Escape from Fort Bravo

"M-G-M's Great Romance Excitingly photographed in Ansco Color"

1953 1h 39m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 88

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Southern belle frees a Rebel officer and his men from a Union captain's Arizona fort.

“M-G-M's Great Romance Excitingly photographed in Ansco Color”

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Cast

William Holden
Captain Roper
Eleanor Parker
Carla Forester
John Forsythe
Captain Marsh
William Demarest
Campbell
William Campbell
Cabot Young
Polly Bergen
Alice Owens
Richard Anderson
Lieutenant Beecher
Carl Benton Reid
Colonel Owens

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Sturges
Writers: Phillip Rock, Michael Pate, Frank Fenton
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Sturges, shot by Robert Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jeff Alexander. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Boemler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

William Holden and Eleanor Parker and John Forsythe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "M-G-M's Great Romance Excitingly photographed in Ansco Color".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0045737 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Sturges directs. Robert Surtees behind the camera. Jeff Alexander scores. George Boemler cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
273 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by John Sturges, shot by Robert Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jeff Alexander. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Boemler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6William Holden and Eleanor Parker and John Forsythe carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "M-G-M's Great Romance Excitingly photographed in Ansco Color".
8IMDB entry: tt0045737 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 88 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Original score: Jeff Alexander
Editing: George Boemler
Costume design: Helen Rose
Makeup / hair: William Tuttle
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,520,000
Box office: $3,158,000
Return: 208% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)

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John Sturges

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-11-02
★ 7/10
When you're in the grave, Beecher, it doesn't matter too much how you got there. Escape from Fort Bravo is directed by John Sturges and collectively written by Michael Pate, Phillip Rock, Frank Fenton and John Forsythe. It stars William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest & William Campbell. Jeff Alexander scores the music and Robert Surtees photographs it primarily in and around Death Valley in California, USA. "In 1863 while the War Between the States still raged, a large group of Confederate prisoners were held in a sun baked stockade at Fort Bravo, Arizona Territory. Captor and Captive - - these men in blue and grey - - eyed each other with hatred. In the wilderness around them a common enemy eyed them both - - the deadly Mescalero Indians" Escape from Fort Bravo has some notable points of interest that go with it. 1953 was the year that William Holden went "A" list and started to get "big" money, along side this picture he also made Stalag 17 and picked up the Best Actor Oscar for his efforts. The film also serves notice of what a fine director of action John Sturges would become, he of course would go on from here to be known for such film's like Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. Of interest, too, is that the film was shot in the rarely heard of Ansco Color. Ansco Color was the American off shoot of the German Agfa Color, used notably by MGM, Ansco would eventually evolve into Metrocolor. As for the film itself? Entertaining and efficient with just enough in its last quarter to keep it away from merely being routine. The premise is a solid one, we have a unique situation where the prisoners of this stockade are not manacled or locked up. Such is the harshness of the surrounding desert and the hostile Indians that dwell there, Holden's tough and grizzled Union Captain doesn't feel the need to properly incarcerate the men. We then get a crafty "infiltration" of the stockade and it's here where the film sags a little as too much time is spent on fleshing out a potential romance. Thankfully Sturges pulls it all together for a grand last quarter that sees enemies forced to come together in the hope of surviving. It's here where we are treated to some psychological warfare and a memorable form of attack from the Mescalero's. The acting across the board is effective, with Holden naturally the stand out doing one of his moody turns, while Surtees brilliantly captures the beauty, yet perfect harshness, of Death Valley. Major plus point is the score from the often forgotten Jeff Alexander (Jailhouse Rock/Party Girl). The title song for the film is "Yellow Stripes" by Stan Jones, this is reworked to good effect throughout, this is also notable for being used in John Ford's Rio Grande in 1950. There's the tender strains of "Soothe My Lonely Heart" (also used in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) and Alexander cleverly mixes that up to portray the pace and tones within the piece. It's a top score that wouldn't have been out of place in an "A" Western. There's some distracting sound stage work that belie the fine work of Surtees' outdoor shooting, and the afore mentioned overkill of tedium as the romance angle is stretched too far. But it's a good production and never less than enjoyable. 7/10

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