13 Fighting Men (1960) User Reviews

The war becomes uncivil ......... !

[revdrcac · 4/10 · 15 September 2006]

This 1960 western stars Brad Dexter, Grant Williams and even features a young Ted Knight in a supporting role! The film takes place in the immediate aftermath of Robert E. Lee's surrender to Grant. While the Yankees led by Williams are ready to go home, Dexter and his Rebs are not willing to go quietly into that good night ........

Dexter later became famous in the Magnificent Seven and starred in a number of Sinatra films. In this low budget film, Brad Dexter brings his smiling villainy to a meaty role as the Confederate officer.

This film was low budget and standard, but is worth a look to see Dexter and Ted Knight in an early role.

The Habit of War

[boblipton · 5/10 · 9 January 2015]

Lee has surrendered to Grant, but Brad Dexter isn't happy with it. So when a horse trader shows up with Union gold in his pockets, he and his men decide they are still Southern patriots -- at least until they collect all that gold and a few dead Yankees.

This was the period when everyone was going through a war-is-hell reaction to World War Two and Korea and this obviously cheap second feature sticks everyone in Civil War garb -- at least this time it's the Southerners who are the bad guys. It's pretty much a rote production, but it's well handled by the actors. Ted Knight is particularly good in a cynical role.

the war is over but gold continues the fight

[RanchoTuVu · 6/10 · 27 March 2015]

Though the War Between The States has officially ended, a group of Confederate soldiers continues to fight for their own cause, laying siege to a small group of Union soldiers holed up in a farmhouse who are guarding a substantial amount of gold coins for a federal agent. The story comes off okay in this noticeably low-budget effort thanks to all the personalities this film features. The presence of all that gold seems to affect all of them in interesting ways. The farm owner is a Union army vet who converted to pacifism after experiencing the war, while his wife is trying to attract the Union commander who is trying to protect the gold from both his men and the Confederates, who include some strange characters, one of which is Ted Knight. The film is more drama than action which is perhaps because the action scenes are not too great, but the drama is barely passable enough to at least kind of keep one watching.

Forgettable Civil War Drama

[zardoz-13 · 4/10 · 27 July 2017]

The American Civil War has concluded with Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, but the fighting continues in editor/director Harry W. Gerstad's tame epic "13 Fighting Men" as Confederate soldiers besiege Union soldiers forted up in a farm house. The Union soldiers in the farm house are equipped with a Gatling gun, but the rebels manage to keep them cornered. Captain John Forrest (Grant Williams of "The Incredible Shrinking Man") and his men are determined to protect a box of gold coins, while Major Simon Boyd (Brad Dexter of "Von Ryan's Express") are just as determined to appropriate the loot. Everybody wants some of the gold, and some are willing to betray their friends to acquire it. Two-time Oscar winning editor Harry Gerstad helms the action with little flair, and most of the conflict takes place in the farm house. As it turns out, the greedy wife, Carole Prescott (Carole Mathews of "Showdown at Boot Hill"), of a former Union officer, Captain John Prescott (Richard Garland of "My Gun is Quick"), who has become a pacifist and refuses to join the Yankees in combat against the Confederates. Incredibly enough, the resourceful rebels manage to destroy the Gatling gun, and the Confederates gain the upper hand. Predictably, the Confederates cannot consolidate their triumph over the Yankees. Major Boyd qualifies as a first-rate villain who is prepared to stoop to anything to get the gold. This lackluster Civil War actioneer has a few good moments, but overall it is largely forgettable. Future stars Ted Knight, Brad Harris, and Roger Browne appear on the periphery. Everything works out in the end for Captain John Forrest and his Union soldiers.

Spoils of war creates other wars.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 25 April 2024]

You think that with the war being over (in this case the civil war) that the soldiers would go home. But the taste of gold is the poison of greed that's so tasty no amount of common sense will fix that. The farm house run by one time confederate officer Richard Garland and seemingly cold wife Carole Matthews has been invaded by tired northern soldiers trying to get past the vindictive southern soldiers who refuse to accept that the war's over. Every time they try to leave, even with a flag of truce, they're shot at, and then the real reason comes out as to why this house is being watched.

Some dark themes makes this "southern" a bit more interesting than other B westerns or outdoorsy films, and there's some interesting supporting characters, starting with Matthews who has some special reasons for hating her husband. Grant Williams and Brad Dexter lead the cast that is quite large, although it took some heavy looking for me to pinpoint Ted Knight. Pretty violent going into a new era of cinema (as a lot of daring things were now taking place, challenging the code), and quickly paced, over in 69 minutes.

Has curiosity value!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 23 July 2017]

Photographed in black-and-white CinemaScope. Producer: Jack Leewood. An Associated Producers Production for 20th Century-Fox. Copyright 1960 by Associated Producers, Inc. Released through 20th Century- Fox. No New York opening. U.S. release: April 1960. U.K. release: 10 July 1960. Australian release: 19 May 1960. 6,235 feet. 69 minutes.

NOTES: Movie directorial debut of former film editor and sometime TV director, Harry Gerstad.

COMMENT: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Associated Producers tried the interesting experiment of assigning the direction of many of their "B" features to film editors. Unfortunately, with maybe three or four exceptions, the experiment was not a notable success. The movies directed by the film editors are mostly pretty undistinguished. This one, alas, is no exception. As it turns out, Gerstad's story and his smooth editing are more interesting than his direction — though he has drawn capable performers from his cast of mainly second-string players. However, his efforts are distinctly not helped by Strenge's dull CinemaScope cinematography, nor Shiells' half-hearted art direction, circumscribed as they are by the producer's modest budget.

If you look him up on IMDb, you will see that Gerstad had a distinguished record as a film editor, winning Oscars for both "Champion" (1949) and "High Noon" (1952).