United States

Robert Francis, Onslow Stevens, Donna Reed, Jack Kelly, Roy Roberts

84 min

1954-12-04

Dr. Allen Seward (Robert Francis) is assigned to a western cavalry post where his forefathers were alcoholics and slackers. The post isn't fond of him, either, especially after he flouts the rules and treats sick Indians on the malaria-infested reserve. The Indians leave the reservation in search of a healthier higher terrain, and when they join forces with the Comanches to besiege the fort, Seward is dubbed a "woodhawk," a bird that turns on its own kind. May Wynn (who shared a screen debut with Francis in "The Caine Mutiny") is the white girl raised by the Indians and married to the chief's son. Donna Reed is the niece of the post commander; Phil Carey is a cavalry captain who believes the only good Indian is a dead Indian; and Donna Reed is the niece of the post commander. Francis would only make two more films before dying in an aircraft crash in 1955.