Die Rache der Gejagten

I am a big fan of this film and found the TV mini series "Children of The Dust", the version fans should look for. At least 20 minutes or more are cut on the DVD version of this film.

I would also suggest viewers who enjoyed this film to check out the book there is a more rounded storyline with Corby/Whitewolf and Rachel, more on Black History and Buffalo Solders. There were two many storylines for the series or this film.

Sidney Poitier only shows he gets better with age, the talent just keeps growing the chemistry between his character of Gypsy Smith and Regina Taylor were wonderful viewing. I also enjoyed the Billy Wirth/Joanna Going storyline, they seems to play off each other well.

Billy Wirth is of course the "Model of Indian Vision". The look, the attitude, the dream of every woman who was wanted to be carried off in one of those romance novels by a native hero. Worked for me also.

Much more could have been done with this storyline but it did give the viewer a brief glimpse of racial problems back in the 1880's, white take over of native schooling, lack of Black pioneers to setup towns in the west. Michael Moriarty (Maxwell) as always a great actor comes across as a very caring and confused teacher, not sure if the "whites" should be interfering with native culture.

For anyone who enjoys characters and watching them change this film is for you. I thought the chemistry between Poitier's character and that of the orphan Whitewolf very moving and thought Wirth and Poitier worked very well together. Billy Wirth did some of his best scenes when working with Poitier.

Going got on my nerves sometimes when you want to just stop and shake her or give her a " wake-up and grown-up" call. But on the whole it was a great evening of entertainment.

Look for the two tape version of this mini series if you are a fan you will really see the difference.

I'll admit to only wanting to see this film because of Billy Wirth, which for me was well worth the eleven dollars I spent on the DVD, but for fans of more violent westerns, this isn't the film for you. It was was good movie but I was expecting more action. The dialogue at times was kind of crappy as well as the acting, mainly from Joanna Going but the story was good. Billy Wirth most certainly looked the part of a Native American and did a pretty good job playing one, too. I'm not sure which storyline I liked better, Sidney Poitier's romance, Billy Wirth and Joanna Going's romance, or the ounce of action involved in the movie but it worked. Overall, this was a good movie that's worth the watch.

But the DVD I bought from Amazon had about an hour cut out. One reviewer said it was about twenty minutes or more I believe but it was at least an hour. I knew the series had been chopped up but since I love it so much, I decided to get it anyway. I don't know why it could not have been left whole.

"Children of the Dust" is a most unusual western movie that was made for TV. Unlike most westerns, this one talks a lot about bigotry and violence against Native Americans and blacks by the local Klansmen. It's worth seeing, especially since it stars Sidney Poitier and he was an incredible actor.

There were things I liked and disliked about this film. I appreciate the look at 18th century racism and found a couple of the plots very compelling...such as the emasculation of the sheriff and his revenge against the scum that hurt him. But, at the same time, I thought occasionally the film seemed a bit like a bad romance novel...which in some ways deflected from the stories. Now I am not saying the romance between the white lady and the native man was bad or unnecessary...but it did seem like the emphasis on their passion was distracting. As a result, the portions about the mistreatment of blacks on the prairie seemed stronger and more to the point.

By the way, I am not trying in any way to gloss over the mistreatment of black people in the west...though in many ways, the actual life was far better for a black American than those who remained in the South. There were more opportunities, less racism AND many of the US Cavalry soldiers were black...though you seldom see this in most films about the period.

I have given this movie a six because of the power of the story. I would have given it a higher mark but for the historical inaccuracies of the story. Its strong point was the fact that it showed black people in the west where they surely were, but in this movie present the first of the inacfcuracies. It would not have been abnormal at all for black people to have been in Oklahoma territory in the latter part of the 19th century. They had been there since the trail of tears. Some of the transplanted Natives were slave holders and simply brought their slaves with them. Second, a black Marshall in that territory would not have been strange at all. Gypsy Smith could have easily been modeled after Bass Reeves who was one of several Black US Marshalls who patrolled Okla territory. While there has always been problems between black and white Americans, it did not really occur in Oklahoma until it became a state. Thirdly, I can't believe that the light bulb which was only invented in 1879 would have been used in a barn in Oklahoma. Great idea for a movie, but could have been more accurate.