War Paint (1953)

Stop bleeding all over me and get going. War Paint is directed by Lesley Selander and adapted to screenplay by Richard Alan Simmons and Martin Berkeley. It stars Robert Stack, Charles McGraw, Joan Taylor, Peter Graves, Keith Larsen, Robert Wilke and Walter Reed. Music is by Arthur Lange and Emil Newman, and cinematography by Gordon Avil. A cavalry patrol trying to deliver a peace treaty to Gray Cloud are being destroyed from within by an Indian brother and sister. Paper of lies! Filmed out of the superb presence of Death Valley, War Paint is as solid as one of that location's rocks. The title hints at some cheapo "B" Oater, the kind that is all hooray and jingoistic as the cavalry mow down the Indians, but that is not the case. Though an air of familiarity exists, with the core of the story about an army unit literally dying out in the desert, with saboteurs operating within, there's a two sides of the coin pinch in the narrative, with dialogue nicely written with thought and sincerity. Opening with a scalping, drama and suspense is never far away, so as the group implode, with suspicions, thirst and gold fever taking a hold, the viewer is always intrigued as to who will survive and will the treaty ever reach its destination? Plus you may find yourself feeling very thirsty during the viewing... Very nicely performed and handled with underrated tidy hands by Selander, this is well worth a look by Western fans. 7/10

The claim to fame of this otherwise completely unremarkable western is that is was the first feature actually filmed in Death Valley. That provides us with some pretty magnificent location photography as "Billings" (Robert Stack) is despatched to deliver a peace treaty to the ominously monikered Chief "Gray Cloud". Luckily, his son "Taslik" (Keith Larsen) is on hand to guide them on their perilous journey through this tough terrain - but is he quite what he seems? It's all pretty standard fayre, this - a few familiar faces add a tiny bit of richness to an otherwise forgettable outing for Stack and a curiously cast Joan Taylor ("Wanima") who really struggles to make much impression with her pretty unimaginative dialogue. Standard drive-in fodder with some decent enough action scenes now and again. Not terrible, but you won't recall it half an hour after you watch it.