Filmed in Flagstaff, Arizona, The Bravos top-bills George Peppard as a frontier cavalry commander. It is Peppard's job to protect his fort, and the wagon train passengers sheltered within, from the 2000 Kiowa Indian warriors who dot the surrounding hills. This being a 1972 TV movie, the Native Americans are "savage" only when provoked. When they abduct Peppard's son Vincent Van Patten, it is in retribution for the death of their own chief's son. The Bravos was the 90-minute pilot film for a never-sold western series.