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A Thunder of Drums

Play trailer Poster for A Thunder of Drums 1961 1h 37m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 27% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Stationed in an isolated desert outpost, Lt. Curtis McQuade (George Hamilton), an inexperienced cavalry officer, must adjust to his new spartan life under his surly superior, Capt. Stephen Maddocks (Richard Boone). Tensions between the young soldier and his embittered leader are heightened by their mutual infatuation with the beautiful Tracey Hamilton (Luana Patten). When the troops have to face fierce local Apaches, will Maddocks and McQuade be able to put their differences aside?
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A Thunder of Drums

Critics Reviews

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Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television 12/13/2019
Sociological study of US Cavalry is grim, but at least it's faithful to director Newman's traditions. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Greg J Jun 26 Say what you want about the strange way the movie starts out, but make no mistake, it gets really good during the second half. There are some really good scenes leading up to the Apache confrontation, especially if you like themes with well thought out historic military strategy. See more Lanfranco C @Lanfrancobz 09/24/2024 Old values, but sound. See more Terre C 06/02/2024 This film was a disappointment from screenwriter Ballah. The dialog was strained. I'm stunned because Ballah wrote some good movies, and it had a great cast, but no energy. Richard Boone just didn't have his heart in it. See more deke p 03/21/2021 Gets way better, real good, later, after the soap opera stuff early. Cuz RICHARD BOONE at his most serious. + GEORGE HAMILTON, RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN. Never heard of until THE MOVIE CHANNEL, 3.20.21 See more 11/23/2016 Rather dull cavalry tale that mostly centers around the conflict between the outfits' bitter veteran leader, Richard Boone, and a young lieutenant, George Hamilton. I had hope for this film because it was written by James Warner Bellah who wrote the stories that John Ford's cavalry trilogy were based upon and he also wrote Ford's classic "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." However, this film is nowhere in the league of a John Ford western. There's romance, overtones of Mutiny on the Bounty, and the vilifying and killing of native people. If you've ever watched a cavalry film before, you've already seen this film and probably saw it done better. The film does include early appearances by Richard Chamberlain, Duane Eddy and Charles Bronson also appear in the film. See more Read all reviews
A Thunder of Drums

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph M. Newman

Director

Richard Boone

Captain Stephen Maddocks

George Hamilton

Lt. Curtis McQuade

Luana Patten

Tracey Hamilton

Arthur O'Connell

Sgt. Karl Rodermill

Charles Bronson

Trooper Hanna
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A Thunder of Drums

A Thunder of Drums (1961) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Stationed in an isolated desert outpost, Lt. Curtis McQuade (George Hamilton), an inexperienced cavalry officer, must adjust to his new spartan life under his surly superior, Capt. Stephen Maddocks (Richard Boone). Tensions between the young soldier and his embittered leader are heightened by their mutual infatuation with the beautiful Tracey Hamilton (Luana Patten). When the troops have to face fierce local Apaches, will Maddocks and McQuade be able to put their differences aside?
Director
Joseph M. Newman
Producer
Robert Enders
Screenwriter
James Warner Bellah
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 19, 2016
Runtime
1h 37m
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