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Made during the brief 3-D movie craze of the early-middle 1950s, Gordon M. Douglas's The Charge at Feather River (1953) does, indeed, have its share of arrows (flaming and not), lances, and other weapons flying directly at the audience in several scenes -- though most interesting use of the effect may well be a scene in which Frank Lovejoy's tough-as-nails Sgt. Baker backs down a rattlesnake with some venom of his own. It's better than that in its use of 3-D, however -- the movie consistently makes use of the extra-dimensional element in framing its action and the activities of the tiny guerilla cavalry unit at the center of its action. For those who do get the chance to see it in 3-D, it's unexpectedly rewarding on that level, as much more than an exploitation effect. As with most of the best 3-D movies, however, it's also a good 2-D movie, principally because of its script and some unexpectedly strong characterizations. The story isn't just about the mission to rescue two women held for five years by the Indians -- a mission that makes sense militarily, the way it is presented here; it's also about unwilling leader Madison's mission to turn a rag-tag unit of cavalry rejects, guard house and stockade habitues -- thieves, drunks, and malcontents of every stripe -- into a functioning, cohesive fighting unit in the field, indeed, modern viewers will find some parallels between this script and the plot of Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen (1967), and this movie has the writing and acting to support the comparison in the characters and portrayals of Lovejoy's Sgt. Baker, Steve Brodie's Trooper Ryan, Onslow Stevens as a fatalistic artist, and Lane Chandler as Poinsett, with Neville Brand not far behind as the brutal Morgan, and Dick Wessel and Henry Kulky providing comic relief. Add the two strong female portrayals by Helen Westcott and Vera Miles, and The Charge At Feather River can be seen as good viewing, in 2-D as well as 3-D, especially as Douglas ratchets up the violence and tension as the plot takes several unexpected (and savage) turns.