Arrow In The Dust (1954)

★ 5.8 1h 19m IMDb

Western

A cavalry deserter poses as a major and leads a wagon train with a hidden cargo of repeating rifles.

Where to Watch

Checking 300+ streaming services for this title. Check back soon.

Rent / Buy

No rental or purchase options available yet.

Cast

Sterling Hayden as Bart Laish Died 1986 · Upper Montclair, New Jersey, USA Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor and author. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and hired on as mate on a schooner....

Coleen Gray as Christella Burke Died 2015 · Staplehurst, Nebraska, USA Coleen Gray (born Doris Bernice Jensen; October 23, 1922 – August 3, 2015) was born in Staplehurst, Nebraska. After graduating from high school she studied dramatics at Hamline University, graduating...

Keith Larsen as Lt. Steve King Died 2006 · Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Tom Tully as Crowshaw Died 1982 · Durango, Colorado, USA Tom Tully (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor..

Jimmy Wakely as Pvt. Carqueville Died 1982 · Mineola, Howard County, Arkansas, USA

Director Lesley Selander

Cast Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen, Tom Tully, Jimmy Wakely, Tudor Owen, Lee Van Cleef, John Pickard, Carleton Young, Iron Eyes Cody

John Chard 6.5/10 Apr 22, 2016

The Laramie Redemption.

Arrow in the Dust is directed by Lesley Selander and adapted to screenplay by Don Martin from the L. L. Foreman novel. It stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larson, Tom Tully and Tudour Owen. Music is by Marlin Skiles and Technicolor cinematography by Ells W. Carter.

Bart Laish (Hayden) is an army deserter, a gambler and a killer, but soon he is going to get a shot at redemption...

It's all very formulaic in plotting, yet there's some thought gone into the screenplay, whilst Selander wastes no chances to keep things brisk by inserting another finely constructed action sequence. Laish (a typically robust Hayden) finds himself in command of a wagon train, with soldiers and civilians, all now looking to him to stave off the wave after wave of Indian attacks, which interestingly sees the Pawnee and the Apache teaming up.

Naturally there's trouble in the camp, not only via some suspicious business men whose motives will reveal a key narrative thrust, but also by way of Gray's Christella Burke. She wanders in from some Estée Lauder advertisement (we don't care, we love 50s Westerns!), and pulses quicken for protagonist and viewers alike. Thematically the narrative is honourable, with decent amounts of angst and tortured heroics. There's some nifty war tactics, plenty of splendid gun play, and of course there's a human redemptive beat pulsing away - just begging to be found?

There's the usual "B" Western issues, such as weakly choreographed fighting between man versus man, dummies being flung over cliffs, and some average acting in support slots (not Lee Van Cleef, though, who is pottering around with menace). However, the Burro Flats location filming is beautifully photographed - in sync with Skiles' genre compliant score, while Hayden does enjoyable stern backed machismo, which plays off of Gray's sensuality perfectly, and Tully does grizzle to actually provide the film's best performance.

One for fans of this era of Western genre film making. Not a waste of time. Good show. 6.5/10