Donna Reed vs. Apaches in a 66-minute siege? Buckle up, buttercup.
The brother of a notorious outlaw is put in a charge of a stagecoach line way station in dangerous Apache territory. A stagecoach arrives at the station with a valuable box of cargo, and the outlaw brother soon shows up, though denying that he's planning to take the cargo box. Soon, however, rampaging Apaches attack the station, and the station manager, his brother and a disparate group of passengers and employees must fight them off.
Acting
Lloyd Nolan's smirking outlaw energy carries the whole thing.
Production
Lean 66 minutes—no fat, just siege mechanics and sweaty faces.
Practical Effects
Real Arizona locations make the cheap sets almost convincing.
Director
Richard Thorpe
Lloyd Nolan
Trigger Bill Folliard
Donna Reed
Rosalia Martinez
William Lundigan
Tom Folliard
Ann Ayars
Constance Selden
Connie Gilchrist
Señora Martinez
Chill Wills
'Pike' Skelton
Miles Mander
James V. Thorne
Gloria Holden
Mrs. James V. Thorne
Ray Teal
Ed Cotton
Grant Withers
'Les' Lestrade
Fuzzy Knight
Juke
Trevor Bardette
Amber
Frank M. Thomas
Maj. Lowden
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Richard Thorpe shot this in 10 days flat between MGM assignments, using leftover sets from 1939's Stagecoach.
The 'noble station master vs. savage horde' formula here directly echoes 1939's Drums Along the Mohawk, repackaged for wartime audiences craving frontier unity.
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