Gold Diggers
After a stagecoach carrying Government Gold is robbed the Cavalry learn from Joe Barlow (Dan Duryea), a reb convict, that the gold was hidden in land which is now in the middle of Indian treaty territory which is off limits to soldiers. It is why Captain Matt Martin (Robert Fuller) and a small group of plain clothes cavalry men along with Joe head in to the Indian country to recover the hidden gold. Along the way in Hays City they find themselves forced to take woman of ill repute, Memphis (Jocelyn Lane) with them and then they find themselves not only having to deal with the Apaches who don't appreciate them entering their territory but some outlaws who are also after the Gold.
Nothing new to see here is how you could describe "Incident at Phantom Hill" in just a few words as every aspect of the movie has been done before from the search for stolen gold to a reb prisoner trying to get into people's minds to turn them against each other. The whole female passenger is also a familiar cliche as is a moment of late night drama when an Indian boy tries to steal the men's horses to try and prove himself. I could go on because every time something new is introduced in to the movie, even a moment of daring from Matt as he jumps on to a horse with a rampaging Indian on reminded me of other, earlier westerns I had watched.
But don't get me wrong as whilst "Incident at Phantom Hill" doesn't deliver anything new everything it delivers is solid 60s western from Robert Fuller being the handsome hero to Dan Duryea being the snake-ish convict. And sometimes solid is all that you need because it makes it uncomplicated entertainment, nothing more nothing less.
What this all boils down to is that "Incident at Phantom Hill" is one of those westerns which even if you have never seen it before comes across as familiar due to it reworking the same story threads which many a western used. But it does so in a solid manner which makes it uncomplicated western entertainment.
