One thing that can be said without fear of contradiction in this fictionalized but surprisingly balanced story of the Seminole Wars in Florida, is that Richard Carlson as the stern and punctilious Commander of Fort King has never given a more energetic performance.He's hardly recognizable as the thoughtful amateur astronomer of "It Came From Outer Space." His voice seems to have soared to a new octave. He paces back and forth, spitting out his plosives, explaining to the newly arrived Lieutenant Rock Hudson that the Seminoles, previously peaceful, refuse to be relocated to Oklahoma like any reasonable tribe. Instead they've become a "renegade band" under the leadership of Anthony Quinn as Osceola, a real historical figure.Hudson looks a little ridiculous in the Army uniform of 1835 -- that toy soldier hat, those fringe-dripping golden epaulets -- just as all the other soldiers do, just as our soldiers will look to the people of 2135. This is an early performance and it's earnest and artless.Let me anticipate a post-script. First, the Seminole weren't the original inhabitants of the Everglades. They replaced a less sophisticated society called the Calusa, now represented only by buried artifacts and momentous mounds of sea shells. Second, the Seminole are still there and still live in huts called chickees. The Seminole didn't hold with slavery and they were joined by many runaways, which didn't endear the Seminoles to their white neighbors. Now they seem to survive through tourism and by keeping out of the way. When an Eastern Airlines passenger aircraft plowed into the Everglades about 20 years ago, no Seminole showed up in the rescue party. They can hardly be blamed. The Everglades are slowly being drained to provide water for communities elsewhere. It's changing the National Park from swamp to grassland, which seems like a bad idea, but that's just my opinion.Out from behind the lectern and into the movie. It's a product of the 1950s. After a grueling three-day trudge through the swamp, the men remain closely shaved by the studio barber. A clip on the jaw suffices to render a man unconscious for as long as the script requires. The sound track employs cries of the kookaburra, an Australian kingfisher that first was used in "Tarzan and the Green Goddess" (1938), in which Tarzan of the Apes discovers an ancient recipe for salad dressing.The female interest, Barbara Hale, is pretty, wears her hair in a modern style instead of the unsightly loaves of the period. She wears Max Factor and is never without precisely applied lipstick. And her role is a familiar one that has always worked -- she's torn between the uniformed Rock Hudson and their old friend, Anthony Quinn, who now leads his tribe in the swamp. Hudson is a tall, handsome white man. Quinn is a poor, proud, impassioned half-Indian. Guess who gets her.If you've seen John Ford's "Fort Apache" (1948) you'll have a decent idea of the plot. Martinet (Henry Fonda) wants war; younger officer (John Wayne) tries to discourage him.

I have been all over Florida, but have never seen anywhere so exotic looking as the swamp in the film where they paddled through. I have been throughout the Everglades and recognize similarities with much of the film's scenes. Though it is beautiful, I have never seen the unreal beauty shown in the film in the one scene where they are paddling. Where is it... exactly. Someone thought it may be someplace in Tarpon Springs. But, I have searched the internet for a place that might match it. Still nothing. There are plants in the scene that I don't even recognize. They look Floridian, but better than real. My suspicion is that it was what Florida looked like in a less touched era. It is so beautiful that I want to go there tomorrow. But where?

Better than average drama with a decidedly pro Indian slant was one of the many films Rock cranked out on his way up, this was one of seven pictures he made in 1953. He gives a good performance, one of his better early ones, as the resolute soldier who is on trial for his life. The cast is full of familiar faces most of whom were also just starting out and would go on to greater fame like Lee Marvin, in good guy mode here, and Russell Johnson. Richard Carlson is the sore spot in the picture, he starts out okay but ends up chewing the scenery in an over the top performance. Barbara Hale was never particularly well served by films having much more success on TV as Della Street on Perry Mason nor is she very well used here but she looks probably the best she ever did on screen beautifully shot in Technicolor and as Revere Muldoon has one of the greatest character names ever. Not really a western, not even set in the west but Florida this is an enjoyable picture especially for military history buffs.

Before his famous films with Randolph Scott, Budd Boetticher made some excellent westerns and Seminole is one of them. The most impressive thing about it is the scenery, the beautiful colors, the everglades, the body painting and the costumes of the Seminoles. Rock Hudson is Lt. Lance Caldwell that goes to Fort King in Florida but does not get along with his superior officer Maj. Harlan Degan (Richard Carlson). Also his girlfriend Revere (Barbara Hale) seems distant. Both Caldwell and Revere had a common friend, half Seminole, who has disappeared. Degan wants to catch the Seminoles off guard and forces his men to go on a senseless mission on the everglades,carrying an enormous cannon. The group is not prepared to face the savage jungle, their own uniforms look out of place in that heat, where they are constantly sweating. Most of the film is told in flashback when Caldwell is in a court martial. This is an eastern western, entertaining, that did not age and that shows the Seminoles with respect and dignity.