Choque de razas

George Montgomery didn't make particularly good westerns--like a lot of other western stars he was tall, good-looking, rode a horse fairly well, and was a strapping physical specimen, but he just didn't that "something" that set him apart from the rest of the crowd. He did make a few better-than-average westerns--1951's "The Texas Rangers" fits that description--but for the most part his stuff was for the lower half of a double bill, cheaply made in black and white for low-rent outfits like Allied Artists or some independent company, and one was pretty much like the next. There are two things that set this one apart, however--(1) it's in color and (2) it has Lola Albright.

Like many of his westerns, it's not particularly well-shot, even though it's in color, and is cursed with a surfeit of stock footage, much of which doesn't match the "new" footage. Fortunately, the new footage also contains Lola Albright, who, even in a long skirt and loose blouse is incredibly sexy, with that smoky, almost growling voice of hers in full bloom, and she's actually the best part of the picture. The plot is one that's been done a million times before--white boy's parents die, he is raised by Indians, complications ensue--and better, but Albright is pretty much the only reason to watch this. Stony-faced Charles Horvath plays--as he has done many times before--a villainous Indian warrior (although he's actually Hungarian), veteran character actor Ralph Moody plays--as he has many times before--a kindly old Indian chief, George Waggner directed and co-wrote the script (and didn't do particularly well in either department).

The film's cheapness shows through at every turn, and overall it's just a fair way to spend an hour or so, but not much more than that.

Pawnee is a cliche ridden mid-fifties Western made bearable by a good cast, professional direction, and some decent scenery. George Montgomery stars as a white man raised by the Pawnee Indians who must decide whether to remain an Indian and become chief of the Pawnee nation or return to his roots and save a wagon train from an Indian attack. The basic premise is old hat, and the film is loaded with stock characters includng the wise old Indian chief who seeks peace with the whites and the younger, violent war-mongering chief who seeks to kill the settlers (and his long despised white "brother" and rival Goerge Montgomery), the kindly and wise wagon train doctor, the wagon master who also becomes a rival of Montgomery for the love of a whte woman, a crusty, but lovable old coot of a settler, and so on. The film is juvenile and simplistic, but is watchable thanks to a good cast of old pros, fast and knowing direction, and excellent color photography of the scenic west. George Montgomery was a solid, leading man in many westerns of the fifties, and turns in his typically solid performance as the hero here. He is ably supported by such stalwarts of fifties westerns as Robert Griffin, Francis McDonald, Dabbs Greer, and Bill Williams. Lola Albright, an excellent, but underrated actress who later costarred on TV's Peter Gunn, gives a good performance as a yong woman traveling with the wagon train, who comes between Bill Williams, the wagon master, and Montgomery. It is noted that the lead Indian parts are played by caucasion actors and Native Americans are used almost exclusively as extras. The direction is by George Waggner, who directed the Wolfman and other horror films at Universal in the forties. Waggner is an old pro who moves the script along quickly and makes the cliches bearable while keeping the cast from going over the top in roles that could have easily become laughable. There is nothing new here, but it is a competent film which should mildly entertain western fans and youngsters who have never sat through a western programmer from the fifties.

After watching this film I thought back to 1957 when this film first came out and I wonder if anyone noticed that Pawnee was a remake of The Ten Commandments set in the old west. I guess that Paramount thought that Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures which was on its uppers at that time had nothing worth suing over.

George Montgomery plays a man who was raised by the Pawnee after his white parents were killed. At least that explained those baby blue eyes that Burt Lancaster in Apache and Chuck Connors in Geronimo couldn't explain. He's the adopted son of Chief Ralph Moody, favored so much so that blood kin Charles Horvath is jealous. Montgomery is even moving in on Charlotte Austin the Indian maid set to marry the chief to be.

It's Moody's wish that Montgomery go among his own race and see how they live and how the Pawnee can adapt in their world. Which he does by taking a job as wagon train scout for a wagon train headed by Bill Williams. And then Montgomery catches the eye of his girl Lola Albright.

I think you can see the similarities and the final climax between the Pawnees, settlers, and cavalry is the parting of the Red Sea and it all ends romantically as it did for Moses.

Pawnee is a below par western that has me wondering if Cecil B. DeMille was insulted or flattered.

This film begins with a wagon train heading west and directly through the land controlled by the Pawnee. As it so happens, one wagon in particular has lagged behind the others and is subsequently attacked by a Pawnee named "Crazy Fox" (Charles Horvath) who shoots an arrow into an older settler by the name of "Uncle Tip Alden" (Francis McDonald) before setting fire to the wagon and riding off with the livestock. Fortunately, another Pawnee named "Pale Arrow" (George Montgomery) happens to come along right afterward and surgically removes the arrow from Uncle Tip's shoulder and then takes him and his daughter "Meg Alden" (Lola Albright) to the edge of where the rest of the wagons have camped for the night. Not long afterward their only scout decides to quit and so with nobody else available to guide them through the Pawnee territory they accept the offer of a stranger who agrees to help them out. What they don't know is that this stranger is none other than Pale Arrow who may or may not have an ulterior motive. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a basic Western which, quite frankly, covered all of the bases if nothing else. Having said that, viewers looking for something to occupy themselves with for an hour or two could do worse and for that reason I have rated it accordingly.

Despite a veteran cast, this one just doesn't make the grade. The script is routine at best, and most of the location and action scenes are nothing more than stock footage, most of it gleaned from "Buffalo Bill" (1944). Ms. Albright can almost always lift a B picture to the status of "watchable" however, here she is reduced to nothing more than window dressing between old stock footage action scenes. Pass on this one.