Rocky Mountain is directed by William Keighley and written by Winston Miller and Alan Le May. It stars Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Scott Forbes, Guinn Williams, Dick Jones, Howard Petrie and Slim Pickens. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Ted McCord.Tell you what's funny, I was all set to write the prologue to this film as an opener to the review. Taken from a marker that sits at the foot of the actual Rocky Mountain (AKA: Ghost Mountain), it tells us of the noble fact that forms the basis of the story - whist also telling us of the outcome! Couple this with a narration device by our Errol, then you have two rather annoying things that stop this from being high echelon Western film making. As it is, it's a great film regardless.Plot has Flynn leading a small group of Confederates into California to hopefully curry favour from Cole Smith (Petrie). Smith has a considerable army of outlaws that the Southern Confederates could use in the hope of staving off defeat to the Union forces. Fate, circumstance and matters of honour are set to play their hands. It was to be Errol Flynn's last Western venture, the last of his work in a genre he was not particularly fond of. How strange to find then that it's actually his best Western film performance. Paired with a director clearly able to tap into something more than being a flirtatious good looking hero, Flynn gives Captain Lafe Barstow a dignified elegance, becoming a leader of men of some considerable substance - and crucially he has screenwriters and producers willing to give us a sombre story.Filmed out in New Mexico, the surrounds magnificent, it's brilliant how Keighley and McCord cloak the story in a claustrophobic aura. There's a sense of strife as a constant, even as heroic posturing asks us to thump the chest and shout rah rah rah. Flynn's men are a great bunch, lovable tough boy rogues each with their own fallible core, while the mystery element of Cole Smith's involvement in proceedings, and that of the looming Indian War, keeps the narrative interesting.Wymore would soon become the next in line of Flynn's wives, but there's no hint of it here, the production team writing the characters apart in strong and believable fashion. Wymore's performance is merely ok, but it's not a token job and with so much machismo about it speaks volumes that Wymore and her character are welcome and crucial to the story's soul. Comic relief is kept to an absolute minimum, rightly so, the only jovial sightings here are that when the canine of the piece is in flight, where Steiner steps away from moody Civil War flavours for a bit of jolification.It is however with the ending where the film could have died on its own sword or thrive, having asked us to invest greatly in Barstow's own - Magnificent Seven - Wild Bunch - The Professionals etc, we need to care about the outcome, to feel it. And we do. The action excites, the stunts and speedy set plays hold court, then the heroism and chest pushed out bravery of it all pays us off - capped off by a character order that tingles the senses as Steiner gives us a "Dixie" lament.This may not have the bluster of Flynn's other more well known Westerns, and certainly it's not one to be picking up if one is after a mood lifter. It is however a must for those who believe those critics who even today still write of him being a plastic actor, because given the right director, the right material on the page, then Flynn had substance in his locker. It's also one for Western fans to seek out who want more than just your hooray glossy frontage. 8/10

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.

The director, William Keighley, a craftsman of old, was used to producing fast-paced, no-nonsense, movie but he's more or less undone here. A movie can't be fast paced if it begins with an action sequence (Indians, stagecoach, Confederate saviors) and ends with an action sequence (Indians and Confederates) but the two action sequences sandwich an hour or so of dullish talk on a location that's limited to the size of a tennis court.The story involves Captain Errol Flynn leading a handful of Confederate soldiers of diverse backgrounds to California in order to stir up an army of sympathizers. They take a couple of Blue Bellies captive, along with Patrice Wymore -- not much of an actress, but attractive enough, and soon to become Mrs. Flynn. Flynn and his men sacrifice themselves for the sake of the lady.The actual location, near Gallup, in the northern part of New Mexico, is impressive and scenic, despite its being limited to one set. But the photography by Ted McCord is lousy and spoils things. It's far too dark. Sometimes you can't tell whether it's supposed to be night or day. And it fails utterly in capturing the blazing Western summer sun. Wardrobe and Make Up are pedestrian. Everyone seems dressed in tatters except the captive lady. So much so that it resembles one of the TV Westerns becoming popular about this time.As others have observed, Flynn doesn't bring much to the party. He underplays it, probably because he was running out of steam. And when he removes his hat, he looks positively ragged, although he was only about forty. A bottle or two a day will do that for you.The biggest mistake the writers made -- aside from introducing a damned dog named "Spot" as the pet and companion of an innocent young boy -- was in giving Flynn's character the name of Lafe Barstow. Barstow, okay. It's a smallish truck stop on the edge of Kern County.But LAFE? Listen, I have made a serious scientific study of genuine Western names during the period of the Civil War and there is no record of anyone's being name Lafe. Nor were there any Matts, Coles, or Wades. The four most common names in the historical register are Noble, Chauncey, Montmorency, and Governeur.

Errol Flynn brings a world-weary look and an understated performance to this William Keighley directed Western. The film features several gifted horsemen Dickie Jones, Buzz Henry, Slim Pickens, Sheb Wooley and the legendary Yakima Canutt. It was the first film for both Pickens and Wooley who both became journeymen character actors. It is also interesting to see Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore (Mrs. Errol Flynn) work together in their only pairing on screen. The presence of Flynn's carousing companion Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also puts Flynn at ease in this role. Rocky Mountain blends a Civil War chapter, rampaging Indians and a love triangle all in a solitary location shoot. One of the last black & white Westerns, it holds up well more than 50 years after it was filmed.