''Little Big Horn'' (also known as ''The Fighting Seventh'') is a 1951 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 written and directed by Charles Marquis Warren starring

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

and

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

. It was also known as The Fighting Seventh.

Plot

Captain Phillip Donlin (

) and his small troop must rush to reach Little Big Horn in order to warn General Custer of the Sioux attack that awaits him. As they race against time, and Donlin pushes them hard through an arduous and dangerous journey, the Sioux start taking out the soldiers one at a time. Meanwhile, Donlin also clashes with Lt. John Haywood (

), who Donlin knows is having an affair with his wife, Celie (

Cast

as Capt. Phillip Donlin *

as Lt. John Haywood *

as Celie Donlin *

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

as Sgt. Maj. Peter Grierson * Jim Davis as Cpl. Doan Moylan *

Wally Cassell Wally Cassell (born Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini Rolando Vincenza Castellano; March 3, 1912 – April 2, 2015) was an Italian-born American character actor and businessman. Early years Wally Cassell was born as Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini ...

as Pvt. Danny Zecca *

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–1 ...

as Pvt. Al DeWalt *

King Donovan King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director. Early years Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...

as Pvt. James Corbo * Richard Emory as Pvt. Mitch Shovels * John Pickard as Sgt. Vet McCloud * Richard Sherwood as Pvt. David Mason * Sheb Wooley as Quince * Larry Stewart as Bugler Stevie Williams *

Rodd Redwing Rodd Redwing (August 24, 1904 – May 29, 1971) was born Webb Richardson on August 24, 1904 in Tennessee, USA. His father, Ulysses William Richardson (b. 1873), was Black and was an elevator man from Tennessee. His mother, Lillian Webb (b. 1 ...

as Cpl. Arika (as Rod Redwing) * Dick Paxton as Pvt. Ralph Hall (as Richard Paxton) * Gordon Wynn as Pvt. Arndt Hofstetter * Ted Avery as Pvt. Tim Harvey *

Barbara Woodell Barbara Woodell (May 25, 1910 – January 16, 1997) was an American film and television actress, born in Lewistown, Illinois. Selected filmography * ''Lady, Let's Dance'' (1944) * '' The Mysterious Mr. Valentine'' (1946) * ''Carnegie Hall'' ...

as Margaret Owen * Anne Warren as Anne Owen

Production

It was to be the first of a two-picture deal Charles Marquis Warren had with Republic Pictures. Warren was a leading writer at the time best known for ''

Only the Valiant ''Only the Valiant'', also known as ''Fort Invincible'', is a 1951 American Western (genre), Western film produced by William Cagney (younger brother of James Cagney), directed by Gordon Douglas (director), Gordon Douglas and starring Gregory P ...

'' and he wanted to become a director. The film was called ''The Black Hills'' and was to be produced by

Joseph Kane Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (March 19, 1894, San Diego – August 25, 1975, Santa Monica, California) was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western f ...

and star Rod Cameron. Filming was to start 10 March 1950. The film eventually shifted to

Lippert Pictures Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert. History Robert L. Lippert (1909-1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frustrate ...

. Filming was to have started 7 November 1950. However it was pushed back to February.

was the star. In an interview, Marie Windsor recalled an executive from Lippert Films announced the film had run out of money, with the production having several pages torn out of the script, and the film finished without certain scenes being done.

Reception

The film was a box office hit. It launched Warren's career as a director.

Awards

It was nominated for an award by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

in 1952.

References

External links

* * {{Charles Marquis Warren 1951 films Films directed by Charles Marquis Warren 1951 Western (genre) films Western (genre) cavalry films American Western (genre) films Lippert Pictures films Films scored by Paul Dunlap 1951 directorial debut films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films