Los inconquistables

Cecil B. DeMille had been doing a series of films about American History from 1937 (THE PLAINSMAN) to 1940 (THE NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE - although actually it was a film regarding Canadian history instead). His two film in World War II were THE STORY OF DR. WASSELL, which is a war picture set in the far east - but dealing with an American war hero, and REAP THE WILD WIND (set in the Caribbean, but dealing with pirates attacking our merchant marine in the 1840s). UNCONQUERED dealt with a period that he had not covered - the pre American Revolutionary period. It would turn out to be his last historic film about America (unless one looks at THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH as a view of part of our theatrical and cultural history in 1950).

His choice was curious - he might have done a film on the fall of Quebec and deaths of Generals Wolfe and Montcalm, or a film on the American Revolution. Instead he chose events in 1763, just as the split between England and the colonies began to develop. But the events deal with the situation that led to what is called the "Conspiracy of Pontiac", where an intelligent Indian chief united many of the tribes in the Ohio Valley to revolt against American settlers and British troops, to preserve it for the Indians. The result was that many settlers and Indians were killed before the fighting ended, and Pontiac was killed. That is the story, but most is jettisoned for a fictional account of events in the Ohio Valley. The villain is Howard De Silva, intent on keeping out the colonists by arming the Indians, so that he could have a monopoly of the fur trade. He is also responsible for illegally bringing Paulette Goddard into the colony of Virginia as an indentured servant. Gary Cooper is the man opposing De Silva in his plans regarding the Indians and his plans regarding Goddard.

The film is not DeMille's best, but it's Technicolor, De Silva's performance, the appearance of Boris Karloff as a villainous Indian (he would play an Indian again a few years later in TAP ROOTS), and the two leads make it entertaining enough. But my interest in it deals with two supporting roles. Porter Hall is Mr. Leech, who is bribed (although he is aware it is a hanging offense) to send the pardoned Goddard to the colonies as an indentured servant. He's not in much of the film, but it is a nice performance. But better is Mike Mazurki. The ex-wrestler was not an actor but occasionally turned in first rate performances such as his love-struck thug in MURDER MY SWEET, and Joan Blondell's boy-friend (and moral superior to Tyrone Power) in NIGHTMARE ALLEY. Here he is a minor villain - a thug for De Silva. For most of the film he is doing De Silva's dirty work without a thought. But at the film's conclusion he is faced with a moment of truth. De Silva, Cooper, Goddard, and Mazurki are trapped in a cabin, but have weapons to protect themselves. Cooper knows that troops will be arriving soon to rescue them. But De Silva is deluded into thinking he (and Mazurki) are safe because they have been arming the Indians - he's ignoring that as a white, Englishman/colonial he's as hated as the others. He tells Mazurki to open the door and signal the Indians to let them go. Mazurki, showing a commendable intelligence, refuses. De Silva orders him again, and then he decides to do it himself. He opens the door and an arrow hits him in the center of the chest. Mazurki gets up and closes the door from the back. He then tells Cooper they'll all wait until the troops arrive. The film soon ends, but to me that moment was one to treasure. Rarely has a subordinate have such a satisfactory way of being proved correct over his boss.

Unconquered (1947) is a miracle of bad filmmaking. This is Cecil B. DeMille overindulging himself for two and a half hours, offering us a healthy heaping of camp, costumes, sexual titillation, and over the top action.

Where does one even begin? The characters are all idiots who wander from scene to scene, somehow surviving an onslaught of ridiculous events ranging from plunging from a waterfall to surviving an attack courtesy of offensive Native American stereotypes. Poor Paulette Goddard finds herself spending 75 percent of the movie trussed up, leered at, threatened with phallic objects, and in her undergarments, usually several of those things at once. I'm surprised the Code was okay with such sadomasochistic elements in the picture, but maybe they just laughed it off because it was so silly.

The cast is made up of a talented bunch, but their performances are largely uneven. Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard, and Boris Karloff seem embarrassed to be there and alternate between being wooden and cartoon-y. Only Howard Da Silva as the lecherous villain comes off with his dignity intact, knowing that when you're in schlock, you have to go gloriously all out with the camp.

The whole look of the film is studio-bound and garish, so it's not visually appealing either. If you are a connoisseur of kitsch or have a group of like-minded friends, then this turkey is a fun one.

Unconquered is a milestone in the career of Gary Cooper. It was the last of four films he did for Cecil B. DeMille and his last featured role during his stay with the Paramount studio. I'd have to say that Coop went out with an expensive bang.

The film illustrates both the strengths and weaknesses of a DeMille project. The color photography by Ray Rennahan is first rate, the eye for historical detail about the colonial period in terms of costumes and sets superb. The spectacle is only as DeMille could create it. Yet he could make such an elementary mistake by having the Seneca Indians pursue Gary Cooper on horseback. It was only the plains Indian tribes west of the Mississippi that used horses. But the public wanted to see Indians on horses, they were used to seeing Indians on horses. So DeMille gave them what they wanted.

DeMille himself in his autobiography confessed that he was not satisfied with the showdown of hero Gary Cooper and chief villain Howard DaSilva. He felt it was anti-climatic. I wish he had done it a bit better myself.

The film is based on a historical novel The Judas Tree by Neil Swanson who also wrote Allegany Uprising about the same colonial period. The story takes place with the background of the uprising by Pontiac who was trying to unite all the Indian tribes and keep the whites on the east side of the Appalachian mountains.

