Drum Beat is a 1954 CinemaScope western film in WarnerColor written and directed by Delmer Daves and co-produced by Daves and Alan Ladd in his first film for his Jaguar Productions company. Ladd stars along with Audrey Dalton, Charles Bronson as Captain Jack, and Hayden Rorke as President Ulysses S. Grant.
Filmed in Sedona, Arizona, the story uses elements of the 1873 Modoc War in its narrative, with Ladd playing a white man asked by the U.S. Army to attempt negotiations with Native Modocs who are about to wage war.
An early role for Charles Bronson (originally Buchinsky), who plays Captain Jack as a memorable villain wearing the coat of a deceased US Cavalry Captain.Synopsis
In 1872, veteran Indian fighter Johnny MacKay (Alan Ladd) is sent for by then President Grant (Hayden Rorke). He tells government officials in Washington about hostilities between settlers, soldiers and Modoc renegades near the California and Oregon border. He is appointed peace commissioner for the territory.
Actors