Pillars of the Sky


Pillars of the Sky is a 1956 American CinemaScope Technicolor Western film directed by George Marshall starring Jeff Chandler and Dorothy Malone, with co-stars Ward Bond, Keith Andes, Lee Marvin and Sydney Chaplin.

Plot

1868: Indians of many tribes trust Sgt. Emmett Bell, who rides into Dr. Joseph Holden's mission with his Indian scouts. However, troop and weapon movements by new U.S. Cavalry commanding officer Col. Steadlow have endangered the peace and angered the chiefs, in particular one called Kamiakin. An outraged Bell tries to appeal to Steadlow as well as Capt. Tom Gaxton, whose wife Calla was once in love with him. Calla and another woman are taken captive but are rescued by Bell, rekindling his and Calla's romance.
The Indians ambush a large cavalry patrol and, after a fierce fight, the soldiers break through the Indians and manage to escape to Holden's mission, using it as a fortification against an expected attack. Appeals for a truce go in vain. However, a particularly bloodthirsty act by Kamiakin results in his being killed by one of his own, whereupon Bell and the chiefs agree to do whatever is necessary to restore the peace.

Cast

The film was partly shot on location in Oregon over six weeks. At one stage it was announced the film was going to be directed by John Ford and star John Wayne.
Filming started August 1955.

Evaluation in film guides

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide gives Pillars of the Sky 2½ stars in a one-sentence write-up which states that "Chandler is apt as swaggering army officer...", with Steven H. Scheuer's Movies on TV also arriving at the 2½ stars rating, deciding that "Western fans will buy this tale of a no-account, hard-drinking, woman-chasing Sgt. who finally sees the error of his ways..."
The Motion Picture Guide makes it unanimous, with its 2½-star description of the production as "a relatively satisfying cowboys and Indians film starring Chandler as a cavalry scout who is literally a voice in the wilderness..." and, in conclusion, adds, "ood cast. The outdoor location shooting was done in Oregon".