DRUM BEAT **

This handsome Delmer Daves western is virtually unknown and is unusual, not just in being based on fact, (though like so many 'factual' based westerns I'm sure it plays fast and loose with the truth), but in dealing with the government's efforts to stop the Indian wars. Alan Ladd is the former Indian fighter tasked with getting renegade Charles Bronson back on the reservation and bringing about peace, though firstly he has to overcome opposition from both sides. The action sequences, of which there are many, are outstanding though, despite having already played Shane, Ladd doesn't look too comfortable in the saddle any more than Bronson makes for a convincing Indian. A much more effective Native American is Marisa Pavan as the Indian girl in love with Ladd. White folks, good and bad, include Elisha Cook Jr, Robert Keith and Audrey Dalton as the woman who finally nabs our hero. The real star of the picture, however, is J Peverell Marley, the cinematographer responsible for the stunning widescreen and on- location photography.