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New ranch owner Frank Madden, half Indian but posing as white, arrives just as an all white jury finds the three white Shipley brothers who lynched three Indians innocent. There is soon trouble between Frank and the Shipleys who are using Frank's land to graze their cattle. When the brother of one of the Indian victims kills a Shipley, Frank is accused and put in jail. The Shipleys then organize a lynch mob and head for the jail.

Guy Madison delivers a great performance as a mixed race man caught in the middle, trying to act white though the only people showing him much kindness are from the race he wants to abandon. Pate and Platt are very good as two of the Indian-hating Shipley brothers. Pate's character is nearly as conflicted as Madison's, because he can't stay away from a pretty Indian girl (Kathryn Grant). Felicia Farr is excellent as a person who sympathetic to natives and falls in love with Madison.

This is tautly plotted, effective western that highlights prejudice. Don't expect wall to wall gunfights but a solidly told story that collates all the elements in a 70 minute running time. Good characterisation, cinematography and superb camera work is in display here.

Reprisal! Is directed by George Sherman and written by David P. Harmon, Raphael Hayes and David Dortort. It stars Guy Madison, Felicia Farr, Kathryn Grant, Michael Pate, Edward Platt, Otto Hulett, Wayne Mallory and Frank De Kova. Music is by Mischa Bakaleinikof and Technicolor cinematography by Henry Freulich.

Frank Madden (Madison) is half white, half Indian, in order to be allowed to own his own land in the County of Kendall, Texas, he keeps his half-breed status a secret. Acquiring a ranch and land, Madden quickly falls foul of the Shipley brothers, a trio of thugs known to be Indian killers and intent on making Madden tow their party line.

Nice, in fact something of a treat for Western fans. On plot terms it doesn't sound like much, the sort of run-of-the-mill Oater so prevalent in the 1950s, but there's a lot going on psychologically here to run along side the shoot em' ups, fisticuffs and simmering passions. It starts off very strongly with a court case as the Shipley brothers are on trial for lynching two Indians, clearly guilty, they of course get off because most of the town are Indian haters. This instantly sets it up for half-breed Madden to be constantly at war with himself, he wants to just settle down and earn a crust, but can he keep turning the other cheek as his half kin are abused and used by the very townsfolk he rubs shoulders with?

He keeps winding up in situations where someone needs his help, and it frustrates him greatly, and when his Indian grandfather appears on the scene to offer some sage advice, his emotional confliction goes up still further. The back drop is a town bursting at the seams with racial tensions, then throw in revenge, mob justice, inter-racial lust and murders, you got yourself a film packing in as much as it can in its relatively short running time. It looks nice with photography out of Tuscon, the acting is up to the standard of the production, Grant and Farr are twin delights for the eyes, and Sherman once again proves to be a good old pro who knew his way around a Western.

One of the better "B" Westerns of 1956, well worth catching by duster fans if the chance arises. 7.5/10

A delightful surprise...this small, rich wonder of a film surely offers up Guy Madison's best performance...as the compromised cowboy....trying to deal with the racism of his villainous neighbours and their hangers-on. So refreshing to find a 1950s western which goes full-bore at the question of US xenophobia re their dealings with their first nations people. Not a political diatribe.....good simple narrative with well-played, not overplayed, characters, good dramatic ducking and diving.

Pretty good western if you can get past Guy Madison as part Indian. Hiding his Indian blood so he can own land, Frank Madden (Madison) gets in trouble when one of the vicious Shipley brothers is killed for which he's blamed, and a lynch mob forms.

Actually, there's more plot here than the 70-minute run time can accommodate. Add the two leading lady sub-plots to the Indian sub-plot to the Shipley brothers main plot, and you've got a lot of story complications. The screenplay does a fair job of integrating them, but there's still an overflow.

The real oddity is Michael Pate playing a white guy (Bert Shipley) instead of an Indian in a western where Indians are featured. In fact, he darn near made a career out of playing Native Americans, so I'm wondering if a cast member dropped out at the last minute such that he had to switch roles. Anyway, he nearly steals the film with a lively, colorful performance.

Also, veteran director Sherman manages to inject genuine energy into the several crowd scenes, especially the lynch mob march down the street that had me really worried for the hapless Madden. Then too, the Arizona locations add a scenic touch to a B-western that could have easily cut corners and stayed in LA. All in all, it's a decent, if crowded, little western with some interesting features.

I watched this film by accident, really, but it was actually very entertaining. The actor who played Guy Madison's grandfather was particularly good. I especially liked how the Native Americans were portrayed as human beings and not ruthless killers. This film was released in 1956, which shows a great effort for the producers to make such a film. The message is about unity and the human spirit. For that time period, I found the movie unique. It kept me watching. Plus, Madison has an interesting appeal as an actor because he never really made it big here in the United States. We know not all actors are great actors, and Madison wasn't phenomenal. However, he wasn't bad, either. So why wasn't he more of a major star? And even though I don't watch too many Westerns, I'd rather watch Madison than most of the other Western stars of that time. Like I said, interesting...