War Paint

Solid meat-and-potatoes oater with a good cast and a refreshing no b.s. attitude towards its tale of battling Whites and Indians.

Scalping:Old Indian custom.

If the fast-moving, grim little actioner War Paint has any kind of message at all...besides the pleasure derived from a hard-edged, suspenseful Western, it's that this kind of war of attrition has no winners (symbolized by Billings admitting he's sick of all the killing, on both sides), but that the attempt at peace, even if it's doomed, is still a worthwhile goal.

War Paint stars Robert Stack as a courageous U.S. Cavalry lieutenant, assigned to deliver a peace treaty to a powerful Indian chief. Unfortunately, a band of bloodthirsty renegades have vowed to kill the officer before he completes his mission. Will our hero be able to deliver the treaty at the appointed time, thereby avoiding mass bloodshed? And will the Indian chieftain's daughter (Joan Taylor) actually survive until the last reel, even though she's fallen in love with the lieutenant? (If so, it will be a Hollywood first!) Beautifully photographed in Pathecolor, War Paint was filmed on location in Death Valley.
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