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Fort Dobbs is directed by Gordon Douglas and written by George W. George and Burt Kennedy. It stars Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, Brian Keith, Richard Eyer, Russ Conway and Michael Dante. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by William H. Clothier.

After his appealing run in the TV series Cheyenne, it was inevitable that Clint Walker would make the transition to big screen fare. Here for his first feature length outing, we get the marker for his career that would follow. Never blessed with great acting talent, Walker was however a mighty presence, and handsome to boot, and he is the prime reason why Fort Dobbs is a better than average experience.

Plot basically has Walker as Gar Davis, a fugitive of justice who hooks up for a travelogue with Celia Grey (Mayo) and her son Chad (Eyer). Along the way there is Comanche peril, shifty companionship in the form of Clett (Keith) and a cunning twist that strains the relationship between Gar and the Greys. The wonderful Henry Repeater Rifle comes into play, very much so, and it provides some kinetic excitement, and it all builds to a rousing finale of explosions and stunts, while of course redemption and the truths will out. Clothier and Steiner further cement their reputations as skilled craftsmen, with the former beautifully realising the Kanab locations in black and white, and Douglas knows his way around a good honest Oater. 7/10

Pretty good saddle-burner with Clint Walker as Gar Davis, a man on the run for the murder of one of the local townsfolk. With a posse on his tail Davis uses some trickery to shake the posse but finds himself on foot in Comanche Country. Desperate for a horse he crosses paths with a mother and her young son (Virginia Mayo, Richard Eyer) when he is caught trying to steal one of their horses. Unable to go back to town because of the murder he agrees to take them to the safety of Fort Dobbs. To get there Davis must avoid a Comanche War Party and deal with a former acquaintance (Brian Keith) a fellow of dubious character.

After three years of the Cheyenne television series Walker got his first shot at a leading role on the big screen. This is the first of three Warner Brothers films that teams Walker with director Gordon Douglas. Walker known more his for screen presence than his thespian skills does a more than an adequate job in the role. The script by Burt Kennedy is a tailor fit for Walker. The dialogue is kept compact and lets the action carry the story. We find Walker alternately eluding a posse, crossing hostile tribal lands and looking back over his shoulder to ward off an old nemesis, all the while trying to help a mother, who is already distrustful of Walker, and her son reach Fort Dobbs. Talk about an exhausting day..

For a modestly produced western programmer the Fort Dobbs story line has quite a bit going on. That can often result in plot holes and sub plots that seem to go nowhere. Fortunately no such problem here as it all ties up quite nicely and even provides a twist or two in the end. Good action western.

This western follows a familiar genre theme of a loner who comes to the aid of a woman and her son and guides them to safety through Indian country. The plot is spare with a twist of mistaken identity thrown in as an innocent man on the run scrambles to escape a hanging posse hot on his trail. Clint Walker is the reformed gunfighter whose reputation places him on the sheriff's wanted poster as fate takes him to a woman's ranch in the midst of an Indian uprising. Virginia Mayo is the widow and reluctant trail companion of Walker along with her son as they make their way to Fort Dobbs. Brian Keith steals the film as an unsavory gun runner whose rifles play a large part in the Indian attack on the fort. The film is not a polished feature but is a straightforward, no-frills drama and is worth watching.

OK, up front, I'm a huge westerns fan & I've always loved Clint Walker. A lot of these reviews have focused on a comparison with John Wayne's "Hondo". Well, when "Hondo" was made, Wayne had been starring in films for almost 20yrs, so please - guys - cut Clint some slack, OK? He had been plucked from an everyday life only 3yrs before, with no previous acting experience, & this was his first starring role in films, in the lead no less. I think he carried it off pretty well. It's full of good action sequences, the scenes with Clint & child actor Richard Eyer are sweet & the tension between Clint & Brian Keith is pretty cool. The budding "romance" between Clint & Virginia Mayo doesn't come off so well, but I remember reading elsewhere that she wasn't too happy about being cast opposite a TV actor & that there was some resulting tension on the set. All in all, I found this to be a pretty good entry in the western pantheon; well worth watching. As usual, tho, it's too bad Warner skimped & didn't film in color. What a waste of gorgeous scenery, both landscape & their leading man!

In the late 1950's, Warner Brothers was the studio responsible for more westerns on television than any other production company in town (the town being Hollywood, of course!) They made stars out Clint Walker, Ty Hardin, James Garner, Jack Kelly and a host of others who appeared in their half hour and then one hour western dramas, which later became parodies of themselves, as the long running Maverick will prove.

Here, they rework the "Hondo" plot (lone gunman rescues a woman and her son after finding her husband dead) and spend two thirds of the movie getting themselves to Fort Dobbs. I'll stop there, because actually, under the considered hand of director Gordon Douglas, this is actually an okay film. Walker gives a very quiet performance but it's his character, so you buy it. Virginia Mayo and Richard Eyer give better performances, one scene with the kid especially cool-- and the standard cowboys vs. Indians plot is made a bit more edgy by the presence of Brian Keith as the bad guy. He doesn't show up until the 30 minute mark, but he steals the show and has a great time playing the bad guy.

The final scene is laughable ( not in a good way, sorry to say) but prior to that, the action is okay, inter cut with some out takes from "The Searchers", which don't match the Fort Dobbs footage at all.

Contains all the usual Warner Brothers sound effects, gun shots and bodies hitting the ground you've heard hundreds of times. Also, the music was by Max Steiner, which notched it up to a 7 for me.

If you get a chance, give it a look. VERY LITTLE studio work, a whole lot out OUT DOOR SHOOTING, another high point.