Albert Mazeika Slow moving, but watchable, tho' I think describing it as "John Ford Lite" is being more than charitable. This somewhat off-beat Civil War western pairs an in-decline Errol Flynn with his 3rd wife, Patrice Wymore. Flynn leads a small Confederate patrol out to California on a secret mission from Robert E. Lee to save the Confederacy. A dozen or so years earlier the film's director, William Keighly, had been replaced as director on THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. WB management was disappointed with the early rushes on ...ROBIN HOOD and brought in their workhorse and Master-Of-All-Genres, the great, Michael Curtiz, who picked up the reins and completed what is generally regarded as THE classic swashbuckler.

rogerblake-281-718819 Errol Flynn was the hell raisers hellraiser lucky to survive to 50.However up to the early 1950s he could just about pull him self together to swash a reasonable buckle in such films as "Against all Flags" and "The Master of Ballentrae", even as late as 1955in the "Dark Avenger" there was still a trace of the old magnificent Flynn,then the rapid decline.Rocky Mountain was the last western Flynn made and it's not bad at all his lived in face was just right for the character he was playing a war weary Confederate cavalry captain called Lafe Barstow who in March 1865 is under orders with 7 troopers to travel 2000 miles to California meet up with local outlaw Cole Smith and his men and start a war there,mission impossible from the start. things start to go wrong when they go to the rescue of a stagecoach under attack from a Shoshone war party they save the life of the driver and his young female passenger(Patrice Wymore) Things get even more complicated when her fiancé(Scot Forbes)a union officer is captured when he comes to her rescue.The plot then has many twists and turns,Forbes character escapes and is presumed killed when there is the sound of gun fire,with the Shoshone gathering for a mass attack Flynn and his men in an act of Southern chivalry decide to act as decoys to draw the Shoshone off allowing Miss Wymore and the stagecoach driver to make their escape the ruse works but Flynn and his men they find themselves trapped in a box canyon."they have seen our backs now let them see our faces"then with the Confederate banner flying they charge head first in to the Shoshone and are heroically slaughtered. Flynn's demise is similar to his death in"They Died With There Boots On"Forbes has escaped but turns up to late with the Yankee cavalry,They are buried with full military honours and while the Confederate flag is flown from the highest butte the Warner Brothers choir sing a moving version of Dixie it is a truly awesome scene,Warner Brothers recycled it in all there t.v. westerns in the next decade when Ifirst saw this film as a lad the whole cinema audience stood up and cheered(we were all English for goodness sake)this is a fine film with many pleasures not least FLynn's boys Slim Pickens,Guinn Williams utterly reliable, Sheb Wooley who forgets his southern chivalry when he makes a pass at Miss Wymore he redeems him self at the end. Dickie Jones plays a 16 year old he has a nice moment when he tells Miss Wymore of the time at Gettysburg when General Lee(the most beloved of American generals) graciously excepts a skillet lid of black eyed peas,"Thank you son that's elegent"Flynn mentions that he has a large plantation back home were the cotton fields extent as far as the eye can see does that make him a slave owner ha also says that his Lady died a long time ago,A natural death or a war crime the film dosen't elaborate on either point,indeed the causes of the war are not mentioned Flynn is excellent his charismatic officer is similar to the one he played in "Operation Burma"As a last thought the Confederate cavalry in films such as "The Last Outpost"and Two flags West" seem to spend all their time rescuing the Yankees from rampaging indians who are attacking their forts, it's a pity the yanks can't re turn the compliment here.

bkoganbing Rocky Mountain was the eighth and last western film for Errol Flynn and in it he plays in the climax a version of one of his better known cowboy epics, They Died With Their Boots On. While Flynn was leaving the genre, Rocky Mountain provided debuts for two character actors much associated with westerns, Slim Pickens and Sheb Woolley. It also provided Flynn with an introduction to his third and last wife, Patrice Wymore. The story concerns a small patrol of eight Confederates in the last days of the Civil War trying a real Hail Mary pass for the Southern cause. Flynn as head of the group is to recruit outlaws for the Confederacy with a promise of pardon if they become southern troops and start reeking havoc in the west for the Union. One of the eight a young kid played by Dick Jones brings along a small dog on this dangerous assignment, not Rin Tin Tin or Yukon King who might help, but a cocker spaniel. Does it get more ridiculous than that?On the way the group rescues Patrice Wymore from an Indian attack on a stagecoach along with driver Chubby Johnson and then captures a Yankee patrol sent after them because Wymore is the betrothed of army lieutenant Scott Forbes who is in command. Now the Shoshone Indians are on the warpath in earnest.Supposedly this is based on a true incident which I find incredibly hard to believe. But on the plus side Rocky Mountain has some great location cinematography from New Mexico where it is shot and a great performance from Errol Flynn who is not playing a dashing hero, but a rather weary and jaded individual who is really sick of the war. Not unlike the real Errol Flynn at the time.And it has a gallant charge right into the Indians as the Confederates make their last stand. No matter how cynical you might feel about the film itself up to that point, the gallantry portrayed will move you. Rocky Mountain is not the greatest of westerns, but it's not a bad one for Errol Flynn to close that chapter of his career with.

dr-holliday I have to agree with mvescovi in an earlier review. One aspect of "Rocky Mountain" which is seldom mentioned is the remarkable horsemanship of the actors involved. For the most part these guys were real cowboys. Among them - Dickie Jones, a trick rider almost from the time he could walk; an amazing athlete. Slim Pickens - a rodeo performer in his youth and a rodeo clown. (Today those clowns prefer to be called "bull fighters" since they risk their lives daily to protect both amateur and pro bull riders). Sheb Wooley - a rodeo rider as a teen; one of the best in his home state of Oklahoma. He gets to show a bit of his expertise in the opening moments of "High Noon" in his role as Ben Miller. As another reviewer mentioned, this was the first feature film for both Pickens and Wooley.And let's not leave out Errol Flynn. That fellow could certainly ride with the best, as evidenced in this film and many others, and who looked better on a horse than Flynn? My fondest memories of this film as a child were those which included the dog and Dickie Jones' character, Buck Wheat. I always was a sucker for horses and dogs.All the characters were well-defined. You knew these men, their good points and their bad and you formed an opinion about each. You cared about what happened to them. How often can you say that about characters in one of today's movies? The photography was striking and I found the characters' tattered clothing remarkably realistic for a change - more authentic than many films. These men were, after all, weary travelers, soldiers on the losing side of a civil war - their country (the CSA) existing on what little remained to them.As to the romance part - to me there really wasn't one! Flynn's character is respectful and admiring of the lady and although there is certainly chemistry between them, there is no silly romance to mar the storyline or make it seem insipid. Flynn met his future wife, Patrice Wymore, on this set. They married after the film.Finally, the story itself is not overly sentimental. The soldiers ultimately behave as soldiers, doing their duty, going to their end bravely and with honor despite any previous differences. The ending shot, with the Union cavalryman riding to the top of the butte to install the Confederate Flag, was moving and again, the honorable thing to do. A brave man is a brave man no matter which side he fights upon.This is a fine film, a fine western and a fitting end to Flynn's career in oaters. What must we fans do to get "Rocky Mountain" out on video and DVD? It is an honor long overdue.