A Distant Trumpet

In 1883, U.S. Army Cavalry lieutenant Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York (on the Hudson River), is assigned to isolated Fort Delivery on the Mexican border of the Arizona Territory in the early 1880s, where he meets commanding officer Teddy Mainwarring's wife Kitty, whom he later rescues from an Indian attack.

Soon after a new commander, Major General Alexander Quaint, (James Gregory), arriving at the fort with a large regiment of "spit and polished" cavalry / "horse soldiers" takes charge. When his efforts to capture Chiricahua Apache chief "War Eagle" fail, he orders Hazard into northern Mexico to cajole the Indian chief into surrendering.

After a long arduous trip south across the border in desolate deserts and buttes, canyons with dry ravines, and gulches, Hazard sits and meets with convincing the wary suspicious War Eagle to return with him with the promise that the Indians will be provided a safe haven at a reservation near their ancient tribal homeland in Arizona. En route back to the fort, they encounter a Major Miller sent out to meet the party taking them into custody as if criminal prisoners, who orders the Indians be sent instead in exile to Florida.

Hazard and General Quaint journey to the "Great White Father" in Washington, D.C. to protest, campaign on their demands to honor their promises of good faith with U.S. War Department and the Secretary of War himself and army brass and government officials to reverse their decision and allow Hazard to keep his word to War Eagle. Finally General Quaint calls 21st President of the United States himself at the.neighoring White House, on a new-fangled thing called a "telephone" and off-handedly referring to the Chief Executive as "Chet", (Chester A. Arthur, 1829–1886, served 1881–1885), warning him that he was in a lot of trouble with these Indians after Lt. Hazard refuses and throws down his offered "Congressional Medal of Honor" (the highest American military honor), submitting his resigned officer's commission. At the ceremony in the Secretary of War]]'s office in front of an assembly of press reporters and family, making a bold declaration about how the Indians have been betrayed by the United States Army.

• Troy Donahue as Lt. Matthew Hazard, U.S.A.
• Suzanne Pleshette as Kitty Mainwarring
• William Reynolds as Teddy Mainwarring, U.S.A.
• James Gregory as Maj. Gen. Alexander Quaint, U.S.A.
• Diane McBain as Laura Frelief
• Claude Akins as Seely Jones – keeper of a traveling wagon load of prostitutes and dance hall girls and selling liquor to isolated military posts.
• Kent Smith as the U.S. Secretary of War (in the 21st President Chester A. Arthur administration)

The film was based on a 629-page novel, published in 1960, which was based on extensive historical research.[4][5] The New York Times called it "the finest novel yet on the Southwest in its settling."[6] Another reviewer for the same paper called it a "first rate historical novel."[7]

Warners bought the film rights and announced they would make the film in 1960 with James Woolf and Jack Clayton as producer and director, Laurence Harvey as star, and Alan Le May to do the script.[8] It would be made for Challet Productions, Harvey's production company.[9]

Burt Kennedy wrote a draft of the script; he was under contract to Warners at the time and called the novel "wonderful".[10] Then Clayton was replaced by Leslie H. Martinson. Eventually, the film was set up with an entirely new producer, director and writer.[11]

Significant changes were made from Horgan's novel in reversing the character traits of the female leads, making Kitty Mainwarring the object of Hazard's affections and Laura the negative personality; and altering the narrative's climax (and history), by reversing the fate of the Apaches from their historic removal to Florida and restoring the male protagonists to full duty, thereby negating Hazard's point-of-honor refusal of the congressional Medal of Honor and resignation from the Army, which was the basis for the entire storyline.

Shooting took place in September 1963. Location filming occurred in Flagstaff, Arizona and Gallup, New Mexico.[12]

In his review in The New York Times, Bosley Crowther called the film:

A deadly bore...so dull you even lose interest in watching the horses and the stunt men doing their stuff...Seldom has there been a Western picture on which so much money was spent...from which so little excitement, energy or colorfulness exudes. It's as though Mr. Walsh and everybody were bitten by tsetse flies and went through the business of shooting the picture in a state of drowsiness."[13]

Variety said:

The stunning location terrain of the Red Rocks area of New Mexico and Arizona's Painted Desert gives the production a tremendous pictorial lift. Max Steiner's score is a driving dramatic force but the use of the main theme seems a trifle excessive. The picture would benefit from a lot more pruning by editor David Wages.[14]

Time Out New York feels that despite "an average script and a colourless lead performance from Donahue" the film "[emerges] as a majestically simple, sweeping cavalry Western, a little reminiscent of Ford in mood and manner. Brilliantly shot by William Clothier, it tends to have its cake and eat it by indulging in a spectacular massacre before introducing the liberal message, but still goes further than most in according respect to the Indian by letting him speak his own language (with subtitles)."[15]

Peter Bogdanovich called the film:

One of Walsh's weakest pictures, caused mainly by an intolerably bad cast and a predictable script. Whenever the director is allowed to linger on shots of horses and riders, Indians and cavalry, and on their battles, he shows his vitality, personality and strength. Otherwise, his efforts are hopeless against the talentless players and the hopeless words they are required to speak.[16]

• List of American films of 1964

• A Distant Trumpet at the Internet Movie Database
• A Distant Trumpet at Turner Classic Movies
• A Distant Trumpet at AllMovie