Reviews
John Chard

John Chard

January 21, 2014
8.0
No brass button soldiers here. The Charge at Feather River is directed by Gordon Douglas and written by James R. Webb. It stars Guy Madison, Frank Lovejoy, Helen Westcott, Vera Miles, Dick Wesson, Onslow Stevens, Steve Brodie, Neville Brand and James Brown. Filmed in Natural Vision-3-Dimension and WarnerColor, music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by J. Peverell Marley. The Guardhouse Brigade. Wonderful. It’s the sort of Western you watched as a kid and it made you fall in love with the genre. It has it all, the standard Cowboys versus Indians action to keep the youngsters amused, and quality characterisations for the knowing adults to acknowledge. Plot would become very familiar over the years, where a bunch of reprobates, here they are the bad boys of the army guardhouse, are trained up and sent on a suicide mission. The mission here is to rescue two white sisters who were captured by the Cheyenne years ago. The group dynamic positively bubbles with tension as men who fought on opposite sides of the Civil War are tasked with performing as one force. There’s also a heated rivalry between two men because of a woman, and naturally there’s some looses cannons in the group. Things further pick up when the two ladies are rescued and the group has to try and make it back to the fort with the whole Cheyenne tribe on their tail. The elder sister is grateful to be rescued, the younger one not so much since she has converted to the Cheyenne way and is set to marry Chief Thunder Hawk. Thus the group dynamic goes up a couple of more notches on the stove as the younger sister does all she can to sabotage the mission, while the elder frets about how society will treat her once her past comes to light, and of course there’s an attraction between her and the alpha male. Yet the romantic thread is superbly written, really mature and never cloying. There’s some requisite humour that works very well, the action is very well staged by the wily Douglas and Madison makes for a good leader of men. While having Brand and Brodie in support playing ornery dudes is perfect casting. It’s a very satisfying Oater, it’s not hard to see why it was a big hit at the box office. Oh for sure the 3-D gimmick would have been a big draw, especially since there’s plenty of scenes made for 3-D nirvana in the picture. However, this is strong enough to stand on its own 2-D feet, a throwback to a great decade of Westerns. It also has a Steiner musical score and Marley’s super photography around the California locations. Think what would happen if you mixed The Searchers and Major Dundee together and you get an idea of the type of film on offer. Recommended to Western buffs. 8/10

Recommendation Movies

6.7
Animation
View
6.7
Barbie: A Perfect Christmas
Barbie: A Perfect Christmas2011
7.2
Animation
View
7.2
Barbie in A Mermaid Tale
Barbie in A Mermaid Tale2010
6.6
Animation
View
6.6
Main Krishna Hoon
Main Krishna Hoon2013
7
Animation
View
7
Minions: Training Wheels
Minions: Training Wheels2013
7
Animation
View
7
Barbie of Swan Lake
Barbie of Swan Lake2003
5.7
Comedy
View
5.7
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked2011
7.2
Family
View
7.2
My Little Pony: The Movie
My Little Pony: The Movie2017
6.3
Horror
View
6.3
Resident Evil: Extinction
Resident Evil: Extinction2007
6.2
Animation
View
6.2
Planes: Fire & Rescue
Planes: Fire & Rescue2014
6.2
Animation
View
6.2
Barbie in Princess Power
Barbie in Princess Power2015
5.9
Romance
View
5.9
Christmas Cupid
Christmas Cupid2010
7.2
Animation
View
7.2
Barbie as the Island Princess
Barbie as the Island Princess2007
6
Adventure
View
6
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: New Moon2009
6.5
Adventure
View
6.5
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 22012
7.4
Animation
View
7.4
Barbie and the Diamond Castle
Barbie and the Diamond Castle2008
7.8
Documentary
View
7.8
Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon
Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon2011
3.9
Comedy
View
3.9
Internet - The Movie
Internet - The Movie2017
6.5
Animation
View
6.5
Olaf's Frozen Adventure
Olaf's Frozen Adventure2017
6.4
Adventure
View
6.4
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader2010
6.1
Action
View
6.1
Ip Man: The Final Fight
Ip Man: The Final Fight2013
© 2024 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt