''Ambush at Cimarron Pass'' is a 1958 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Jodie Copelan Jodie Copelan (born Joseph Caplan and sometimes credited as Jodie Caplan) was an American film editor who worked on dozens of B movies and TV shows from the late 1940s through the 1970s. Biography Beginnings Jodie was born in Los Angeles, ...

and starring

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

(third billed, later first billed upon reissue). The film also features

Margia Dean Marguerite Louise Skliris-Alvarez ( Skliris; born April 7, 1922), known as Margia Dean, is an American former beauty queen and stage and screen actress of Greek descent, who had a successful career in Hollywood films during the 1940s until the e ...

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

Frank Gerstle Francis M. Gerstle (September 27, 1915 – February 23, 1970) was an American character actor who appeared in supporting roles in numerous films, radio programs and TV shows following World War II. Biography Gerstle's notable appearances inc ...

Baynes Barron Bernard Miller (May 29, 1917 – July 21, 1982) was an American film and television actor. Born in New York. Barron began his career in 1946, first appearing in the film '' The Secret of the Whistler''. He then made his television debut in 1951 ...

, and William Vaughn. It is the only feature film ever directed by Copelan, who was primarily a

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

Plot

The survivors of a

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army d ...

of cavalry led by Sergeant Blake (Brady) are escorting a prisoner, Corbin, back to their fort. Corbin had been attempting to sell

repeating rifle A repeating rifle is a single-barreled rifle capable of repeated discharges between each ammunition reloads. This is typically achieved by having multiple cartridges stored in a magazine (within or attached to the gun) and then fed individually in ...

s to the Apache, and the cavalry are now carrying the rifles. They encounter the survivors of a Texas

cattle drive A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Europe In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River ...

, all former Confederate soldiers led by Sam Prescott (Gerstle), who include the young Keith Williams (Eastwood) who still hates northerners and has to be restrained from shooting Blake. While the two groups are discussing their predicament, the Apache deliver a bound Teresa Santos (Dean), a young woman who is the only survivor of a raid on a nearby ranch. It turns out this was a distraction so the Apache could steal the groups' horses. Blake and Prescott agree to join forces and continue on foot to the fort, through Cimarron Pass. Judge Stanfield, a survivor in Prescott's party, suggests trading the rifles to the Apache for their horses, but Blake dismisses this on the basis that the rifles are the only means they have of defending themselves against the superior Apache numbers. When Blake ignores Stanfield's threats of criminal charges, Stanfield plots with Keith to overthrow Blake's command. Several of the group, mostly Blake's men, are killed or wounded in skirmishes or ambushes, including Blake's Indian scout Henry. Johnny Willow takes over scouting duties, while Teresa flirts with Keith. Stanfield encourages Keith, who is annoyed at Blake's leadership and the way Prescott and Johnny are going along with it, to mutiny. Keith's first attempt is interrupted by an Apache attack but, in the aftermath, he challenges Blake, who easily defeats him. After this, Keith largely falls into line and decides to take out his anger on the Apache rather than Blake. During an Apache attack, Stanfield frees Corbin so that he can complete the deal with the Apache, but Corbin betrays and kills him. Corbin then attempts to deliver some of the rifles, but the Apache kill him on sight and Blake's group is able to recover them. Blake decides to raid the Apache camp and drive off their horses, to remove their advantage. The raid is successful in stampeding the horses, but escalates into a battle in which Johnny Willow and most of the Apache are killed. During the fighting, Blake rescues Teresa from an Apache warrior, and she kisses him. The raid seems to end the direct threat from the Apache but the group is still short of food and water. As they continue towards the fort, Teresa collapses from exhaustion and Blake realises that the rifles are too heavy to carry any further. Rather than let them fall into the hands of the Apache he orders them to be burned. The final shot is of the fort, suggesting that the group reached safety.

Cast

as Sergeant Matt Blake *

as Teresa Santos *

as Keith Williams *

as Judge Stanfield *

as Capt. Sam Prescott *

Ray Boyle Raymond Cornelius Boyle (June 28, 1923 – January 6, 2022), also known as Ray Boyle and Dirk London, was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Morgan Earp in the American western television series ''The Li ...

as Johnny Willows (billed as Dirk London) *

as Corbin the Gunrunner *William Vaughn as Henry the Scout *

Ken Mayer Ken Mayer (June 25, 1918 – January 30, 1985) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Major Robbie Robertson in the 1950s television series, '' Space Patrol''. Following service in the United States Army Air Corps' intelligen ...

as Corporal Schwitzer *John Damler as Private Zach *Keith Richards as Private Lasky *John Frederick as Private Nathan (billed as John Merrick)

Production

The film was made by

Regal Films Inc Robert Lenard Lippert (March 31, 1909 – November 16, 1976) was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in ...

. It was one of a two-picture deal Scott Brady signed with Regal the other being '' Blood Arrow''.

, at the time best known for his performance in ''

Lafayette Escadrille The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...

,'' was cast in September 1957.

Reception

Most film guides include in their entry for this film a quote attributed to Eastwood, "probably the lousiest Western ever made." Eastwood recalled how he felt when he saw the film at a movie theatre. In a 1978 interview he said he felt "really depressed" at the time and said of the film "It was sooo bad I just kept sinking lower and lower in my seat. I said to my wife 'I'm going to quit, I'm really going to quit. I gotta go back to school, I got to start doing something with my life.' " The notes on pages 553 and 554 indicate these quotes came from an article in the April 1978 issue of Crawdaddy magazine. The film was never released on VHS. It was released on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

Olive Films The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

in 2012.

References

External links

* * {{AllMovie title, 83612, Ambush at Cimarron Pass
''Ambush at Cimarron Pass''
at BFI
''Ambush at Cimarron Pass''
at

TCMB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

1958 films 1958 Western (genre) films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) films Western (genre) cavalry films 1958 directorial debut films Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1950s English-language films 1950s American films