Review of Distant Drums

Distant Drums is a movie for Gary Cooper.( Captain Quincy Wyatt) fans; if you like his work like The Real Glory, you will enjoy this ( although the earlier film had a better cast ( including David Niven). It is about Cooper and a bunch of survivors including eventual love interest Judy Beckett ( Mari. Aldon) trying to survive the Florida Swamp and hostile Seminole Indians. A couple of points: One this is not an often screened film, but it is by no means his rarest western. Why? You can find it online unlike The Spoilers ( 1930) Cooper version ( a film I have yet to see), or the lost Arizona Bound. In fact, all of Cooper's pre-code Westerns except Winning Of Barbara Worth and The Virginian are rare ( but they are finally becoming available ( I recently saw Wolf Song (1929) online):. Next it is not an anti Native American film. Cooper's son is Native American and there were good as well as bad Indians in this movie. Plus the Native woman he married was actually killed by soldiers not Indians. It is interesting that Cooper works for the military despite that. Why? "He does not believe in holding a grudge." A lesson learned by Judy which allowed her ( spoilers ahead) to remain in Florida with him instead of killing someone in Georgia as she planned to do). Character Growth always good in a movie. Cooper ever the hero saves Judy literally and figuratively in this movie. As a hard core Cooper fan it a great film, and worth 10/10 stars. I will say you are not I guarantee you will not like it because he is in about 90% of the scenes after the first 10 minutes.again 10/10.stars.