrieve them. Accompanying him are several soldiers who have recently gotten into trouble and have been placed under his authority in order to have their punishment reduced. To complicate matters even further, a railroad is being built through Cheyenne territory and this has stirred up the local tribes as well. Now rather than going any further I will just say that this was a decent Western which had a couple of unique innovations in its favor. For starters, it was filmed in a basic version of 3D which is evidenced by the number of shots that feature arrows and spears appearing to come directly at the camera. Likewise, it also incorporated a special audio effect known as the "Wilhelm scream" which was used in a specific incident involving a soldier named "Private Wilhelm" (Ralph Brooks) being shot in the leg with an arrow and this unique sound has since been used in hundreds of other movies afterward. Additionally, having a beautiful actress like Vera Miles (as "Jennie McKeever") dressed in buckskin didn't hurt the film in any way either. Be that as it may, I found this film to be entertaining for the most part and have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

"The Charge at Feather River" is a routine Western about the U. S. Cavalry against the Cheyenne Indians... The film carried a constantly mounting tension with some pleasant diversion...

Guy Madison and Frank Lovejoy play the officers who rescue Helen Westcott and Vera Miles from the Indians...

The outdoor scenes are well photographed, specially the exciting Indian charge at Feather River at the climax of the movie with the rain of spears, the fight to-the-death between Madison and Thunderhawk, the sketches of the Guardhouse Brigade, even a mouthful of tobacco juice used against a rattlesnake, and the romantic interludes between our hero and Helen Westcott... All are here, pictorially entertaining in 3-D and Technicolor...

Warner Brothers produced this 3D extravaganza that was the biggest commercial success for westerns in 1953. Guy Madison leads a band of guardhouse soldiers and misfits to rescue two white women being held by Indians, which essentially all there is to this film. The 3D format was in its early stages as a Hollywood gimmick to compete with the growing popularity of home television, and the effects work very well here. The rescuers make off with the ladies and are pursued by the Indians until the white men make their stand at an island in a creek bed. The Indian weaponry comes at the audience non-stop throughout, and a spray of tobacco juice aimed at a rattler is thrown in for good measure. Madison was quite popular as television's Wild Bill Hickock and is good as a displaced cattle rancher who is given his thankless task by the army. For all the film's polish and presentation, the movie was made in just three days.

Absolutely superior 3D photography, possibly the best from that short-lived gimmick (saw it slack-jawed at a recent 3D Festival here in Los Angeles). Very clever and simple effects from yoeman director Gordon Douglas, who handily uses his B-movie angles to great effect in this little saga, with a flawless Guy Madison and Frank Lovejoy very, very good in their parts as rogue officers leading a ragtag band (a'la THE DIRTY DOZEN) to find (a'la THE SEARCHERS)a woman kidnapped (not exactly against her will) by Indians (the added twist: an incredibly evil performance by a likewise kidnapped sister, Vera Miles, looking like she just graduated from high school, who stops at nothing to halt the progress of Our Guys. Two stand-out scenes, even in 2D, is Lovejoy spitting INTO the camera to rid himself of a deadly snake (sounding a lot like Mel Blanc hawking up), and the first use of the infamous "Wilhelm Scream" - since used in literally hundreds of films (and actully re-mastered by Ben Buritt for LucasFilms' use - you can hear it much like that strange "oh-oh" titter in old situation comedy tracks - in all Warner Bros. films from this movie on, as well as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Listen for it (in CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER it comes right after the inevitable "You OK, Wilhelm?" before he's ZAPPED by an arrow in the chest - one of many thrown at the audience in the film's compact running time).

The Charge At Feather River finds Guy Madison in charge of a group of misfit soldiers called the Guardhouse Brigade because that's where most of them were recruited for this mission from. The mission is to rescue two white women, Helen Westcott and Vera Miles, who were taken years ago during a raid and are now confirmed alive and now living with the Arapahoe.

The worst of his recruits is Neville Brand, but the rest of the crew that Madison has are no prizes with the exception of Lane Chandler who was a former Confederate officer who captured Madison during the Civil War. Along for comic relief are Dick Wesson and Henry Kulky who provide some levity in what is a serious film.

Vera Miles got her first real notice here. She's never been to Sweden, but she suffers from Stockholm syndrome as she now totally identifies with her captors. In fact she's going to be the bride of the chief, making him quite the envy of his tribe since none of them are married to any blonds. She acquits herself well in the part.

The film is loosely based on a real cavalry engagement in the Indian Wars, the battle of Beecher's Island. It combines elements of The Dirty Dozen and with John Ford's classic Two Rode Together.

And of course there's the 3-D which elicited a lot of excitement back in the Fifties. Even today seeing the various spears, tomahawks, and even some tobacco juice, courtesy of Frank Lovejoy, coming right at you on the small screen is impressive.

The Charge At Feather River still holds up well today, but should really be seen at a movie theater.