Captain Benson (Randolph Scott) returns from the east with his new bride-to-be (played ably enough by Barbara Hale) only to find out that his post under General Custer was wiped out at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The men who were left behind at the post resent Benson because he wasn't there to die gallantly with the rest of his troop.
A presidential order is given for the army to go into Sioux territory and gather up Custer's dead for burial. Benson quickly volunteers for such a dangerous mission, probably to redeem himself. After all, the Big Horn is still surrounded by hostile Sioux and Cheyenne, drunk with victory.
When Benson and his men reach the site, they find that the Indians won't let them un-bury the dead because it is now considered sacred ground and not to be violated. That is, until Custer's riderless horse strolls into view, scaring all the Indians into thinking it's bad medicine and Custer's spirit has returned.
There's a subplot about how this horse came onto the scene involving Harry Carey Jr. and all, but I'm not gonna get into that. Anyway, the Indians are plenty superstitious about the whole thing so they allow Benson and his men to pass, unscathed.
Although it's nowhere near as good as the oaters Scott did with Budd Boetticher, this one nonetheless still rises above most of the other western dreck Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures was putting out. It also helps filming it out in the California pine country away from the usual Columbia ranch locations that we've seen a zillion times before. It still doesn't pass for the plains, though.
Still, it's better than most of Scott's RKO westerns from the late 40s
5 out of 10
