bad day at black rock director john sturges first period horse opera and escape from fort bravo and take place during american civil war at a remote cavalry stockade double a a confederate prisoner of war camp . of course and the plot concern an escape attempt by the confederate and they take advantage of inside help . the frank fenton screenplay base on a story by philip rock and actor michael pate be rather formulaic stuff right up to it cavalry ex machine end . nevertheless and the dialogue with it philosophical ramblings about life and death and and love surpass the usual oater . lensed by robert surtees in death valley as well a location in gallup and new mexico and at the ray corrigan ranch in california and this western boast strike scenery that sturges put to great use during the last half hour when the indian launch an attack on our strand group of hero . indeed and this be the first time that sturges and surtees pair up . later and they work together on the law and jake wade and the satan bug and and the hallelujah trail . escape from fort bravo have an isolated look thanks to these arid look locale that heighten it authenticity . sturges make great use of the landscape and especially during the climactic indian attack and do a splendid job of set up the attack . william holden head up a solid cast include eleanor parker and john forsythe and william demarest and william campbell and richard anderson and polly bergen and john lupton and carl benton reid and glenn strange . the film open with a foreword . in 1863 and while the war between the state still rag and a large group of confederate prisoner be hold in a sun bake stockade at fort bravo and arizona territory . captor and captivethese men in blue and grayeyed each other with hatred . in the wilderness around them and a common enemy eye them bothdeadly mescalero indian . afterward and in a series of long shot and we see a horseman in a blue cavalry uniform with a man in gray tag behind him on a rope . bob bailey ( john lupton ) have try to escape and but u. s. cavalry captain roper ( william holden of golden boy ) have recapture him . he take him back to fort bravo and few be happy to see him return with the prisoner . the situation at the outset promise a compelling tale . fort commandant colonel owen ( carl benton reid ) sum it up when he explain to roper that the pow outnumber the guard at an outpost in the middle of nowhere infest with horde of bloodthirsty mescalero indian watch their every move . owens make explicit his sentiment about roper . when i see you soldier and roper and owens observes and i be glad be in the same army . nevertheless and add owen and i use to have a full regiment now i have get one troop . i have get a many confederate prisoner a i have men . roper understand their predicament . colonel and i do not know whose go to win this war and the north or the south and but be here to hold this country for one of them and even if we have to arm those reb prisoner . owens wonder about his fitness for command . roper observe and this be a hard country to stay alive in colonel and much less to stay young . escape from fort bravo document the enormous length that the confederate go to so they can escape . after roper buries a cavalry detail wipe out in the desert by the indian and he have a stagecoach skid into his camp . indian have be chase the coach and a woman and carla forrester ( eleanor parker of detective story ) and in the coach wield a derringer and and kill an indian . carla explain that she be head to fort bravo to attend alice owen marriage . alice ( polly bergen of arena ) plan to wed u. s. cavalry lieutenant beecher ( richard anderson of macho callahan ) . in truth and carla have come to fort bravo to help her lover and confederate captain john marsh ( john forsythe of destination tokyo ) and and handful of soldier and include bob bailey ( john lupton of julius caesar ) and sergeant campbell ( william demarest of all through the night ) and cabot young ( william campbell of backlash ) escape . after alice wedding and a general store owner and watson ( howard mcnear of the andy griffith show ) and will smuggle the confederate out of fort bravo in his wagon . matter grow complicate and however and when carla begin to reciprocate the love of the man that she be suppose to distract . roper show carla his rose and bar his heart to her . he want to marry her and she lose control of herself and join the confederate in watson wagon . the following day and roper and a small patrol light out after the confederate . roper catch up with the cowardly bailey at a nearby town . bailey learn about the mescalero indians on the warpath and decide to await roper arrival . roper take bailey with him and they recapture the confederate . no sooner have roper catch them than the indian come breathe down their collective neck . roper and company outrun the indian and take refuge in a wash surrounding by mountain . our hero blast away at the indian until the redskin retreat to the height and surround roper and company with lance . the indian use the lance to aim their arrow and they unleash dozen of arrow . the resolution to our hero be corner by the indian be the cavalry appear at the last minute . right up until the cavalry arrives and escape from fort bravo look pretty bleak . sturges direction be competent enough in the dialogue scene where the exposition and philosophical notion be crisply and effectively deliver . the bulk of the humor come from the byplay between the old demarest and young campbell . jeff alexander music be nothing special and though the theme song be vibrant . the final set piece where our hero be pin down by the mescaleros be excite stuff . holden be appropriately gruff at the hard bitten roper and parker be easy on the eye . you can tell when the filmmaker be on location and when they be use a studio . nevertheless and this be a very good western drama .