weezeralfalfa This is a little more than a 'routine' western. It has some historical basis. The romantic couple: Lilly(Joanne Dru) and Clint(John Ireland), who have the most screen time, are quite fictional. But Edmond Beale(Rod Cameron)was quite a famous trail blazer and surveyor in his day. The supposed camel trip across Utah, New Mexico and Arizona was a mix of two of his trips. The trip where he used camels was actually from Fort Defiance, central NM, straight across central AZ to the Colorado River. This became a famous wagon trail, eventually part of US Route 66 and the Santa Fe railway.I noticed that Bactrian (2 hump) rather than dromedary(1 hump) camels were used. Historically, they were imported from Tunisia, therefore should have been dromedaries, which are the usual camel in North Africa and the Middle East. Bactrians are the usual camel in Central Asia and western China. Bactrians are notably larger and can carry or pull heavier loads, up to 1000 lbs., whereas the top limit for dromedaries is 600 lbs. and for horses and mules 300 lbs.. Although camels had various practical advantages over horses and mules in the dry rough parts of the Southwest, there was a general prejudice against substituting them for their familiar pack animals. Also, horses and mules were generally afraid of them. Getting back to the story, the threesome of Clint, Lilly, and brother Jeb are being chased by a posse, after robbing a bank of gold. Jeb is badly wounded, but they manage to lose the posse. Lilly goes to town to find a doctor, and returns with a drunkard veterinarian who says he can't do anything for Jeb. Clint bargains with him to buy his clothes and medical bag,so that the vet. can return to the east, instead of joining the camel caravan, and Clint can impersonate him when he joins the caravan. Lilly remains behind with Jeb, who eventually dies. She then finds the caravan and is reluctantly accepted. Clint's ruse is finally discovered, and he banished from the caravan after a fist fight with Beale. But, he finds a water hole, which the caravan badly needs, and helps fight off the attacking Apache. Therefore, he's accepted back into the caravan, and gives his stolen gold to Beale to return to the bank he stole it from. Beale says he can't buy his freedom from prosecution, but he's earned it...an interesting perspective.I thought Joanne was especially beautiful and charismatic. She was John Ireland's(Clint) wife at this time...Shot around Kanab, Utah. See it in color at YouTube or the expensive DVD release.

dougdoepke Good outdoor western with an unusual plot and a generally unpredictable storyline. Surveyor Beale (Cameron) is leading a mapping caravan through an Apache-ridden desert. Along the way he picks up two fugitive bank robbers (Ireland & Dru), one of whom poses as a doctor. Meanwhile finding water is a real problem, even for the camel pack-animals and their Arab drivers. So how will all this sort out, especially since both guys are stuck on the same girl.I'm thirsty just looking at the barren Kanab, Utah locations. They sure look like a long way from nowhere. It's a good strong cast, particularly Ireland as a good-bad guy and Dru who really looks like she can ride and shoot. Okay, maybe budget-minded Edward Small Co. couldn't get the Duke for the big guy role, but Cameron still manages to persuade.Some good touches add color. It's really strange seeing the Moslem Arabs doing their bowing to Mecca in the middle of a western. But there they are. The camels too, are a good imaginative addition. But note the brief scene with the wrecked wagon that Beale orders chopped up for firewood. I wouldn't be surprised it was wrecked during filming and was cleverly inserted into the narrative. Whatever, it adds a realistic touch.My only complaint is an ending that appears pretty contrived, unlike what went before. Oh well, it's Hollywood, after all, a place where no one really dies. Still, it's a pretty darn good little western.

William Giesin Actor John Ireland and his wife Joanne Dru star in this originally released 3-D color Western that was filmed in what appears to be John Ford Country (Monument Valley, Moab). Ireland met his future wife on the set of "Red River" and appeared with her again in "All the Kings Men". While this film is not in the same category with those two cinema classics, it does feature Rod Cameron and a healthy menu of great character actors such as Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, John Dehner, Morris Ankrum, etc. The story centers around Ireland, Dru and her brother (Darryl Hickman) robbing a bank. Eventually Ireland and Dru join Rod Cameron as he leads an expedition complete with camels to survey a new route to California. The group encounters a band of outlaws as well as Apaches along the way that keeps the viewers interest. What I found most interesting was the introduction of Middle East values to the wild west. A conflict result when Dehner, a mule skinner, starts a fight with the Arab camel drivers when he tries to force them to eat pork .... a custom opposed by their religion. Dehner grumbles about the camels constantly and cannot accept the fact that they are necessary for the expedition. I thought the script left something to be desired as the dialog was sometimes humorous when it was not meant to be. An example of this is when Dehner complains to "Big Boy" Williams, "What are you trying to do kill my mules? Standing out in this sun is worse than working them to death!" Williams replies, "The camels seem to be enjoying it." Dehner counters, "They ain't got sense to know better. All this map making is a bunch of buffalo chips. Can't he tell that's a mountain without looking through a spy glass?" Big Boy then shakes his head and says, "Man when they gave out brains in Tennessee...you must have been in New Orleans!" The only thing that saves this film from being less than mediocre is the veteran group of actors, the John Ford type of location, numerous action scenes and the beautiful color employed in the filming.

bux A routine western with a hook-it's based on tests the Army conducted using camels in the Southwest desert. Cameron, Ireland and Dru(Irelands' wife at the time)handle the acting chores competently, and the action runs smoothly.