A chaotic romp through the old west near the end of the 19th Century. The mining town of Denver faces the potentially worst winter on record without whiskey! So they pool their finances into one gigantic order of 40 wagons of whiskey from grouchy old "good republican" Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith). Wallingham worries about Indian attacks, so he insists on a US Cavalry escort from Fort Russell, commanded by Colonel Thaddeus Gearhart (Burt Lancaster). Fort Russell has just been invaded by a temperance movement led by Cora Tempelton Massingale (Lee Remick), who is determined to prevent the whiskey from reaching the poor misguided fools in Denver. Meanwhile, the reservation Indians headed by Chief Five Barrels (Robert Wilke) and Chief Walks-stooped-over (Martin Landau) intend to attack the wagon train and appropriate 20 wagons of whiskey for their own refreshment either by force or, failing that, by presenting their newly-awarded US citizenship papers and claiming that they will return to the reservation if they are given a gift of 20 wagons of whiskey. To complicate matters further, the Denver miners, warned in a vision by their whiskey- inspired prophet, Oracle Jones (Donald Pleasence) that their whiskey shipment is in grave peril, form a militia and march forth to meet the wagons and escort them back to Denver. Lee Remick is a vision of womanly beauty as always. Lancaster is his turbulent comical best. Pleasance as you've never seen him before as the thin, wiry, coon-skin mountaineer Oracle Jones. With an awesome musical score by Elmer Bernstein, this film is a real nostalgic treat!
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