![]() ![]() There are other flaws in Smoke Signal, too, starting with the unlikely reason that there just happens to be two boats in the fort. More importantly, the script doesn't give the two characters enough time together before they're smitten with each other. First, at age 46, he was almost twice the age of his co-star. Unfortunately, his character's eventual romance with Laurie doesn't work at all. ![]() His best-known performance as a supporting player was as the reporter Scotty in 1951's The Thing.ĭana Andrews, who was still struggling with alcoholism at that time, gives an acceptable performance. Surprisingly, the likable Spencer spent most of his Hollywood career as Ray Milland's stand-in. However, the other cast standout is Douglas Spencer as a trapper that joins the soldiers. Smoke Signal is peppered with familiar faces, to include Talman (Hamilton Burger on Perry Mason), William Schallert (the father on The Patty Duke Show), and Milburn Stone (Doc on Gunsmoke). Some of her best scenes are simply intent looks-filled with curiosity-directed toward Halliday when she believes others are not watching. However, in Smoke Signal, she's a strong, but quiet character intrigued with Halliday and why he forfeited his Army career. In many Westerns, Laurie's character would have been a bitter daughter intent on revenge. She portrays the daughter of the fort's commanding officer, who died at the hands of the Utes. Although Dana Andrews-who was on the downside of his career-is billed as the lead, it's Piper Laurie who holds the film together. He urges Harper to transport two boats to a nearby canyon river and seek escape by navigating the rapids.Īugmented with stunning scenery, Smoke Signal zips along efficiently, mixing character-driven scenes with action sequences involving Indian attacks or the perils of the river. #Smoke signals dover free#Harper believes the Indians want to free Halliday, but the latter claims his life is in danger, too. A former Cavalry officer, Halliday deserted long ago and joined the Utes' tribe. The newly-arrived Captain Harper (William Talman) discovers an old acquaintance, Brett Halliday (Dana Andrews), tied to a hitching post. It turns out the fort has been surrounded for days and the scout sent to seek reinforcement-well, we know that he didn't get very far. When they attack the soldiers, the Cavalry troop seeks refuge in a nearby fort. It doesn't take long to realize that the previously-peaceful Utes are on the warpath. The action gets off to a quick start when a small Cavalry unit discovers a dead scout with an arrow in his back. However, one of the exceptions was the blandly-titled Smoke Signal, an above-average Western that avoids the genre's most common cliches.
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