Frontier Gentleman: "Kendall's Last Stand" 2/23/58
London Times correspondent J.B. Kendall is disappointed when he misses a chance to ride with Custer and the 7th Calvary to what is sure to be a big victory against Sitting Bull at Little Big Horn.
But he at least gets a chance to ride along with a smaller patrol. But when the overconfident officer leading the patrol rides into an ambush, Kendall finds himself trapped along with two others in an isolated cabin.
It's the sort of "last stand" situation that's been done a gazilion times, but can always make for good storytelling if the plot is well-structured and the characters are interesting. The story contains a remarkable level of tension and inherent tragedy. One of those trapped with Kendall is a woman who's son had just burned to death in a neighboring cabin, but she manages to pull herself together and remain useful. Played with a combination of quiet strength and restrained grief by Jeanette Nolan, she is a truly great character.
The third person in the cabin is a Crow army scout named Six-Toes. A scene in which Kendall and Six-Toes sneak out of the cabin to try to get a drop on the hostile Cheyenne builds into a violent and effective climax.
From start to finish, this is a superb example of one of radio's better Westerns.
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