terrible... so disappointed.

Absolutely amazing

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Made during the height of the western film genre's popularity, "Escort West" overall isn't terribly exceptional, but it does provide an easygoing hour and a quarter of entertainment if you are not in a terribly fussy mood. Even under those circumstances, some minor flaws do arise. It was obviously shot quickly and fairly cheaply - there's nothing really in the way of eye candy on display here. The character of Victor Mature's daughter could easily have been edited out without having to rewrite the rest of the movie. And Victor Mature himself only gives an adequate performance. But the movie does move along fairly swiftly and does not overstay its welcome, and there are a few fairly tense moments here and there. This movie won't make western haters into converts, but if you are a fan of the genre it's an okay way to kill some time.

"Escort West" takes place in Nevada, a few years after the Civil War has ended. Victor Mature plays Ben Lassiter, a widowed ex-Confederate soldier travelling West with his 10 year old daughter Abbey (Reba Waters). Deadly Indian warriors named the Modocs are on the prowl, and Ben realizes that they have caused death and destruction in a way station that he had very recently visited. He gathers together the survivors: the bitchy, grudge carrying Martha Drury (Faith Domergue) and her much nicer sister, Beth (Elaine Stewart), and amiable old sutler Nelson Walker (Rex Ingram). He promises to stay with them as they make their dangerous trek through hostile territory.There's nothing particularly distinguished about "Escort West", but it's still a solid and engaging movie of this type. An uncredited John Wayne was one of the producers. Director Francis D. Lyon creates some scenes of genuine suspense, and the action is likewise decently executed. This is all photographed in atmospheric, black & white widescreen by William H. Clothier. The antagonists are not exactly a faceless bunch, but they're a fairly scary group of men: relentless, unspeaking, unemotional, one-dimensional killers. The lovely music score is courtesy of composer Henry Vars.The cast is full of familiar faces and excellent right down the line. Mature is just the kind of hero you want in this sort of thing: kind, compassionate, but tough and dependable. Beautiful women Stewart and Domergue are effective, although some might find Domergues' character a bit tough to take. Noah Beery Jr., John Hubbard, Harry Carey Jr., Slim Pickens, William Ching, Ken Curtis, Claire Du Brey, and Syd Saylor co-star. Also in the supporting cast is the great screen heavy Leo Gordon, who co-wrote the screenplay with Fred Hartsook. Child actress Waters is appealing without becoming overly saccharine.This is a good, diverting story told in fairly trim fashion and running a very reasonable 77 minutes long.Seven out of 10.

This is a UA release, one of two that Victor Mature co-produced with John Wayne's Batjac company. It has a modest budget and plays like a TV movie or extended episode of TV's Wagon Train. But the ideas presented are grand in scope, and it's a shame there wasn't a larger budget to take advantage of all its cinematic possibilities. The film offers Mature as a no-holds barred widowed father trying to take his young daughter west to start a new life in Oregon. Along the way, they meet two sisters doing the same after one lost her fiancé in the Civil War. The backgrounds of the main characters are very well explained. Soon there is an attack by Modoc natives. We never get to see the natives as individuals; instead, we see them intermittently as a hostile element our little traveling group must occasionally fight off. After the initial attack, we are introduced to a black Union soldier, played by Rex Ingram. He's in no shape to travel, but Mature's character insists on taking him along. Of course, there is the eventual realization the old soldier is dead weight. The scene where Ingram threatens suicide to force the others to go on without him is a highpoint of the film.I liked the way the plot smartly progressed, and there was one action sequence after another, with just enough resting time in between, for us to continue getting to know the characters better. Naturally, it all culminates in a standoff involving more Union soldiers versus the Modoc. The soldiers are not all incorruptible (in a short sequence two try to steal the payroll). Adding to the complications is the fact that Mature, to protect his daughter and the one surviving sister, must join forces with the Union, though he himself had been a rebel Confederate.So there is a lot being said in ESCORT WEST, and while it is somewhat formulaic and predictable, we care about the people in the story and their relationships. As I said, this could have been expanded more cinematically if the budget had been greater. We could have seen flashbacks of what the leads experienced during and immediately after the war. We also could have seen some more of the attack involving the natives, which mostly happens off-camera. Plus I think a better denouement where they finally arrive in Oregon could have been filmed. But it's still a very effective thought-provoking independent western picture.

"Escort West" is interesting little low budget Black and White western about the efforts of an ex-confederate soldier Ben Lassiter (Victor Mature) and his daughter Abbey (Reba Waters) to reach Oregon and a new life.Set in 1865 just after the Civil War, Lassiter finds that not all of the old wounds have healed. At a way station he meets two sisters Beth Drury (Elaine Stewart) and her sister Martha (Faith Domergue) who are in the company of a cavalry detachment. Martha bears a resentment of Lassiter because of the war.Later on the trail Lassiter finds the cavalry detachment massacred except for quartermaster Nelson Walker (Rex Ingram) and the two ladies whom he had hidden away. The unlikely party then proceeds toward another army group who unbeknownst to them is pinned down under fire from the Indian renegade Tago (X. Brands) who is also in pursuit of the Lassiter group.Director Francis D. Lyon had the luxury of a seasoned cast of veterans although in some cases he doesn't take advantage of them often under utilizing their talents. Also in the cast are Noah Beery Jr., Leo Gordon (who co-wrote the story), Ken Curtis, William Ching, John Hubbard, Harry Carey Jr., Slim Pickens and Roy Barcroft as various soldiers.Victor Mature was always an under rated actor. He was usually better than his material as is the case here. Acting kudos in this film go to the veteran actor Rex Ingram who gives a sympathetic performance as the doomed Walker. Faith Domergue is one who never quite made it but is probably best remembered for her dalliance with Howard Hughes. Ken Curtis went on to portray "Festus Hagen" in the long running TV series "Gunsmoke".