The greatest movie ever made..!

Simply A Masterpiece

just watch it!

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Apparently Cavalry Westerns weren't very kind to Errol Flynn. As General George Armstrong Custer in the 1941 film "They Died With Their Boots On", he also wound up with a few arrows in his back. Oh well, up until the finale in both pictures, he did a pretty good job.Actually, Flynn plays it decidedly low key here as Captain Lafe Barstow, leading a rag tag group of seven other un-uniformed Confederate soldiers on a mission in California. He's there to recruit fighting Rebels for the Southern cause. It seemed a bit odd to me that the man they were supposed to recon with, Cole Smith (Howard Petrie), was unceremoniously dropped from the script about half way through. The Shoshones took him out off screen with only a rider-less horse showing up to announce his departure.This is one of those stories where men of opposing armies wind up realizing something of value in their battlefield enemies. The valiant charge Barstow makes with his men in the face of certain annihilation makes for one of the more violent battle scenes one might come across in a Western, primarily for the up close and personal way each of his men get taken out. Barstow himself hangs on as the last man, having sacrificed himself and his troops to save the life of Johanna Carter (Patrice Wymore). The unspoken connection between the two was never overstated but one could feel the palpable chemistry between the two.Some interesting casting choices show up here in support of Flynn. No stranger to cavalry films, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams appears as crusty veteran Pap Dennison, along with Western movie mainstays like Slim Pickens and Chubby Johnson. A neat surprise was that 'Purple People Eater' guy Sheb Wooley making his movie debut here. I would like to have seen Dickie Jones in a role more suited to his stunt riding ability, but he had to content himself with a role as trail cook for the Rebs. It was tough going for him though because he had to avoid being upstaged by that sidekick terrier Spot.

Errol Flynn was a great actor and he could save useless script or poor film. THis one is nothing unusual - typical western of Civil War times, with all the impossibly trite clichés - Indians, rocks, horses, lady in love, long talks, terribly poor pavilion shots, bravura music, sped-up battles, silly faces and caricature evil men. Then, there are impossibly handsome heroes and very valiant fervent soldiers who fight and die. OK, but here the film comes too close to a comedy and even farce, and the poor play of some younger men makes it almost a joke. The real nature is very good, and this alone saves the film, as well as Flynn's delivery. The Indians are shown typically - blood-thirsty villains on horses and with no wits at all. The film is mostly slow, sometimes too languid and even boring. Battle scenes are very usual and the bad montage made them, ahem, not so sad, but rather unappropriately funny. This is only for old Hollywood fans, not any one else

"For it being 1950, I was stunned to find so many real and honest performances. There was none of that obnoxious "Studio Acting" where everyone is chewing scenery and pretending to be their character."This was the comment of a previous reviewer. Anyone who is "stunned" to find good acting in a 1950 movie has probably not seen many movies from that period. As for "chewing scenery", I wonder if this person has ever paid attention when "method" icons like Dean, Brando, Cobb, Palance, and Penn are on screen. It's often a miracle there's any scenery left uneaten to finish the movie with!"Rocky Mountain" is one of Flynn's better films (of many good ones), and as always, this underrated actor is real and natural. The movie is also of interest as the debut of noted character actor Slim Pickens. The story is gritty and dark, and the scenery and photography are spectacular. The ending is quite moving. This is a movie worth seeing.

By the time Errol made this film, he'd walked through a number of Westerns including his previous venture, where he played, of all things, a sheep-herder, in "Montanta". Yet from the outhouse to the penthouse Flynn transitioned into Rocky Mountain which goes down as his last but also one of his best Westerns.There's an authentic, grainy feel in this black and white adventure by co-Robin Hood Director, William Keighley. He shows a wonderful use of mountains near Gallop, New Mexico. Flynn looks like he actually "gets it" and doesn't mail in his performance. He's surrounded by a solid cast of character actors including a young/thin Slim Pickens in his film debut. Chubby Johnson is great as the stage-driver. In fact, in his own subtle way, steals almost every scene. Dickie Jones is memorable as the kid, Buck Wheat. Flynn met his 3rd wife, Patrice Wymore in this film. Of note are two great scenes where "real" Indians attack a stagecoach plus the final confrontation between Flynn's men. Only drawbacks are the staged "cut-in" closeups of Flynn. He looks puffy and fat in these shots whereas, in most of the film, he looks good. I agree with other posters who mention this has a John Ford "look" plus the great horse riding scenes. It doesn't get much better or real than what's here.