The Nebraskan (1953)
6/10
The Nebraskan
4 April 2023
Whilst the Civil war is over there is trouble brewing in the state of Nebraska as Chief Thundercloud has been murdered and the last man seen leaving his tent was Indian scout Wingfoot (Maurice Jara) who Wade Harper (Philip Carey) escorts back to Fort Carney as he believes he is innocent despite Spotted Bear (Jay Silverheels) and his Sioux warriors chasing them across open country. But Wingfoot escapes the fort when under arrest Private Reno Benton (Lee Van Cleef) murders the guard and forces Wingfoot to leave with him. With Harper and a small troop following their trail things don't go to plan as whilst Harper catches up with Reno and Wingfoot he also catches up to his ex, Mrs. Paris Elliott (Roberta Haynes) who has recently married Ace (Richard Webb) and this small group end up pinned down at Mac McBride's (Wallace Ford) outpost by Spotted Bear and his warriors.

Yes, there's some dodgy looking papier-mâché mache rocks moving during a skirmish, stock footages, a bullet sound occurring seconds after a guy falls off his horse, and a very routine story with familiar situations, but this is lower down the production line, after all, and these things are expected. Yet I fairly enjoyed this. The 3-D wasn't bad.

The Nebraskan" is just a standard cowboys and Indians western from the 50s where a mixed group of people end up under siege from warring Native Americans. It's actually far from dull, and fills in those 68 minutes quite well. Plus it's got some good action, a slimy villain in Lee Van Cleef, a stoic yet solid turn from Phil Carey as the hero, and a shady performance by Jay Silverheels. It lacks some tension, though, but it still fun for such a short time. For all it's familiar tropes of the genre, the cavalry don't come riding to save the day.
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