Le Sorcier du Rio Grande

Arrowhead, the mere mention of it in Western circles sometimes induces a sharp intake of breath, even a furrowed brow or two. Starring Charlton Heston and Jack Palance, directed by Charles Marquis Warren; who also adapts the screenplay from W.R. Burnett's novel, Adobe Walls, Arrowhead rewrites the Indian Wars and firmly paints the Apache as distrustful thugs.

Based in essence on real life Indian scout, Al Seiber, with Heston in the role but named as Ed Bannon here, story is set in Texas 1878 at the Fort Clark Cavalry post. Peace has been brokered and the good old Cavalry boys have arranged for the Apache, led by a newly educated Toriano (Palance), to be dog tagged and whipped off to some arid land in Florida. However, the pesky Toriano has been plotting a revolution and is ready to lead his people in an all out assault on whitey and to hell with the treaty. Only white dude who smells a rat is Bannon, who with some Indian blood coursing through his veins, hates the Redskins and will never trust them. But the Cavalry hate Bannon as well, because he is in the way, causing friction, a hindrance to their wonderful ideas for piece.

No surprises for guessing what happens next! If Warren and the big wigs at Paramount Pictures were aware of the racist overtones here in 1953? Is cause for debate. I tend to agree with the theory that puts this as a sort of anti-communist allegory, but of course that doesn't excuse the xenophobic narrative whoever is on the receiving end! Yet surely the makers were genuine in trying to make a good old Cavalry versus Indians actioner? That the picture often meanders and is not carpeted with action, is a little moot, but it is well put together, well acted and looks nice with its actual real Bracketville location filming (Ray Rennahan on cinematography). Paul Sawtell does one of his robust thematic musical scores, and fine acting support comes from Robert Wilke and Brian Keith.

It's a solid routine Oater, and can be enjoyed if you can forgive it its sins? Forgive them for they know not what they do...or something like that! 6/10

Charlton Heston plays an Indian-hating scout very loosely based on famed frontiersman Al Sieber (who, in reality, was a German immigrant who not only didn't hate Apaches but often lived with them and spoke fluent Apache dialects; he spoke almost no English because he detested American whites and refused to learn any more English than he considered necessary). He goes up against Jack Palance, an Apache he knew from his boyhood who is returning from several years at an Indian agency school that is supposed to have "civilized" him (also based on fact; many Indian children were forcibly sent to such a school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania). Heston, unlike the local military and civilian authorities, doesn't believe that Palance has been "civilized" and suspects that he's secretly planning to lead the Apaches in attacking and massacring the local white population. This is a tough and, for its time, brutal little western, well written and directed by Charles Marquis Warren, and pulls no punches in its depiction of racism on both sides; Palance hates whites as much as Heston hates Indians, and both have no compunction about killing those on the "other" side they've known for years simply as a matter of course. Palance and Heston are suitably intense in their roles--Heston perhaps a bit too much so--and the action scenes are handled very well, although the final confrontation between Heston and Palance is a bit of a disappointment. A good supporting cast of veteran western actors--Milburn Stone, James Anderson, Robert J. Wilke (not playing a villain for once), among others--contribute greatly to the film's pace and atmosphere (although the rivalry between Heston and army officer Brian Keith over a girl at the post is a bit superfluous). Well worth your time.

Considering the vast amount of Cavalry-vs.-Indians Westerns made during the genre's heyday, this emerges as a reasonably engaging entry – thanks to the pleasant Technicolor hues but, even more so, the scenery-chewing antics of its two stars (Charlton Heston and Jack Palance). I'd owned a copy of the bare-bones Paramount DVD for quite some time, but found the perfect opportunity to check it out now in tribute to Heston's recent passing.

He plays a maverick scout who, in the past, had spent some time with the Apaches; he knows them inside out and is, therefore, indispensable to the Cavalry because he can anticipate what their next move will be. The tribe has ostensibly capitulated and is heading towards the reservation but, when the current chief's son (Palance) arrives on the scene – having undertaken an education merely to fulfill a prophecy which would make him the savior of his people! – the attacks start anew, thus confirming Heston's skepticism of the whole deal (and which had practically ostracized him from his office). The film, whose title remains unexplained throughout, generally delivers in the action stakes (even if Heston and Palance's long-awaited showdown, the 'war' being resolved in single hand-to-hand combat between them, is a disappointingly hasty affair) – but is let down by a couple of obligatory romantic rivalries: Heston is torn between half-breed Katy Jurado, who's wasted, and Mary Sinclair, the widow of the Fort Commander who's also desired by his successor (Brian Keith).

Heston made a number of such minor genre fare (which, I have to admit, I had all but ignored all these many years) – including another Western penned by Charles Marquis Warren, PONY EXPRESS (1953) – before carving a niche for himself playing larger-than-life roles in a myriad big-budget spectaculars. Having mentioned the writer/director, I recently acquired another Western of his – the well-regarded and, reportedly, noir-tinged LITTLE BIG HORN (1951) which, naturally, revolves around Custer's infamous Last Stand.

Ed Bannon (Charlton Heston) is a no-nonsense scout at Fort Clark, Texas, who used to live with the Apaches. He is suspicious when the son of the chief, Toriano (Jack Palance), is returning from his education back East at the same time the Chiricahuas are meeting the U.S. Army. He solemnly warns that they will not peaceably be shipped off to Florida. Brian Keith plays the new commanding officer of the fort in his feature film debut. Katy Jurado and Mary Sinclair are also on hand.

"Arrowhead" (1953) was based on W.R. Burnett's novel wherein the author patterned Ed Bannon (Heston) after the real-life Albert Sieber. Meanwhile the film was shot at the actual Fort Clark in Brackettville, Texas. As such, it has some authenticity in its favor even while a bit marred by the dated style of its era. The problem is some people don't want ugly reality, but rather political correctness.

I don't get what the problem is. Bannon is understandably cheerless in a tense life-or-death situation while the Chiricahuas are depicted as formidable warriors who are willing to fight to the death. The movie portrays the culmination of the Indian Wars (as far as the Apaches go) in a fictitious story backed by factual material and it's not pleasant, but rather grim and brutal. It was the Indian WARS, after all, not the Indian love-in.

The film runs 1 hour, 45 minutes.

GRADE: B

I was about ten (10) years old the first time I saw this film on television and after watching it a second time most recently it still brings back those deep rooted emotions of adventure, action, fear and gets my adrenalin pumping on over drive.

Yesterday's black and white western with the unsettling dust from the thunderous horses hooves between the calvary and the Indians is still a memory rooted deep in my head that is a lost art now overtaken by todays films oversaturated with CGI, digital sound, and lousy script writing.

Charlton Heston, Katy Jurado, Jack Palance, Brian Keith, and Milburn Stone, add enormous street cred to this classic western and I always enjoy these 1950's black and white westerns. I have now watched it at least three times and if I am lucky enough to live into the next decade I will most likely watch it again....and again....and again.

I give the film a stellar 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.