A Distant Trumpet on AllMovie

Troy Donahue stars in this drive-in quality "B"-Western from the Warner Brothers backlot, directed by veteran director Raoul Walsh. Donahue is U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant Matt Hazard, who arrives at Fort Delivery on the Mexican border of Arizona for a new assignment. Kitty Mainwaring (Suzanne Pleshette), the wife of the commanding officer, greets Hazard upon his arrival. The next day, when he takes some of his men outside of the fort to gather wood, Hazard and his men find themselves attacked by Indians. Hazard survives and later saves Kitty from another Indian attack. A terrible storm forces the two to spend a night in a cave as they make their way back to the fort. Meanwhile, the new commander, General Quait (James Gregory), arrives at the fort and takes command -- his first order of business to launch an all-out war on the Indians. He tries to capture the belligerent Indian Chief War Eagle but fails. When Hazard arrives back at the fort, Quait orders Hazard into Mexico to convince War Eagle to surrender. Hazard has War Eagle agree to return with him on the promise that the Indians can have a safe haven at an Arizona reservation. But, on their way back to the fort, they are met by Major Miller (Lane Bradford), who, instead, orders the Indians to be sent to Florida. Hazard and Quaint end up traveling to Washington to try to convince the United States government to reverse their decision against the Indians.