Most of the objections seem to be that singer and somewhat actor Tony Martin was miscast as the hero of this, and he does seem sleekly cosmopolitan for such a role
It is true the plotline is standard fare - the fort looks VERY familiar :-) - but it is not often that the US Cavalry - Army - itself is accused of corruption, even if it is trying to stop it.
(I myself stopped a battery stealing supply section ring when I was a GI in Ft. Bliss back in 1967, but that was enlisted men, possibly including our sergeant. The GI thieves made a delivery right in front of me and then told me - Presbyterian and for 1 semester a Duty Honor Country West Point plebe - to keep silent about it, which I did NOT :-) , and it was stopped by our warrant officer.
And Tony Martin actually had a similar experience during World War 2. He was kicked out of the Navy, accused of trying to buy an officer's commission.
He denied that and then joined the Army. My USAAF master sergeant dad knew him in East India in the China-Burma-India command, where he sang at bases. He actually got a Bronze Star, maybe for risking his life flying to one of our remote airstrips or over The Hump/Himalayas - very possibly in a transport plane jumped by the Myitkyina Japanese Zeroes.
(Dad also made friends with a kid GI clerk who couldn't type much but played a piano - even missing keys at some airstrips - see Jungle Virtuoso - like nobody had ever heard. After the war, *Leonard Pennario* was welcomed to stay in our house, which he used as his central base for his Midwest concert tours.
Like Leonard, Tony Martin had a very loyal and grateful following of CBI veterans, after the war.)
The single shot carbines vs. Henry repeaters is authentically done, with period-looking pieces.
There were interesting details: an arrow shot with its blade vertical to kill buffalo vs shot horizontal to enter human ribs ... and other things.
Peggie Castle's character seemed to warm up a little too quickly to our hero. At least her brother was confirmed dead instead of being "miraculously" found alive and rescued, but he might have complicated the ending.
After a lot if action, the final outcome is a fascinating legal authority showdown reflecting well on command.
It is true the plotline is standard fare - the fort looks VERY familiar :-) - but it is not often that the US Cavalry - Army - itself is accused of corruption, even if it is trying to stop it.
(I myself stopped a battery stealing supply section ring when I was a GI in Ft. Bliss back in 1967, but that was enlisted men, possibly including our sergeant. The GI thieves made a delivery right in front of me and then told me - Presbyterian and for 1 semester a Duty Honor Country West Point plebe - to keep silent about it, which I did NOT :-) , and it was stopped by our warrant officer.
And Tony Martin actually had a similar experience during World War 2. He was kicked out of the Navy, accused of trying to buy an officer's commission.
He denied that and then joined the Army. My USAAF master sergeant dad knew him in East India in the China-Burma-India command, where he sang at bases. He actually got a Bronze Star, maybe for risking his life flying to one of our remote airstrips or over The Hump/Himalayas - very possibly in a transport plane jumped by the Myitkyina Japanese Zeroes.
(Dad also made friends with a kid GI clerk who couldn't type much but played a piano - even missing keys at some airstrips - see Jungle Virtuoso - like nobody had ever heard. After the war, *Leonard Pennario* was welcomed to stay in our house, which he used as his central base for his Midwest concert tours.
Like Leonard, Tony Martin had a very loyal and grateful following of CBI veterans, after the war.)
The single shot carbines vs. Henry repeaters is authentically done, with period-looking pieces.
There were interesting details: an arrow shot with its blade vertical to kill buffalo vs shot horizontal to enter human ribs ... and other things.
Peggie Castle's character seemed to warm up a little too quickly to our hero. At least her brother was confirmed dead instead of being "miraculously" found alive and rescued, but he might have complicated the ending.
After a lot if action, the final outcome is a fascinating legal authority showdown reflecting well on command.