ARROW IN THE DUST

ARROW IN THE DUST (1954) is an utterly routine B Western movie. Shot in vivid Technicolor and produced by minor studio Allied Artists, the film stars noir icon Sterling Hayden as U.S. Cavalry deserter Bart Laish (sounds similar to the latter DC Comics character Bat Lash, doesn't it?). Laish is on the run at the beginning of the film and when he stumbles across the ruins of  an ambushed Army wagon, he discovers a way out of his predicament. He takes the uniform and name of a dead officer and rides on to join up with a wagon train headed for Oregon. There are a handful of soldiers attached to the train to provide protection from the marauding Indians and Laish, disguised as a major, quickly takes command.

He repeatedly saves the wagon train from attack, falls in love with lovely young Christella (Coleen Gray), has his identity revealed by cagey Lt. King (Keith Larsen) and butts head with a cantankerous crew boss played by hawk-faced Lee Van Cleef. Laish vows to see the settlers to safety and then turn south towards Santa Fe but after saving the day in a fiery and explosive cliff top battle, Laish discovers that he's won a measure of redemption by siding with the travelers and opts to stay with them on their voyage.

Hayden is good and Van Cleef's part is extremely limited, but director Lesley Selander keeps things moving at a good clip even though plot and narrative surprises are few and far between. Hell, they don't exist.

What's truly interesting about this film can be found in its' director. Lesley Selander, a name unknown to me, despite all of my many years of film watching, was a prodigiously productive filmmaker directing 127 films (and dozens of television episodes) between 1936 and 1968. The vast majority of Selander's output were B westerns, which, by necessity were limited by budget and shooting time restraints. But Selander managed to work with the material that was given him and turned out solid, entertaining fare picture after picture. While far from a genre auteur Selander still must be respected and admired for having such a long, durable and steady career.

Thumbs up for Western movie fans.