7th Cavalry (1956)

★ 5.9 1h 15m IMDb

Western

An officer accused of cowardice volunteers to bring back General Custers's body after Little Big Horn.

Where to Watch

Not available for streaming right now

Rent / Buy

Rent

Not available for rent

Buy

Not available to buy

Cast

Randolph Scott as Capt. Tom Benson Died 1987 · Orange County, Virginia, USA George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American actor, best known for his roles in Western films. His career spanned from 1928 to 1962, during which he appeared in over 100 fi...

Barbara Hale as Martha Kellogg Died 2017 · DeKalb, Illinois, USA Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 - January 26, 2017) was an American actress best known for her role as legal secretary Della Street on more than 250 episodes of the long-running Perry Mason television se...

Jay C. Flippen as Sgt. Bates Died 1971 · Little Rock, Arkansas, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jay C. Flippen (born March 6, 1899, Little Rock, Arkansas – February 3, 1971, Los Angeles, California) is an American character actor who often played police...

Frank Faylen as Sgt. Kruger Died 1985 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Frank Faylen (born Francis Charles Ruf) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He is best remembered for his movie performances as the cynical male nurse in The Lost Weekend (1945) and E...

Jeanette Nolan as Charlotte Reynolds Died 1998 · Los Angeles, California, USA Jeanette Nolan (December 30, 1911 – June 5, 1998) was an American actress. Nominated for four Emmy Awards, she had roles in the television series The Virginian (1962–1971) and Dirty Sally (1974), and...

Leo Gordon as Vogel Died 2000 · New York City, New York, USA Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American film and television character actor as well as a screenplay writer and novelist. During more than 40 years in film and televis...

Director Joseph H. Lewis

Cast Randolph Scott, Barbara Hale, Jay C. Flippen, Frank Faylen, Jeanette Nolan, Leo Gordon, Denver Pyle, Harry Carey, Jr., Michael Pate

John Chard 7/10 Jan 30, 2017

Yellow Hair and the real meaning of Horsepower.

Set after the Battle Of Little Big Horn, 7th Cavalry sees Randolph Scott playing Captain Benson, who returns with his future bride to his post commanded by Indian fighter, Colonel Custer. Custer however was gone, he had taken the famous 7th Cavalry to war with the Sioux at Big Horn and lost badly. Guilt ridden and tarnished by whispers of cowardice, Benson volunteers to lead a dangerous mission back to Big Horn to reclaim the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

There doesn't appear to be much much love for this 1956 Columbia Pictures Oater. Seems it's either damned for being too talky, or on the flip side, it's too hokey within its plotting to actually merit worth. Well that's a shame for this has something of a vintage feel to it, the themes of guilt and redemption are Western standards, whilst the story also takes in interesting arcs such as religious beliefs and spiritual meanings. Yes this is definitely a "talky" picture - aside from some mano mano action and single horse pursuits that is - but it's a well thought out screenplay by Peter Packer (adapting from Glendon Swarthout's story). Instances such as a military enquiry and an exchange between Benson and a young Indian warrior are intelligent passages in the story (with Scott doing fine work in the process). What it lacks in gusto action it more than makes up for with the characterisations.

Other plus points are that it's also nicely shot in Mexico, the Technicolor doing justice to the splendid costumes on show. Backing Scott up in support are admirable performers such as Jay C. Flippen, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Michael Pate and Harry Carey Junior. Although the ladies (Jeanette Nolan & Barbara Hale) aren't given too much to do and the score conducted by Mischa Bakaleinikoff is at odds with the tempo of the film, 7th Cavalry still deserves a better reputation than it currently has. If you prepare for a work of fiction that is most assuredly dialogue driven, then hopefully your expectations will at the least be met. 7/10