User Reviews

André De Toth found his niche in Westerns... He directed "Man in the Saddle," "Last of the Comanches," "The Stranger Wore a Gun," and "The Indian Fighter" with his cautious, distinguished way, and intelligent skill..

With a nice musical score by Max Steiner, his "Springfield Rifle" projects imagination and suspense...

Major 'Lex' Kearney (Gary Cooper), a Union officer, masterminds a counter-espionage scheme to undercover a gang of renegades who continually have top-secret informations regarding shipments of horses to the Confederacy... Cooper joins the confederates as a spy to unmask the traitor...

Phyllis Thaxter was effective in her small role as the wondering astonished wife (Erin) suffering with her son (Michael Chapin) who can't accept or understand the fact that his father was cashiered from the army for cowardice...

Lon Chaney, Jr. as a villain, and Philip Carey, as the valiant officer, contribute to the tense and violent atmosphere of the motion picture...

Filmed in Technicolor, "Sprinfield Rifle" follows Fred Zinnemann's great Western "High Noon," and is basically a pretty entertaining routine Civil War Western...

Tonight I watched "Springfield Rifle" for the third time in my life--but it's the first time in over 25 years. The reason I wanted to see it again was to see if the movie was as enjoyable as I remembered.

The film is set during the US Civil War and takes place out West in Colorado. Soon after the movie's start, an officer (Gary Cooper) makes a questionable decision in the face of the enemy and orders his men to run and abandon their horses. As a result, there is a court martial and he's thrown out of the Cavalry for cowardice. Afterwords, Cooper shows a lot of anger and contempt for his old unit and he gets himself arrested. However, he and two Confederate sympathizers escape jail and make towards a band of thugs who work for the South--stealing horses as well as raiding Union supplies and attacking the men.

Now it's VERY obvious to anyone who's seen lots of westerns that Cooper is actually working under cover to infiltrate this band of irregulars (i.e., non-military men who fight). This is western movie plot #3--and it's been repeated many, many times--by the likes of Tim McCoy, Randolph Scott, Roy Rogers and many others. Can the film use an old and familiar plot and make it interesting? Well, yes. Cooper was quite good and the rest were fine, as it had a nice ensemble cast of excellent supporting actors (such as David Brian, Lon Chaney, Jr., Guinn Williams and Paul Kelly). However, the big star was the GORGEOUS color cinematography which really made a B-movie plot look into a solid A-picture.

So is it a great film? Nah...but it certainly is enjoyable and fun--plus there are a few unexpected angles that manage to punch up an otherwise ordinary plot. Sometimes you don't need an earth-shattering plot--just a well-made film that manages to entertain--and this one sure does.

"Springfield rifle" is a western but it's not your usual average western.Its screenplay could be that of a spy thriller ,for it is primarily a story of spies ,of undercover agents.First thing you have got to bear in mind ,if you want to appreciate De Toth's movie ,is "don't rely too much on appearances ".Things are not what they seem indeed and the audience ,till the last third ,does not know who they can trust.De Toth was not apparently interested in the female character relegated to a position of secondary importance ,even with the moments of the plot which deal with her (and Cooper's ) son:this boy is expected to appear but all his adventures are verbally told (he only appears in the last scene).Just as the director does not tell us the story of two officers' hatred (which was what the audience expected ).Just as in De Toth's 1959 "Day of the outlaw" the "violent " dance and the chase in the snow were completely unexpected.

During the American Civil War, a band of raiders led by rancher Austin McCool(David BRIAN)and his brutal right hand man Pete Elm(LON CHANEY JR),lead relentless attacks on shipments of horses being driven to railheads by the Union army for the benefit of their men fighting in the east. The raiders then sell the captured horses to the Confederacy. Major Lex Kearny(GARY COOPER)is dishonourably discharged after surrendering his herd to the raiders without firing a single shot.However,this is merely a ruse to enable Kearny to infiltrate the raiders and smash the ring. Kearny's real mission is to adopt counterespionage tactics in order to smoke out the insider providing McCool with information on the routes of the horse drives.

Fresh out of Will Kane's boots in the immortal HIGH NOON(released just 3 months prior to this film),Gary Cooper acquits himself superbly in the lead as the Major who sacrifices his reputation and integrity for the Union, despite being a southerner. David Brian is terrific as the snarling leader of the raiders.Gruff,tough,robust Lon Chaney Jr was even better as his cruel associate. Western veterans Phillip Carey and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also turned in impressive performances.

