''13 Fighting Men'' is a 1960 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Harry W. Gerstad Harry W. Gerstad (born Harry Donald Gerstad; June 11, 1909 – July 17, 2002) was an American film editor who sometimes directed films. The Academy Award-winning editor also worked on television. He edited as well as directed for the 1950s prog ...

and written by Robert Hamner and Jack W. Thomas. The film stars Grant Williams,

Brad Dexter Brad Dexter (born Boris Michel Soso; April 9, 1917 – December 12, 2002) was an American actor and film producer. He is known for tough-guy and western roles, including the 1960 film ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), and producing several fil ...

Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmothe ...

Robert Dix Robert Warren Brimmer (May 8, 1935 – August 6, 2018), known professionally as Robert Dix, was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1954 and 1974. Biographic data Dix was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor R ...

Richard Garland Charles Richard Garland Jr. (July 7, 1927 – May 24, 1969) was an American film, stage and television actor. He was known for playing the recurring role of Constable Clay Horton in CBS's television series '' Lassie'' from 1954 to 1956. Life a ...

and Richard Crane. The film was released in April 1960 by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Plot

Though the War Between The States has officially ended, a group of Confederate soldiers continues to fight for their own cause, laying siege to a small group of Union soldiers holed up in a farmhouse who are guarding a substantial amount of gold coins for a federal agent. The story comes off okay in this noticeably low-budget effort thanks to all the personalities this film features. The presence of all that gold seems to affect all of them in interesting ways. The farm owner is a Union army vet who converted to pacifism after experiencing the war, while his wife is trying to attract the Union commander who is trying to protect the gold from both his men and the Confederates, who include some strange characters, one of which is Ted Knight.

Cast

* Grant Williams as Capt. John Forrest *

as Maj. Simon Boyd *

as Carole Prescott *

as Lt. Wilcox *

as Capt. John Prescott * Richard Crane as Loomis *

Rayford Barnes Rayford Barnes (October 23, 1920 – November 11, 2000) was an American film and TV character actor from Whitesboro, Texas. Early years Barnes was born in Dallas, Texas, and attended the University of Texas. He acted in plays at the university ...

as Sgt. Yates *

Rex Holman Rexford George Holman (born 1935) is an American film and television actor. Holman was born in Oklahoma. He began his screen career in 1959, appearing in the anthology television series '' The Millionaire''. In 1960 he made his film debut in ' ...

as Root *

John Erwin John Lee Erwin (born December 5, 1936) is an American voice actor best known for voicing He-Man and Morris the Cat. Career Erwin was the voice of He-Man in the Filmation productions ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' and '' She-Ra: Prin ...

as Cpl. McLean *Boyd Holister as Pvt. Jensen *

Mauritz Hugo Mauritz Hugo (January 12, 1909 – June 16, 1974) was a Swedish-born American film and television actor. Selected filmography * ''Wanted by the Police'' (1938) * ''Criminal Investigator'' (1942) *''The Crime Smasher'' (1943) * ''Outlaws of Sta ...

as Walter Ives *Richard Monahan *

Ted Knight Ted Knight (born Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konopka; December 7, 1923August 26, 1986) was an American actor well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', Henry Rush in ''Too Close for Comfort'', and Judge Elihu ...

as Samuel *Fred Kohler Jr. as Corey *Stephen Ferry as Sgt. Wade *

I. Stanford Jolley Isaac Stanford Jolley (October 24, 1900 – December 7, 1978) was an American film and television actor. He starred in the 1946 film serial ''The Crimson Ghost'', in which he played the role of Doctor Blackton and also voiced the title cha ...

as Pvt. Ebb *

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than b ...

as Col. Jeffers *John Frederick as Lee *Mark Hickman as Sgt. Mason *Ford Dunhill as Pvt. Harper *

Brad Harris Bradford Harris (July 16, 1933 – November 7, 2017) was an American actor, stuntman, and executive producer. He appeared in a variety of roles in over 50 films, mostly in European productions. He was an inductee in the Stuntman's Hall of Fa ...

as Pvt. Fowler *Earl Holmes as Confederate Soldier *Richard Jeffries as Jimmy *Jerry Mobley as Sentry

Production

The film was announced in September 1959. Filming started in December.

Reception

The New York '' Daily News'' awarded ''13 Fighting Men'' two and a half stars, calling it "... a cut above the average Civil War story ... There is suspense and

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

. ... Performances are surprisingly good."

References

External links

* 1960 films 1960s English-language films 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films American drama films 1960 drama films Revisionist Western (genre) films 1960s American films {{1960s-drama-film-stub