''A Distant Trumpet'' is a 1964 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, the last directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...

. It stars

Troy Donahue Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Johnny Hunter in the film '' A Summer Place''. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and ...

Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American actress. Pleshette was known for her roles in theatre, film, and television. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. For her role as Emily Hart ...

and

Diane McBain Diane Jean McBain (May 18, 1941 – December 21, 2022) was an American actress who, as a Warner Brothers contract player, reached a brief peak of popularity during the early 1960s. She was best known for playing an adventurous socialite in the 19 ...

. The

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

by John Twist, Albert Beich and Richard Fielder is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by

Paul Horgan Paul George Vincent O'Shaughnessy Horgan (August 1, 1903 – March 8, 1995) was an American writer of historical fiction and non-fiction who mainly wrote about the Southwestern United States. He was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes for Histor ...

Plot

In 1883, U.S. Army Cavalry 2^nd

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

(on the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

), is assigned to isolated Fort Delivery on the Mexican border of the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

in the early 1880s, where he meets 1^st

Teddy Mainwarring's wife Kitty, whom he later rescues from an Indian attack. Major General Alexander Quaint ( James Gregory), arrives at Fort Delivery to conduct an official inquiry into illegal and prejudicial actions and activities resulting in abuse of persons and destruction and theft of properties perpetuated or authorized by elements of the fort's Command. After the inquiry, General Quaint apologizes to the officers of Fort Delivery for the mock inquiry and proceeds to present his plan to capture

Chiricahua Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans. Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua historically shared a common area, language, customs, and intertwined family relations with their fellow Apaches. ...

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

chief "War Eagle". When his efforts to capture

chief "War Eagle" fail, he sends Lt. Hazard into northern Mexico to meet the Indian chief to convince him to surrender. After a long arduous trip south across the border in desolate deserts and buttes, canyons with dry ravines, and gulches, Lt. Hazard meets War Eagle and asks him to surrender and return with him on the promise that the Indians will be provided a safe haven at a reservation near their ancient tribal homeland in Arizona. En route back to the fort, they encounter a Major Miller, an officer who rose from the ranks, who was sent out to meet the surrendering Indian party and take them into custody as prisoners to be sent instead to exile in Florida. Lt. Hazard was ordered to report to the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

in Washington, D.C. At the office of the Secretary of War, Lt. Hazard was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor. Lt. Hazard took this opportunity, to ask the Secretary of War to reverse their decision to send the

Indians to Florida and instead implement the promises he made to the Indians that they will be sent to a reservation in Arizona. When the Secretary of War refused Lt. Hazard's request, the latter in front of an assembly of press and family, makes a bold declaration about how the Indians have been betrayed by the United States Army and returned his Medal of Honor and gave his verbal resignation from the Army. General Quaint also took this occasion to hand in his resignation as a show of solidarity with the protest of Lt. Hazard. Gen. Quaint continued in trying to convince the Secretary of War to reverse their decision and allow Lt. Hazard to keep his word to War Eagle. Since the Secretary of War would not budge and instead called by telephone the President of the United States of America (

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...

) to consult, Gen. Quaint took this opportunity to talk with the President to warn him that there would be trouble with the Indians if the decision of the War Department was not reversed. The President overruled the Secretary of War and ordered the release of the Indian prisoners. Lt. Hazard was promoted to Captain and assigned as the new commanding officer of Fort Delivery. Capt. Hazard and Kitty, the widow of Lt. Teddy Mainwarring were married.

Cast

as 2^nd Lt. Matthew Hazard, U.S.A. *

as Kitty Mainwarring * William Reynolds as 1^st Lt. Teddy Mainwarring, U.S.A. * James Gregory as Maj. Gen. Alexander Quaint, U.S.A. *

as Laura Frelief *

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor. He played Sonny Pruit in '' Movin' On'', a 1974–1976 American drama series about a trucking team; Sheriff Lobo on '' The Misadventures of Sheriff Lob ...

as Seely Jones – Traveling merchant offering wagon load of prostitutes, dance hall girls and selling liquor to isolated military posts. *

Kent Smith Frank Kent SmithGordon, Dr. Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures: Volume II'. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Publishing. pp. 130, 131. . "Kent Smith: Frank Kent Smith was born on March 19, 1907, in New York City. ..He was marrie ...

as the

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the C ...

