Memorable, crazy movie

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Unlike "Winchester 73", the eponymous rifle is only a bit player, as "Springfield Rifle" is about Gary Cooper's character going undercover to get the goods on a Confederate spy ring that is horse-jacking in Colorado. To do so, he volunteers to get ostensibly court-martialed for cowardice to acquire some range-cred with the horse dealer who's behind the heists with the ultimate goal of discovering the mole that is leaking information about the routes the horse conveys are taking. The opening of the film is pretty stiff as the case is made for the value of military espionage in the face of hidebound army brass who don't like the idea of soldiers serving as spies. The rest of the film follows Cooper as he infiltrates, and gradually takes over, the horse thief gang while attempting to discover their contact in the army. The plot seems unnecessarily complicated, with the price of the horses containing concealed map coordinates and the continued undercover work after Cooper has figured out everything except the identity of the mole serves primarily to set up the third act at the cost of lot of soldiers' lives. There is also a minimal and uninteresting subplot involving Cooper's wife and son who aren't in on the charade. The scenery is great and there are a few highlights (Cooper's ensuring that a nemesis won't be riding a horse anytime soon was a 'trick' I'd never seen in a Western before) but overall the movie is just a routine oater set in a Civil War backdrop.

During the American Civil War, a band of raiders led by rancher Austin McCool(David BRIAN)and his brutal right hand man Pete Elm(LON CHANEY JR),lead relentless attacks on shipments of horses being driven to railheads by the Union army for the benefit of their men fighting in the east. The raiders then sell the captured horses to the Confederacy. Major Lex Kearny(GARY COOPER)is dishonourably discharged after surrendering his herd to the raiders without firing a single shot.However,this is merely a ruse to enable Kearny to infiltrate the raiders and smash the ring. Kearny's real mission is to adopt counterespionage tactics in order to smoke out the insider providing McCool with information on the routes of the horse drives.Fresh out of Will Kane's boots in the immortal HIGH NOON(released just 3 months prior to this film),Gary Cooper acquits himself superbly in the lead as the Major who sacrifices his reputation and integrity for the Union, despite being a southerner. David Brian is terrific as the snarling leader of the raiders.Gruff,tough,robust Lon Chaney Jr was even better as his cruel associate. Western veterans Phillip Carey and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also turned in impressive performances.As with other B westerns of the 1950s,the action sequences were shot with restraint, but extremely rip roaring and enjoyable nonetheless. The extended fistfight between Kearny and Elm was awesome and chilled me with intensity. The ear shattering, all-guns-blazing skirmish between the Soldiers and the raiders was fantastic with excellent stuntwork.The shots of men firing their pistols and rifles on horseback were amazing. This sequence was made even more effective by the Wilhelm Scream being crammed into the heat of the action, we hear it as one of the raiders is stabbed by a Soldier. The final battle between Kearny's men and the raiders was just as thrilling with spectacular shots of the prairie being set ablaze and frenzied horses charging up a hill as the raiders are blasted with shots from the brand new Springfield rifles. This sequence is followed by a brief but exhilarating horseback chase which results in Kearny catching the inside man.I would give the action scenes 4 stars. The camera-work was incredible with awe striking shots of rugged snow capped mountains, arid deserts, craggy rocks and herds of horses trudging through the sand and snow. The sequence in which Kearny is commandeering an army wagon containing the new Springfield Carbines and rocks cripple one of it's wheels causing the team of horses to break away from the wagon which causes it to crash down a hill was brilliantly shot. The script is excellent and is something different from the usual western formula. The Civil war setting gave the writers the chance to do much more with the story. I wouldn't go as far to say the film is a "James Bond out west" but the script is rich in intrigue and contains strong elements of espionage thriller. The storyline keeps you guessing and the identity of the inside man is quite a shock.I'd just like to note that the title is rather misleading. It makes one expect a film similar to that of WINCHESTER 73(1950),thus giving the viewer the impression that the film is the story of the deployment and use of the single shot Springfield Carbine during the early days of the American west, this is not strictly true. The rifle is not used until the climatic battle and is only mentioned briefly throughout the course of the film. It serves merely as a plot device. My theory is that the writers set out to make a film about the Springfield rifle but became more concerned with an espionage spy story and forgot about the rifle premise, therefore having no choice but to jam it in at the end of the film. This doesn't bother me though, SPRINGFIELD RIFLE is a taut, edge-of-your-seat Civil war thriller with rollicking action scenes, stupendous camera-work and finger biting intensity. Expertly helmed by Andre de Toth who made many a great western, this is a fun way to spend a couple of hours. It deserves to be seen on a flatscreen TV with loudspeakers and the volume cranked all the way up to the maximum.9/10.

Cooper is discharged in disgrace from the U. S. Cavalry during the Civil War in order to join a band of Confederate horse raiders undercover. There follow lots of tribulations and considerable confusion.It would be a strictly routine Western except for a few things. First, it has bankable stars, or at least one, in Gary Cooper. Second, there is some splendid horse riding on screen here -- he said, knowing absolutely nothing about horses except that they know a lot more than they're letting on. What is this "roan", anyway? Sadly missing are two outstanding horsemen. Ben Johnson was a picture of inspiration on a galloping horse, and Yakima Canutt seemed organic to the animal he rode."Winchester 73" came out in 1950 and it must have been a financial success because that's where this title came from -- "Springfield Rifle." It has little to do with a rifle. It's all about Cooper trying to keep his NOC status hidden, and about good-natured Confederate boys among whom are some trailer trash, and about colorful Union troopers in blue uniforms and capes with bright yellow liners, and horses and men falling downhill and rolling over and over in clouds of dust.Phyllis Thaxter, as Cooper's wife, is in the mix somewhere but she's dispensable. In the 1940s and 50s it was believed that you needed to have a love interest in the movie. I don't know why. Maybe it was assumed that you needed to draw in the female audience who might otherwise be listening to "Craig's Other Wife". Maybe they thought it would keep the women interested in between the shootings and fist fights that kept the men tumescent.Nice location photography by Edwin DuPar. Pedestrian direction by Andre De Toth. Philip Carey has an important supporting role. He's always reliable, a kind of second-string Charlton Heston.

Springfield Rifle is the film Gary Cooper made after his much acclaimed performance in High Noon. Not that it's a bad film, but a fairly routine western which even kind of gives away who the inside man is way too early in the film. It would have been better had their been more suspense.Gary Cooper goes undercover to find a ring of rustlers who are working in cahoots with the Confederacy during the Civil War, stealing horses meant for the Union cavalry.To do this he gets himself courtmartialed and drummed out of the army. And he gets the full Chuck Connors treatment, that Connors received on his series Branded. This enables Cooper to join the renegades led by David Brian and Lon Chaney, Jr. Things do get complicated when Coop's wife, Phyllis Thaxter, shows up to tell him about their son who has run away. Her concern nearly derails the mission and her husband.Some good western action is in Springfield Rifle, a couple of pitched battles with the renegades and Cooper finally uncovering the inside man in the rustling ring.Three good performances besides the players mentioned are Guinn Williams as the sergeant who saves Cooper from a hangman, Paul Kelly as the post commander, and Philip Carey as a rival officer to Cooper on the post.Springfield Rifle is good action entertainment for those who like their westerns action filled.