Custer of the West

Siodmak's penultimate movie which, as an epic Cinerama Western lumbered with the need for irrelevant spectacle, manages to be far less affecting than his less expensive noir thrillers of the '40s. Nevertheless, it's an ambitious and occasionally stylish work, expertly crafted but let down by a script which doesn't quite decide what angle to take on its controversial protagonist. Shaw's erratic American accent doesn't help either, though some of the supporting performances (Ryan especially) are very watchable.