Geronimo

On the Arizona-Mexico border in 1883, Apache warrior Geronimo surrenders himself and his tribe to the US Calvary in exchange for food and shelter on government land; naturally, the villainous, despicable whites sell the ground out from underneath the Indians after a greedy land baron sees they have turned the hard dirt into fertile soil for farming, leading to an unwinnable war between the fading Apaches and the Americans. Mixing "fact and legend", screenwriter Pat Fielder shamefully reduces history to textbook eye-for-an-eye business. Western-adventure from United Artists is further hurt by a TV cast and budget. Chuck Connors' Geronimo wages war on the Cavalrymen, though from what we can see it's really just Pat Conway's smirking Captain who's against him. Conway, decked out with an ostentatious neckerchief, unmercifully struts his way through this thing like a smug peacock...but, at least he wasn't forced to wear a ratty black wig like most of his co-stars. Some good scenes, such as an impromptu chicken dinner at the house of a strict widow, almost makes up for the general lack of story and character development. ** from ****

I should admit that I have no idea how accurate this biopic is of the legendary Native American called Geronimo. It's probably just loosely based on the real events surrounding him, so I probably should judge the movie on its entertainment level. I thought for the most part it was an okay western. While I would have preferred a real Native American to play the title role, I have to admit Chuck Connors did well, giving his character an intensity and charisma that keeps you watching and interested despite the script problems. The script problems include the movie not really going deep in his character, and ending at a point that will make you wonder what happened in real life to Geronimo afterwards. But despite these and other script problems, I have to admit that I was never bored, so I'll give this movie a pass.

Well meaning but wooden story of how Geronimo, with fifty Apaches, came to stand off the U.S. Army. Chuck Conners gives a creditable performance as a wooden Indian, and his soon-to-be real life wife plays the woman who loves him. Most amusing for Ross Martin as a wise-cracking sidekick and Adam West, four years before he became a wooden Batman, as a sympathetic army officer.

The film begins with Geronimo (Chuck Connors) "surrendering" by agreeing on a treaty that gives his Apaches land on a reservation in Arizona. However, things quickly go wrong while on the reservation. Geronimo leaves with a band of warriors and declares war on the United States. The majority of the film is the story of this war, told from Geronimo's perspective.

While the script and direction are fairly pedestrian here (with the exception of a few fantastic shots of sunsets and landscapes), Geronimo works because of a number of excellent performances, including Connors, Ross Martin (as Mangus), Kamala Devi (as Teela), Pat Conway (as Captain William Maynard), and Adam West (as Delahay).

The film is also surprisingly complex in terms of sociological subtexts. With one clear exception (having to do with a subversive sale of land), there are no clear "bad guys" and "good guys" here. Rather, the conflicts of the film are portrayed as resulting from cultural dispositions, duty and necessity. Each character or group of characters is responsible for some behavior that is a fairly serious crime (legal or moral) in the eyes of other characters, and each is seeking an improvement of their lot, mostly with a desire that the other parties understand their position better.

However, there's no need to expect heavy-handed intellectualism from the film. On the surface, this is a quality western with a great deal of suspense, although perhaps too lacking in big battle scenes for some western fans. There are a number of smaller battles, but the focus is always on the strategy behind them rather than the battle itself, and in my eyes, that makes them interesting and suspenseful in a way that more clichéd action scenes wouldn't achieve. Geronimo is much more about a clash of cultures, and successfully spends a lot of time on Geronimo's relationships with Mangus and Teela. An 8 out of 10 for me.

You have got to give a compliment to Chuck Connors for making this fine film...he was at the height of his popularity in 1961 when this film was made as "The Rifleman"...a very successful TV western....Connors checked in his rancher duds for an Indian wig and clothes and this is one of the very best westerns made in the 60s... The story concerns the Indian chief Geronimo who outfought, outwitted and outmaneuvered the US army for a few years during the 1880s in the western US and parts of Mexico. Geronimo, a fierce warrior reluctantly accepts a parcel of land for him and his warrior band as part of a peace treaty...Little did he know in this film that a crooked army captain and crooked reservation politician was scheming to sell off his land due to a crooked land deal that paid them a considerable amount of money. Geronimo learns of this crooked deal and escapes with his warrior band and goes on the run....outwitting and out fighting the US army at every turn. Pat Conway, who formerly starred as the "Sheriff of Tombstone Territory" is cast as the crooked and nasty army captain....look for a young Adam West a few years before his Batman days as a young army lieutenant with a conscience, who feels betrayed by his crooked army captain in the treatment of Geronimo and his band. A beautiful young Indian lady, Kahali Devi is the wife and lady love of Geronimo. Look for Ross Martin as the chief friend of Geronimo, Mangus......this film is nearly two hours of good solid western entertainment albeit Chuck Conners does not look the real part of an Indian, despite all the makeup. In the end the US government realizes that the Indians have been done wrong by the government and the army and submits a peace treaty with dignity that Geronimo can accept. You will really marvel at how devious in the film Chuck Connors is in making his warrior band live and learn off of the land to survive. This is a western you will not want to miss.