DISTANT DRUMS

US, 1951, 101 minutes, Colour.
Gary Cooper, Mari Aldon, Arthur Hunnicutt.
Directed by Raoul Walsh.

Distant Drums is a competent, if fairly routine, western of the early '50s. There were many films of its kind - e.g. Bud Boetticher’s Seminole with Rock Hudson, Anthony Quinn and Barbara Hale. This film was directed by Raoul Walsh, veteran director of westerns and action adventures, especially with Errol Flynn.

The colour photography of the Everglades is interesting, with a sense of authenticity. Gary Cooper is once again the laconic hero (at this time winning an Oscar for High Noon). The supporting cast is effective, especially Arthur Hunnicutt as the guide. Music is by Max Steiner - a blend of western style with romance. The tone, at times, seems strongly anti-Indian - although the hero has had an Indian wife and has a part-Indian son.

1. Entertaining western of the 1950s? Warner Bros. production values? A Gary Cooper western?

2. Colour photography, Florida, the Everglades? The period of the early 1840s? Action sequences? Max Steiner's blend of action and romantic music?

3. The framework of Tufts telling the story? Audiences entering the action with him? observing the situation, maps, strategies? The navy and the military? The outposts at the edge of the Atlantic? The role of the Seminoles, the opening up of Florida, the gunrunners and the Florida forts? The film as a picture of the times, interpretation of the times? American heritage?

4. The military and their role, the Indians and hostilities? Quincy Wyatt in the army, in the fort, on his island - his wife, antimilitary, anti-Indian? His love for his son?

5. The strategy of taking the fort: the boat, the attack, the explosions, the Seminoles' pursuit, the fire in the fields? The canoes, the group lost in the Everglades, the dangers, the animals especially the crocodiles, morale? The discovery of the island destroyed? The final battle? Popular western ingredients?

6. Gary Cooper and his style? The laconic hero? The advice on the strategy, his reputation, his island, love for his son? Leading the siege and its precision timing, his decision to go into the Everglades, the experiences in the flight, his keeping up morale, his experience? Attraction towards the Savannah girl? Tufts' theory versus his experience? Friendship with Monk? His skills? Happy ending?

7. Tufts and his navy background, the rules, the book, the clash with experience? The sketch of the military men, the inspection, their ability in fighting? The humorous characters and humorous touches?

8. Monk as guide - his reliability, comments on the Everglades, the final arrival, the joke about Indians pumping handshakes?

9. The girl and her servant, the group trapped in the fort, the girl's story about Savannah, the true story, her revenge, love for Wyatt, the happy ending?

10. The Seminoles and their attacks - audience sympathy for them, antipathy? The '50s portrait of Indians in westerns?

11. The background of gunrunners, pirates, landowners?

12. How satisfying a western? Conventional? The retrospect on the American heritage?