El caudillo rebelde

I really like western movies but always wonder why directors don't try to be a little more realistic. I was very much surprised that some Indians had bright purple and day-glow feathers in their headwear. Now that seemed a little unnatural. And then there was the guy who got shot in the back with an arrow. Fortunately, for him, he had a big block of wood under his shirt. Unfortunately, it showed up really well in the film. Another interesting item is that when a group of riders are galloping along somewhere in the West and the lead rider decides to stop, he holds his right hand up in the air. This is to signal the riders behind him to stop too. Apparently without doing this hand gesture, all the riders would crash into him. And in classic 1950s cowboy Hollywood fashion, getting hit by one bullet will kill you, and often causes no bleeding. Of course there's the always popular one shot that takes down two or three riders. I could go on but you get the idea. If film makers would just try a little harder, their movies would be easier to enjoy and more difficult to pick apart. I'm not even mentioning the obvious since all the other reviewers have: all the lead rolls were played by white actors, not native Americans, ie Indians.

This movie is based on some historical facts about Crazy Horse, who is played as an adult by Victor Mature. I first saw this movie as a kid in the 60's and fell in love with it. However, seeing it years later as an adult, I noticed certain discrepancies, like none of the main characters were portrayed by Native people. My family is of Cherokee descent, so this was important to me. I also wondered why Susan Ball, although beautiful, looked so stiff. Victor Mature wasn't old when this was made, but he looked too old to play this character who was in his 30's when he died. Honestly, the two things that captured my attention as a kid were the fight scenes and the music. The music was heavenly when parts of the prophecy came to pass. It creeped me out as a child, but I can really appreciate the score now. The movie is not boring. Not in the least. I still watch it from time to time and it's still one of my favorites. But now, I understand that the Hollywood prejudice that laced its creation can't be compared with the reality of the Native person who inspired the story.

I don't know how faithful it is to the true story of Crazy Horse, but it is not an anti Indian western, on the contrary. Victor Mature is rather convincing in the lead role, but not as convincing as Jeff Candler in BROKEN ARROW. George Sherman was a good western film director and he did his best at Universal Pictures LAST OF THE FAST GUNS for instance. Splendid natural settings, landscapes galore and action scenes too. Awesome atmosphere helped by an adequate score. It remains classic though, do not expect unusual lines.

Typical for its time, this is a well-intentioned biography of (as it states) "one of America's greatest generals". Real Indians appear in the background, and, like they were in Ford films, they are great scene-stealers. Victor Mature, Ray Danton, and Suzan Ball are quite good. Better-than-average script, but the action scenes are only fair (it was not an expensive movie, and it seems that the violence, especially in Custer's last stand, is underplayed to accentuate War as a necessity and not a pleasure). Good Remingtonesque photography, filmed in the Black Hills.

Victor Mature is Crazy Horse in this potted version of the Lakota Sioux and the war over the Black Hills, told from a viewpoint entirely on the side of the Indians.

Originally planned as a vehicle for Jeff Chandler, but that didn't happen. Mature was quite capable of giving a strong performance, but required a good script and strong direction, which were not available here. Leading lady Suzanne Ball had lost a leg to cancer five months before filming began, and so her movement was limited; she would die four months after this was released.

DP Harold Lipstein gives some nice, woodcut-like images, particularly in the long shots, resulting in a watchable but undistinguished Universal Shaky A production. With John Lund, Ray Danton, and David Janssen.