"Ambush at Cimarron Pass" is a straightforward '50s cowboys and Indians type of thing with a blue and grey complication. It's only really notable for featuring a young Clint Eastwood in a supporting role. It's not an all time great Western by any means, but Eastwood makes it an interesting bit of film history.
A group of Union soldiers, including a prisoner, are tasked with escorting a load of fancy new repeating rifles through hostile Apache territory. Of course the Apache would like to get those rifles. Along the way, the Yankees encounter a group of unfriendly ex-Confederate soldiers headed the same way. They're forced to band together to survive. But not everyone in the group is completely onboard with the arrangement. There's potential in the story, but the film does little with it, and the ending is plain awful.
"Ambush at Cimarron Pass" is a part Eastwood's early career and definitely showcases his future potential. For the most part the acting isn't great in this one but even in his small role, Eastwood stands out delivering a solid performance while also getting beat up.
I read in a couple of places that Clint Eastwood described this movie as "probably the lousiest western ever made". I didn't see a source, but if true, he's probably being a bit hard on the film. I mean, no, it's not good. But there's a lot of competition for lousiest.
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