Synopsis: The young and conscientious Dr. Allen Seward arrives at Fort McCullough to find himself openly distrusted by the soldiers - especially the Captain Peter Blake, whose close friend died at the hands of the fort's previous surgeon. Laurie MacKaye, the Commander's niece, flirts with Seward and defends him before the troops. Tensions flare when Dr. Seward evokes medical ethics and places a higher priority on treating a malaria epidemic among the Kiowa than on assisting with Captain Blake's effort to track down some stolen rifles.

They Rode West (1954) is one of three B Westerns which Donna Reed made at Columbia after her exceptional performance in From Here to Eternity (1953), which later earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Reed hoped that her performance in that film would lead to more ambitious roles, and she balked when the studio head Harry Cohn offered her a part in a B-quickie instead. In retaliation for her refusal, Cohn assigned her to the Westerns. Actually, the three films are not without merit; besides They Rode West, they include the underrated Gun Fury (1953) and Three Hours to Kill (1954). After getting loaned out to MGM for The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), Reed managed to get released from her contract at Columbia and made her next few films at Paramount and Universal.

They Rode West is also noteworthy as one of several Westerns during the 1950s which attempted to offer a more complex representation of Native Americans. Such films in fact date back to the silent era, but Delmer Daves' Broken Arrow (1950) in particular revitalized that effort. While They Rode West still constructs an opposition between the warlike Comanche and the peaceful Kiowa, the main thrust of Leo Katcher's story and Frank S. Nugent's and DeVallon Scott's screenplay is to juxtapose Dr. Seward's compassion and emphasis on mutual dialogue with Blake's mistrust and over-reliance on combat. Working titles for the film were The White Feather and The Wood Hawk, the latter referring to the nickname that Seward earns for supposedly "betraying his own kind."

The film received little critical attention during its initial release, but Variety called the film "a cut above [the] standards of most such offerings" and praised the film's "handsome color lensing." The reviewer also singled out the performances of Donna Reed, May Wynn and the young Robert Francis (1930-1955). This was the first starring role for Francis, and only his second major role after The Caine Mutiny (1954). He appeared in just two more films - The Long Gray Line (1955) and The Bamboo Prison (1954) - before his untimely death in a private plane accident.

Director: Phil Karlson
Producer: Lewis J. Rachmil
Screenplay: DeVallon Scott and Frank S. Nugent, based on a story by Leo Katcher
Director of Photography: Charles Lawton, Jr.
Art Director: Cary Odell
Music score: Paul Sawtell
Film Editor: Henry Batista
Cast: Robert Francis (Dr. Allen Seward); Donna Reed (Laurie MacKaye); May Wynn (Manyi-ten); Phil Carey (Capt. Peter Blake); Onslow Stevens (Col. Ethan Waters); Peggy Converse (Martha Walters); Roy Roberts (Sgt. Creever); Jack Kelly (Lt. Raymond); Stuart Randall (Chief Santanta); Frank DeKova (Isatai); John War Eagle (Chief Quanah).
C-85m.

by James Steffen

SOURCES:
Review of They Rode West. Variety. October 27, 1954. Fultz, Jay. In Search of Donna Reed. Iowa City: Iowa University Press, 1998. Royce, Brenda Scott. Donna Reed: A Bio-Bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.