This well-made western is inspired by the same source material as John Ford's great cavalry trilogy, the short stories of Saturday Evening Post writer James Warner Bellah. It stars Richard Boone, fresh from his TV series Have Gun Will Travel, as a growling fort commander and the dashing George Hamilton as a conscience-stricken lieutenant, while Richard Chamberlain - whose popularity was about to soar thanks to starring as TV's Dr Kildare - features some way down the cast list. Also on parade are Charles Bronson, Slim Pickens and that maestro of the twangy guitar, Duane Eddy. The Big Circus director Joseph M Newman is clever enough to know how to get the most out of this familiar stuff.

Captain Maddocks will never be promoted beyond Captain because of a mistake that he made in the past. Lt. McQuade is a green rookie who is now under the command of the tough Captain and he does not seem to be able to do anything right. Lt. McQuade also has trouble with Tracey, but it will be the renegade Indians that will test him and teach him the importance of following orders.