Paulette Goddard is a woman condemned to the gallows in London and is given a choice to go to the colonies as a bond servant. Of course she takes it and catches the eye of both Cooper and DaSilva. That's a common DeMille characteristic in his films, two men in heat over the leading lady.

DaSilva is a trader with the Indians and his reasons for wanting to keep whites out of the western territories is so he can keep a monopoly of the fur trade. He's quite ruthless in his methods, even marrying the daughter of Chief Boris Karloff of the Senecas played by Katherine DeMille. Karloff's Senecas are allied with the Pontiac Confederation and their job is to attack Fort Pitt and the town it shields, the little village of Pittsburgh.

Such events as the siege of Fort Pitt and the massacre at Venango are interwoven in the lives of Cooper and Goddard. He leaves Fort Pitt to rescue her and they both have quite a time escaping from the Senecas. The scene that is most talked about here is our hero and heroine going over Niagara Falls in a canoe chased in canoes by pursuing Senecas. What's most interesting about it is that it isn't done on location. Living up here for the past 10 years and seeing it as a kid, I can tell you the Falls doesn't look as primeval in real life as DeMille shows you how it looked in 1763. Yet even today it's quite a breathtaking site to see our intrepid two take the plunge.

Back in 1947 we certainly weren't terribly concerned about presenting the Indian point of view on screen and DeMille is a man of his times. There was a good film done about a decade ago about Chief Tecumseh and his attempt at an Indian confederation. Maybe we will get one about Pontiac and his movement.

Until then we have to watch items like Unconquered, enjoy the spectacle and fill in the blanks.

If you hate political correctness, you may love, "Unconquered." This film, from 1947, doesn't have the contemporarily familiar themes of evil settlers, or land thieves. In fact, the Indians are the bad guys in this one. The Indians, aided by a corrupt Englishman, have decided to wipe out white settlers in a race war. Gary Cooper is quick to the rescue. All the while he attempts to regain his bond slave, escape the gallows for treason, and fight his nemesis who happens to be the Indians' best friend. This is a strong film.

It's 1763 and two men Capt. Christopher Holden (Gary Cooper) and trader Garth (Howard Da Silva) taking the same ship back to Virginia from London bid for the contract of a woman named Abby (Paulette Goddard) who was given a choice between execution in England or 14 years of indentured servitude in the colonies. The winner Holden gallantly frees her and leaves the ship to join his girlfriend about to marry her . The loser who illegally sells guns to the local Seneca Indians destroys the contract and manages Abby working in his saloon . Along the way Cooper suffers assaults and has to help the settlers fight Indians and escaping from savage natives. Crimson-haired slave girl . . . desired by a man of destiny! Together they shared the thrills of the most daring spectacle De Mille ever filmed !They live again¡ Dauntless men and women who kept America unconquered ¡. I bought this woman for my own..and I'll kill the man who touches her!From A People Like This Came America's Heritage. In A Story Like This Lies America's Greatness!

Lavish film , in fact producers spent a reported 4 million dollar to bring to life this thrilling and moving melodrama , and most of it shows up on the big screen, while outstanding the heroic derring-do of Cooper including the overwhelming getaway by Gary along with Paulette over treacherous and wild rapids and falls that result to be most notable among the colorful set pieces . This is a spectacular adventure combining melodrama with improbability and garnishes it with hokum enough . Containing some splendidly staged scenes in which Gary Cooper has to keep rescuing Goddard throughout the film as well as fighting Da Silva . As Gary Cooper is very good , as usual , as the brave hero attempting to foil plans of controlling the Ohio Valley and to deliver peace belts to the Indians who have already sent out war belts. And female strring Paulette Goddard is frankly gorgeous . Adding a nice gallery of villains as Howard Da Silva as an eminently hissable nasty playing the scurvy trader , Boris Karloff making an unusual appearance as an Indian chief . Furthermore , other illustrous secondaries as Cecil Kellaway, Ward Bond, Katherine DeMille , Henry Wilcoxon , C. Aubrey Smith ,Mike Mazurski , Porter Hall, Jane Nigh, Alan Napier , Raymond Hatton and Marc Lawrence .

It displays a colorful photography from Ray Rennahan , and shot on location in Allegheny Mountain, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, , Big Mesa Falls, Ashton, Idaho, Wolf Creek, New York State,Conejo Grade, Los Angeles,Snake River, Clearwater River,Idaho . Including excellent special effects by Academy Award winning Gordon Jennings . Along with impressive production design by Hans Dreier and Walter Tyler . Thrilling as well as romantic musical score by the classic Victor Young . This vigorous motion picture was realized in Cecil B DeMille's ordinary style , supported by a magnificent second unit by Harold Rosson ; both of them made some greatests spectacles of all time .DeMille especiality was spectacle and he certainly delivers a full measure of it. Although a nimbler action filmmaker than Cecil might have made even more of the Oscar-winning effects work . Cecil produced and directed 70 films and was involved in many more . Many of his films were romantic sexual comedies , as he is supposed to have believed that Americans were curious only about money and sex . His best-known were biblical epics that further established him as the symbol of Hollywood such as ¨King of Kings¨ (1927), The ten Commandments (1923) , ¨The Crusades¨(1935) , ¨Reap of the wild wind¨ (1949) , and , of course , Charlton Heston's ¨Ten commandments¨ (1956) and he made two versions about ¨The Buccaneer : 1938 and 1958¨ that was ended by Anthony Quinn and Arthur Rosson . Rating : 7/10 . Well worth watching . Better than average