ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO (1953)

Any Johnny Reb who tries to escape the Union prison outpost of Fort Bravo faces the unforgiving Arizona Territory desert stretching before him and the even more unforgiving pursuit of Bravo's resolute Captain Roper. Yet there's a common foe that may unite the Civil War rivals: the fierce Mescalero horsemen waging guerilla war against Blue and Gray alike. William Holden portrays tough-minded Roper in a Western acclaimed for it's scenic vistas (shot in Death Valley) and for sequences that showed a major action filmmaker was on the rise. John Sturges directs, setting the taut, rugged tone for The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven and more hits to come.