A Distant Trumpet (1964)

Set in the 1880s, a recent West Point graduate (Troy Donahue) arrives for duty at an isolated fort on the Arizona/Mexico border. The cavalry soldiers are undisciplined and lax and it's up to the new officer to whip the men into shape and attempt to capture or negotiate a surrender with the renegade Apache leader who is raiding the nearby areas. Based on the Paul Horgan novel, veteran director Raoul Walsh's main accomplishment here is his superlative use of the wide screen format, in this case Panavision. Visually, the film is quite stunning and the wide screen compositions (William Clothier is the cinematographer) would do David Lean and Freddie Young proud. The film is also notable for its depiction of the Apaches. They aren't sentimentalized but neither does it portray them as blood thirsty savages but a people betrayed who only want to live in peace on their land. Donahue does well enough, it's probably his best film performance, but it's difficult to get around the central miscasting. He just doesn't belong. Suzanne Pleshette and Diane McBain are rivals for Donahue's affection. The stirring score is by Max Steiner. With James Gregory, Kent Smith, William Reynolds and Claude Akins.