As with other B westerns of the 1950s,the action sequences were shot with restraint, but extremely rip roaring and enjoyable nonetheless. The extended fistfight between Kearny and Elm was awesome and chilled me with intensity. The ear shattering, all-guns-blazing skirmish between the Soldiers and the raiders was fantastic with excellent stuntwork.The shots of men firing their pistols and rifles on horseback were amazing. This sequence was made even more effective by the Wilhelm Scream being crammed into the heat of the action, we hear it as one of the raiders is stabbed by a Soldier. The final battle between Kearny's men and the raiders was just as thrilling with spectacular shots of the prairie being set ablaze and frenzied horses charging up a hill as the raiders are blasted with shots from the brand new Springfield rifles. This sequence is followed by a brief but exhilarating horseback chase which results in Kearny catching the inside man.I would give the action scenes 4 stars. The camera-work was incredible with awe striking shots of rugged snow capped mountains, arid deserts, craggy rocks and herds of horses trudging through the sand and snow. The sequence in which Kearny is commandeering an army wagon containing the new Springfield Carbines and rocks cripple one of it's wheels causing the team of horses to break away from the wagon which causes it to crash down a hill was brilliantly shot. The script is excellent and is something different from the usual western formula. The Civil war setting gave the writers the chance to do much more with the story. I wouldn't go as far to say the film is a "James Bond out west" but the script is rich in intrigue and contains strong elements of espionage thriller. The storyline keeps you guessing and the identity of the inside man is quite a shock.

I'd just like to note that the title is rather misleading. It makes one expect a film similar to that of WINCHESTER 73(1950),thus giving the viewer the impression that the film is the story of the deployment and use of the single shot Springfield Carbine during the early days of the American west, this is not strictly true. The rifle is not used until the climatic battle and is only mentioned briefly throughout the course of the film. It serves merely as a plot device. My theory is that the writers set out to make a film about the Springfield rifle but became more concerned with an espionage spy story and forgot about the rifle premise, therefore having no choice but to jam it in at the end of the film. This doesn't bother me though, SPRINGFIELD RIFLE is a taut, edge-of-your-seat Civil war thriller with rollicking action scenes, stupendous camera-work and finger biting intensity. Expertly helmed by Andre de Toth who made many a great western, this is a fun way to spend a couple of hours. It deserves to be seen on a flatscreen TV with loudspeakers and the volume cranked all the way up to the maximum.9/10.

...as indeed I was as to who exactly the bad guys are and what side he is actually on."Springfield Rifle" is a Civil War cavalry picture in a sub - sub John Ford vein with a tired - looking Mr Cooper as a Union officer pretending to be a Confederate or a Confederate officer pretending to be a Union officer.One of the two anyway.It's certainly overly complicated with lots of clandestine meetings,secret codes and people being thrown into prison only to escape with slightly worrying ease the moment the fortunately slow - witted guards' attention is distracted. The eponymous firearm doesn't get a mention until 2/3rds the way through the film and by then I'd forgotten all about it. Apparently its rate of fire is five times that of all other rifles;an invaluable tool indeed and one that must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Confederates - or was it the Unionists?To tell you the truth I had lost track by then. Whichever,Mr Cooper and whatever side he was actually on triumphed,you won't be entirely surprised to hear. He is reinstated to his former rank and hundreds of thousands of Yankees and Rebs can continue to slaughter each other enthusiastically. In 1952 it was what passed for a happy ending,I guess.

So I'm watching the movie, and with the title in mind, I'm wondering what connection the story line had to an actual Springfield Rifle. You think maybe the film makers threw that in as an afterthought, presumably to capitalize on Jimmy Stewart's success with "Winchester '73"? That's what I've read anyway, and that might explain things. One thing for sure, after hearing it repeated a number of times, I think we all get the business about the rifle being effective on a ratio of five men to one.

Now if you've ever seen Chuck Connors in "Branded", the early scene of Lex Kearney (Gary Cooper) being courtmartialed and drummed out of the army for cowardice and gross neglect of duty will look familiar. What was unusual though was seeing him painted with a yellow stripe down his back! Did they really do that? Anyway, that's a pretty good set up for Kearney's turn as a counterintelligence officer for the Union Army once things get going.

You know, there was a very cool move that I'm willing to bet was unintentional during the battle with McCool's (David Brian) outlaw bunch. During the fight, Pete Elm (Lon Chaney) shoots Captain Tennick (Philip Carey), and because Tennick's horse was on a bit of a hilly incline, when the horse buckled, he fell on top of Tennick and rolled right over him! I bet they couldn't reproduce that scene in a million years again without hurting man or horse. I had to rewind that part a couple of times just to marvel at it again. There's another interesting point to made of that sequence as well. After the fight was over, Kearney has more greasepaint on his face than when he started!

