Sergeant Hook's life is changed forever by his capture of Apache chief Nanchez, her mixed race son, and silent European 'wife': Cora. Most of the drama concerns the disposition of the 5 year old son: Quito. Cora insists that he remain with her, wherever she goes. But, nearly everyone else, except Hook and a woman or two, thinks the boy should be kept with his father, wherever he goes. Most important, her white husband of about 15 years refuses to accept Quito. Hook points out that the couple didn't have any children in their 9 years together, hence Quito might be the only child he ever has. No one seems to have consulted Quito as to his preference, if any. Nanchez is obsessed that the boy be returned to him. It's not clear whether he insisted on the return of his 'wife', nor whether she would want to return, given a choice. She says Nanchez was kind to her except for one beating when she didn't do what he asked.

When captured, Cora refuses to talk in any language. Once she felt more comfortable, she began to speak English to some. Most European captives lost their facility with their native language if captured for 1 or 2 years. Generally, the younger they were, the more rapid they lost their native tongue. Cora must have been relatively old, probably 25-30 when captured. Thus, she might be expected to retain bits of her native language after about 6 years of captivity. Thus, I suspect her unexpected apparent full retention of English was more a device to facilitate the progression of the film story.

The film begins with the Apache execution of a small detachment of surrounded cavalry, who somehow had managed to lose their horses, firearms and swords. Immediately following, Sergeant Hook's larger cavalry detachment overruns the Apache, capturing Chief Nanchez, as ordered, and killing or capturing most of the other Apache.

At the army post, as well as several stage depots on the way to finding her white husband, Cora was mostly criticized for sleeping with an Apache, saying that she should have killed herself instead of yielding sexually to a fierce enemy of Europeans. Cora didn't agree. Hook comforted her, trying to minimize such revulsion, and telling her about his experience as a captured soldier in the Civil War, when he pretended to be a dog, in order to get enough food to survive.

During their trip to find Cora's husband, they have an encounter or two with Nanchez, whom they learned had escaped prison. Nanchez was still intent on capturing Quito, but Hook had another man hold a gun to Quito's head while he negotiated with Nanchez. Nanchez said the Apache called Hook "Stoneface", for his unemotional bearing, but he should be called "Stoneheart" for his refusal to hand over Quito and threatening Quito's life.

In another tense scene, when Cora is running from her husband: Jeff, toward Hook, who is about to leave Jeff's property, Jeff raises his rifle, threatening to shoot one or all of them. Just then, a bullet from Nanchez nearly hits them. They all get in the buckboard and ride in the opposite direction, with Nanchez and others following close behind. See the film to see what happens next(if you can't guess). This film is currently available on YouTube.

Of course, there are various other Hollywood films that feature females or children captured by Aboriginal Americans. Among these are: "Northwest Passage", "The Charge at Feather River", "The Searchers", "Two Flags West", "Comanche Station", "Stolen women, Captured Hearts", and "Soldier Blue"(all of which I have reviewed),but the film that most resembles the details of the present film is "The Stalking Moon", released a decade later. The main difference is that there is no white husband waiting for her in that film. To me, it's a less interesting and less realistic film. Also, some similarities to "Stagecoach", and "The Big Country" are evident.

Joel McCrea's persistent stiffness in his demeanor is probably partly the characterization of a dutiful Sergeant. However, his persona in other films tends to be stiff. Royal Dano, as the charismatic humorous stage driver serves to partly counter McCrea's stiffness. Barbara Stanwyck did well in her alternative withdrawn and feisty scenes. She was paired with McCrea in a number of other films, the one I remember being "Union Pacific" of nearly 2 decades earlier. Rudolfo Acosta, born a Mexican, mostly played bad guys, especially in westerns. Here he plays Nanchez, the worst of a bevy of bad guys in this film, including both whites and Apache.

Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck are well-matched in an okay western with a theme that's been done before in other films, namely "Duel at Diablo" several years later. Most of the film take place in a stagecoach as a white woman with a half-breed son journeys home to her husband after years of captivity among the Indians. The citizens are unwelcoming to mother and son and McCrea is along to serve as an escort and buffer against the bigotry shown to his charges. There are a few action scenes but the film centers on Stanwyck's hardships against frontier attitudes about her situation. McCrea is a comforting presence in Stanwyck's life and their friendship and trust deepen during the journey. Rudy Acosta is good as the Indian chief who wants to reclaim his son, as is Earl Holliman as a wandering cow puncher. John Denher is the hard case rancher who reluctantly accepts his wife but not her Indian son. Royal Dano has some colorful lines as the stagecoach driver.