Set in 1868 when the Apaches under Chief Cochise go on the warpath with the intention of driving out every white settler in southern Arizona; Captain Bruce Coburn must take a small group of soldiers deep into Apache territory to take delivery of a consignment of forty new repeating rifles being delivered from the east. He doesn't have the best of men with him; his squad includes a belligerent corporal who has already been busted down from sergeant and a couple of raw recruits who joined the army when they were forced to abandon their family home. Things badly fairly quickly and several members of the squad are killed in an engagement with Cochise's braves; including one of the recruits who died because of his brother's cowardice. After taking delivery of the rifles things get even worse when the belligerent Cpl. Bodine mutinies and persuades the rest of the men to join him; telling them they will get rich selling the rifles in Mexico. Coburn is left for dead but manages to make it back to the camp at Apache Wells. Here he is relieved of command but disobeys orders to try to get the much needed rifles back. It is vital that he succeeds as Bodine lied about selling the guns in Mexico... he intends to sell them to the Apache!
One of this film's key weaknesses is the narration that tells us things that are blindingly obvious and only seems to detract from the action and is delivered in a tone that adds nothing the film. The acting is fairly mixed; Murphy puts in a solid performance as Coburn and Kenneth Tobey is great as Cpl. Bodine, creating a delightfully unpleasant character. Some of the other actors are decidedly ropey though; in one scene a soldier fighting for his life calls for help in a tone more suited to somebody inviting somebody to join him for a cup of tea! The action, when it comes, is exciting enough although nothing exceptional. The desert locations look impressive but the 'fort' at Apache Wells looked nothing like a military outpost. The main reason to watch this is to see Murphy's last starring role; apart from that it passes the time well enough on a rainy afternoon.
One of this film's key weaknesses is the narration that tells us things that are blindingly obvious and only seems to detract from the action and is delivered in a tone that adds nothing the film. The acting is fairly mixed; Murphy puts in a solid performance as Coburn and Kenneth Tobey is great as Cpl. Bodine, creating a delightfully unpleasant character. Some of the other actors are decidedly ropey though; in one scene a soldier fighting for his life calls for help in a tone more suited to somebody inviting somebody to join him for a cup of tea! The action, when it comes, is exciting enough although nothing exceptional. The desert locations look impressive but the 'fort' at Apache Wells looked nothing like a military outpost. The main reason to watch this is to see Murphy's last starring role; apart from that it passes the time well enough on a rainy afternoon.