(in the Arthur administration) *

Bartlett Robinson Bartlett Whitney Robinson (December 9, 1912 – March 26, 1986) was an American actor who performed on radio, the stage, in films, and on television for five decades. In 1943 he was the first actor of several performers who provided the voice of ...

as Maj. Hiram Prescott *

Lane Bradford Lane Bradford (born ''John Myrtland Le Varre, Jr.''; August 29, 1922 – June 6, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predominan ...

as Maj. Miller *

Judson Pratt Judson Pratt (December 6, 1916 – February 9, 2002) was an American film, television, and theatre actor. He was known for playing Billy Kinkaid in the American western television series ''Union Pacific''. Early life Pratt was born in Hing ...

as Capt. Cedric Gray, MD *

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in '' Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, ...

as Capt. Brinker * Richard X. Slattery as 1^st Sgt. Fry * Larry Ward as Sgt. Kroger *

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City", and " 500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Earl ...

as Pvt. Cranshaw

Original novel

The film was based on a 629-page novel, published in 1960, which was based on extensive historical research. ''The New York Times'' called it "the finest novel yet on the Southwest in its settling." Another reviewer for the same paper called it a "first rate historical novel."

Production

Warners bought the film rights and announced they would make the film in 1960 with

James Woolf Sir John Woolf (15 March 1913, London – 28 June 1999, London) and his brother James Woolf (2 March 1920, London – 30 May 1966, Beverly Hills, California) were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Fi ...

and

Jack Clayton Jack Isaac Clayton (1 March 1921 – 26 February 1995) was an English film director and producer, known for his skill directing literary adaptations. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for his feature-length debut, Room a ...

as producer and director,

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to Union of South Africa, South Africa at an early age, before ...

as star, and

Alan Le May Alan Brown Le May (June 3, 1899 – April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer. He is most remembered for two classic Western novels, ''The Searchers'' (1954) and ''The Unforgiven'' (1957).Herzberg, Bob (2008). ''Savages and ...

to do the script. It would be made for Challet Productions, Harvey's production company.

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and film director, director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was b ...

wrote a draft of the script; he was under contract to Warners at the time and called the novel "wonderful". Then Clayton was replaced by Leslie H. Martinson. Eventually, the film was set up with an entirely new producer, director and writer. Significant changes were made from Horgan's novel in reversing the character traits of the female leads, making Kitty Mainwarring the object of Hazard's affections and Laura the negative personality; and altering the narrative's climax (and history), by reversing the fate of the Apaches from their historic removal to Florida and restoring the male protagonists to full duty, thereby negating Hazard's point-of-honor refusal of the congressional Medal of Honor and resignation from the Army, which was the basis for the entire storyline. Shooting took place in September 1963. Location filming occurred in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...

and

Gallup, New Mexico Gallup is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States, with a population of 21,899 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A substantial percentage of its population is Native Americans in the United States, Native American, wi ...

.Nat Segaloff, ''Final Cuts: The Last Films of 50 Great Directors'', Bear Manor Media 2013 pp. 299–301

Critical reception

In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

called the film:

A deadly bore...so dull you even lose interest in watching the horses and the stunt men doing their stuff...Seldom has there been a Western picture on which so much money was spent...from which so little excitement, energy or colorfulness exudes. It's as though Mr. Walsh and everybody were bitten by
tsetse flies Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glos ...
and went through the business of shooting the picture in a state of drowsiness."

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said:

The stunning location terrain of the Red Rocks area of
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and Arizona's Painted Desert gives the production a tremendous pictorial lift. Max Steiner's score is a driving dramatic force but the use of the main theme seems a trifle excessive. The picture would benefit from a lot more pruning by editor David Wages.

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

'' feels that despite "an average script and a colourless lead performance from Donahue" the film " mergesas a majestically simple, sweeping cavalry Western, a little reminiscent of Ford in mood and manner. Brilliantly shot by William Clothier, it tends to have its cake and eat it by indulging in a spectacular massacre before introducing the liberal message, but still goes further than most in according respect to the Indian by letting him speak his own language (with subtitles)."

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for ''Fi ...

called the film:

One of Walsh's weakest pictures, caused mainly by an intolerably bad cast and a predictable script. Whenever the director is allowed to linger on shots of horses and riders, Indians and cavalry, and on their battles, he shows his vitality, personality and strength. Otherwise, his efforts are hopeless against the talentless players and the hopeless words they are required to speak."The Raoul Walsh File – Part 4 Blogs by Peter Bogdanovich ''Indiewire'' August 28, 2013
accessed 13 April 2014

References

External links

''A Distant Trumpet'' at the Internet Movie Database

''A Distant Trumpet'' at Turner Classic Movies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Distant Trumpet, A 1964 films American Western (genre) films 1964 Western (genre) films Films set in 1883 Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels 1960s English-language films Warner Bros. films Films scored by Max Steiner Films directed by Raoul Walsh Western (genre) cavalry films Apache Wars films Films set in Arizona Films set in Mexico 1960s American films English-language Western (genre) films