Well be that as it may, the main point of the story had to do with establishing a counter espionage unit within the Union military, a point of contention early on when it was revealed the Confederate Army was using one during the Civil War, and it was thought beneath the dignity of the Union to do the same. I guess there's nothing like success to pave the way. In it's own little piece of the story, I guess the Springfield Rifle earned it's place in history too.

Cooper is discharged in disgrace from the U. S. Cavalry during the Civil War in order to join a band of Confederate horse raiders undercover. There follow lots of tribulations and considerable confusion.

It would be a strictly routine Western except for a few things. First, it has bankable stars, or at least one, in Gary Cooper. Second, there is some splendid horse riding on screen here -- he said, knowing absolutely nothing about horses except that they know a lot more than they're letting on. What is this "roan", anyway? Sadly missing are two outstanding horsemen. Ben Johnson was a picture of inspiration on a galloping horse, and Yakima Canutt seemed organic to the animal he rode.

"Winchester 73" came out in 1950 and it must have been a financial success because that's where this title came from -- "Springfield Rifle." It has little to do with a rifle. It's all about Cooper trying to keep his NOC status hidden, and about good-natured Confederate boys among whom are some trailer trash, and about colorful Union troopers in blue uniforms and capes with bright yellow liners, and horses and men falling downhill and rolling over and over in clouds of dust.

Phyllis Thaxter, as Cooper's wife, is in the mix somewhere but she's dispensable. In the 1940s and 50s it was believed that you needed to have a love interest in the movie. I don't know why. Maybe it was assumed that you needed to draw in the female audience who might otherwise be listening to "Craig's Other Wife". Maybe they thought it would keep the women interested in between the shootings and fist fights that kept the men tumescent.

Nice location photography by Edwin DuPar. Pedestrian direction by Andre De Toth. Philip Carey has an important supporting role. He's always reliable, a kind of second-string Charlton Heston.

It's a bit of an unusual western because it's set during the Civil War. Gary Cooper stars as Major Alex Kearney who's court martialed early on in Colorado for allowing a herd of horses to be intercepted by rustlers who are working with the Confederate army.

Alex decides to let the herd go since his unit is outnumbered four to one by the rustlers. Dismissal from the force seems like an excessive punishment for a commander who was just trying to save his men. It soon becomes clear that the court martial is staged and Alex is actually a Union intelligence officer assigned to find out who is diverting all the horses to the Confederates.

The bulk of Springfield Rifle shows how Alex infiltrates the horse thieve gang and ultimately learns that the Union Commander Lt. Col. Hudson (Paul Kelly) is primarily responsible for betraying the union side.

Springfield Rifle did not receive good reviews when it was released in 1952 and that's because the plot is convoluted and few of the characters are memorable. Halfway through the chief Confederate informant is killed. Alex makes two improbable escapes from federal custody right before he's about to be executed.

By the time we find out that Hudson is the Judas of the piece, we simply don't care very much for the bad guys who tend to blend into one another. There's also a subplot involving Alex's wife Erin (Phyllis Thaxter) who inadvertently allows Hudson to figure out that Alex is a spy by informing him of the whereabouts of the couples' son who has gone missing following Alex's mock dismissal from the Union force.

As to the Springfield Rifles-the new design of the guns supposedly helps Alex and the Union Army defeat the horse thieves who outnumber them. History however tells us otherwise revealing that during the Civil War the guns weren't as effective since they required extensive training when there was little time to prepare the troops before battle.

Despite uninteresting characters, Springfield Rifle's rousing score and action scenes compensate for the lack of character development. See it for the non-stop action as well as the stalwart Gary Cooper performance who just came off his famed role in High Noon, a ew months earlier.

This film has 3 strikes against it from the beginning. First, production values were not the highest (for example, in one scene in the mountains, panning shots show a heavy snow, while closeups show a distinctly powdery snow...actually white sand). Second, the print currently being shown on TCM is very poor (in one scene it looks as if black snow is falling). And, third, Gary Cooper is the only big star in the picture. And, along with production values, there's a big difference in the Rockies of Colorado, where this is supposed to have taken place, and the Sierra Nevadas of California, where this was filmed.

Putting those issues aside, it's not a bad story. It's pretty clear early on that Cooper is working undercover, and is not really a disgraced former army officer -- branded yellow. He's working to discover who is selling horse to the Confederates through Colorado. And, as we discover who the real traitors are...well, there are a few surprises.

An interesting aspect of this picture are the supporting actors. Lon Chaney, Jr. (a long way down from his salad days as a werewolf), Alan Hale, Jr. (a la "Gilligan's Island"), Fess Parker ("Daniel Boone"), Martin Milner ("Route 66"), among others.