It's the Civil War period and Colonel Chivington has just wiped out an Indian village. This brutality puts the white man in disfavor with the Comanche and provides them with a revenge motive. Lieutenant Audie Murphy deserts his command and rides to Texas to warn the settlers. He winds up at a decrepit mission in the middle of nowhere. It's occupied only by about two dozen women and a few kids. Murphy's job? To whip these women out of their winsome civilian ways and make soldiers out of them. After a lot of convincing he's got himself a female troop that proves themselves quite worthy standing up to Indians and renegade white men. Pryor was born in Memphis, Tennessee, [2] the son of William E. Prior. [1] He graduated from Christian Brothers College [3] and attended Southwestern and VPI. [4] During World War II, he served with the Merchant Marine. [3] Career [ edit ] Radio [ edit ] This was Certainly the Most Off-Beat, Ahead-of-its-Time Offering in His Usually Conservative but Sometimes Edgy Style. Taking a Feminist Stance with an Outrageous Idea in Context.

This movie breaks this unspoken code: highly successfully and entertainingly.In fact it states quite blankly that all women are as good as any man; including in the ability to fight to the death and the last bullet.He gets some good support here from that distaff group of players assembled at the old mission where they have to stand off the Cheyenne. Hope Emerson is the second in command and as always Hope is a formidable presence on the screen. The working title of the film was Petticoat Brigade; screenwriter and television director Walter Doniger was originally set to have directed the film. [6] a b c d "Ainslie Pryor dies; 'Caine' prosecutor". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 29, 1958. p.27 . Retrieved April 15, 2022. My TV Guide, with which I sometimes find myself in agreement, gave this three stars out of four and I thought, "Why not?" It wasn't a masterpiece. It had no poetry. It was worth three stars, I guess, if you consider the genre -- inexpensive Western with no bankable big stars. But, really, the plot is rudimentary and derivative. By 1957 the war movies had played themselves out, but this film simply transposes the story of a small heroic band of soldiers finally triumphing over a horde of savage enemy soldiers, only in this case the heroic soldiers are all women and the savage enemy is the Comanche instead of the Japanese or Germans.

The fictional story tells the tale of an Army deserter training a disparate group of women to become Indian fighters climaxing in a Battle of the Alamo-type action. a b "New Art Display Opens at Gallery". The News and Observer. North Carolina, Raleigh. June 11, 1953. p.3 . Retrieved April 15, 2022– via Newspapers.com. Since he’s wearing Union blue, the Texas ladies are reluctant to listen to anything Hewitt has to say. Pryor's early entertainment activities came in radio when he worked as an announcer at stations in New Haven, Connecticut, and New York City. He also was program director at WJPR radio in Greenville, Mississippi. [3] Stage [ edit ]

Tropes:

Hewitt’s return makes Stella realize she doesn’t really love the Rebel soldier she married after Hewitt marched off to join the Union Army. Anne soon develops strong feelings for her commanding officer as well.