Dr. Allen Seward (Robert Francis) is assigned to a western cavalry post, due to his predecessors failings he finds that he is instantly disliked, and even worse, not trusted. Things worsen when during a confrontation at an Indian Reservation, Seward attempts to help an ill Indian infant and befriends the tribe doctor. As the war with the Indians escalates, so does the hatred from the camp towards Seward, with the men even refusing his medical treatment, but with the support of the lovely Laurie MacKaye, and a bond formed with Manyi-ten, an Indian Bride, Seeward may just be the solution to end this troubled conflict?

They Rode West is nothing special in the pantheon of inspiring and intelligent Westerns, what it isn't is one of those boorish standard Cavalry Vs Indians shoot them ups. Playing out with a lot of heart and a purpose of intent, it's a film that has a nice colour sheen, has some real solid acting and doesn't outstay its welcome. Notable for being the first of only four films that a 25 year old Robert Francis would make before being tragically killed in an aeroplane crash, They Rode West will not excite those in search of wall to wall gunfights, it will however be of interest to those who like a story of humane conflict via verbal beliefs. Of the other notables in the cast, Donna Reed adds the required touch of prettiness as Laurie MacKaye and Philip Carey does a nice line as the grumpy commander, Captain Blake. Direction from Phil Karlson is as steady as you would expect for this type of production, to leave me only left to say that it's a recommended film to see the first work of an interesting actor in the making, and of course for a bit of nous in the story. 6/10

Except for the attention that Robert Francis, as the Army doctor, pays to the Kiowa Indians, there's little that's distinctive about this Western. Most of the others who have commented on the movie have been on point.

Francis arrives a newbie at a Western fort that's more or less run by Phil Carey, a Captain whose previous experiences with doctors have left him bitter. He treats Francis like a stepson, constantly harrying and hectoring him.

Carey is especially discomfited when Francis begins treat the Kiowa who are all down with malaria. The malaria is linked of course to some bad water near the Kiowa camp, allowing mosquitoes to breed and serve as vectors. Of course Francis doesn't know this because the story takes place before the germ theory of disease was developed, and long before Lister introduced sterile techniques into the practice of medicine.

But, okay, Francis may not know that malaria is caused by mosquitoes, but then apparently the screenwriters don't know either because later malaria is treated as a disease you can "catch" from somebody else, like a cold.

Another reviewer pointed out that these Westerns that analyzed the relationship between the Indians and the Cavalry were a kind of metaphor for the racism that couldn't be directly addressed on the screen. The reviewer was right. Francis is loathed by the troopers, called someone who "turns on his own kind" and is a "Kiowa-lover." However, Francis saves the day, averting war between the Indians and the cavalry by extracting a bullet from the brain of a Kiowa honcho. The bullet must have been just under the skin because the way of extracting a bullet at the time was to stick a finger into the hole in the brain and search around until the projectile was palpable. Then you went in with forceps. If Abraham Lincoln hadn't already been mortally wounded, the surgery would have killed him.

I'd like to be able to say the performances add a lot to the film but I can't. Roy Roberts is an Irish top sergeant who is too fond of whiskey. Since John Ford, every cavalry troop must have a dipsomaniac as a top sergeant. Neither of the women have much to do. Robert Francis may or may not have had a future in film if he hadn't died in an accident. It's impossible to tell, judging from the work he left behind. His ensign in "The Caine Mutiny" didn't seem to promise much.

Had he lived to make more than the four films he did Robert Francis might have done a lot of the roles Tab Hunter did. In his memoirs Hunter said that he did so many military based film that he could have qualified for veteran's benefits. The two looked like they could have been brothers and all four of Francis's films had a military background.

They Rode West is a cavalry western and Francis is a young doctor assigned to an army post out west where both the Kiowas and Comanches are pretty hostile. The Kiowas are coming down with malaria living near a swamp as are the military, but the Kiowas have been put there by the government.

Like William Holden in The Horse Soldiers, Francis sees himself as a doctor first and a soldier second. He helps the Indian sick and then commits the unpardonable sin in the military by disobeying orders and telling the tribe they have to move to higher ground.

Nevertheless his sincere concern for the health of the Indians later stands the cavalry in good stead.

Along with Francis are Donna Reed as the niece of the commanding officer, May Wynn as a white Indian maid captive and Philip Carey as his rival who has a more traditional frontier view of the Indians.

Francis acquitted himself well in his first film, sad indeed his career was so short.