Frontiere in fiamme

Keith Larsen plays the hero here. I had never heard of him before seeing this movie. He has three co-stars who would each become famous in major television series within a few years of this film: Buddy Ebsen (Beverly Hillbillies), Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan's Island) and Patrick McNee (the Avengers).

Larson starred in four T. V. series from 1954 to 1961, none of which were hits, "The Hunter," (1954) "Brave Eagle" (1956), "Northwest Passage" (1959), and the Aquanauts (1960-61). Surprisingly, he only made one guess appearance on other TV series after his starring roles ended, but he did make nine independent features of varying qualities.

He is surprisingly good, here. He is handsome, resourceful, rugged, and funny. He plays Major Rogers, an American leading a group of irregular soldiers fighting the French. He fights in a guerilla, commando style which sets him at odds with Patrick McNee, a British officer who believes there are strict codes of behavior for soldiers. For example, Rogers is willing to abandon wounded men for the sake of the mission, while McNee believes you never leave a comrade behind.

The movie is actually made up of three episodes of Larsen's "NorthWest Passage" T. V. series. The most interesting section is the middle one directed by Jacques Tourneur. In it, Rogers and two other men are captured and put in a French prisoner of war camp. They decide to build a tunnel to escape. The scenes here foreshadow many elements of "the Great Escape" (1963)

It is a good movie for fans of action-adventure TV Westerns. I'm going to look for more episodes of Larsen's TV shows and may check out a few of his independent features.