La Hache de la vengeance

'When the Redskins Rode' seems intended as a follow up to Sam Katzman's earlier Columbia release 'Last of the Redmen' (1947), which had also been set in the 1750s, starred Jon Hall and employed an exotic new colour process to detail a trek across what appears to be the same distinctive Californian terrain (the earlier film was the only feature ever made in a process called Vitacolor; while 'When the Redskins Rode' is in SuperCinecolor. It looks very attractive for the most part but - as the two previous writers have both already observed - produces distinctly blurry and inconsistent results in some of the location scenes).

Set in 1753, the plot resembles many Japanese samurai films I've sat through in which high-level intrigue between rival shogunates is discussed at great and passionate length, punctuated with occasional pauses for a bit of large scale violent action. The two rival powers are here the British and the French; the former commanding the loyalty of American-Indian hero Jon Hall and 'Colonel' Washington, played by James Seay. The 18th century French uniforms occasionally used for target practice provide visual novelty, while Mary Castle and John Dehner as a pair of French spies and Gregory Gaye as Captain Saint-Pierre of Fort LeBoeuf are sneering villains worthy of an old war movie. (Considering how soon after the end of World War II this was made, it's rather startling to see the late Pedro de Cordoba as Chief Shingiss wearing a headband decorated with swastikas and upside-down hearts; while one of the goons sent to kill him blurts out that they were only following orders).

From the prolific pen of screenwriter Robert E. Kent comes this colourful historical fantasy about George Washington's early days as a loyal British soldier. He's played stolidly by James Seay, who does his best under the circumstances. Washington is trying to forge an alliance with the Delaware Indian tribe against the French, who have lined up their own set of Native American militia in an effort to assert their authority over the Atlantic Seaboard. The aging Jon Hall, an expert at playing 'non-white' characters in earlier films such as The Hurricane (1937) and Arabian Nights (1942), is appallingly miscast as Prince Hannoc, the heir to the Delaware throne and a vital pawn in the British plans. When his arranged marriage to Indian maiden Morna (Sherry Moreland) falls through, Hannoc's father Shingis (Pedro de Cordoba, who gets the film's best lines and delivers the best acting) declares his neutrality, setting in motion the reasonably well realized action sequences that dominate the final half hour of the film. Produced by cheapskate producer Sam Katzman, When the Redskins Rode is ostensibly shot in SuperCineColor, which actually seems to consist of two distinctly different types of film stock. Most of the film is bright and sharp, but there are frequent scenes shot on what seems to be washed out film stock. Thanks to the wonders of SuperCineColor and the inability of DoP Lester White to adapt the lighting accordingly, the film also suffers from some of the worst day-for-night cinematography you'll ever see. Basically, scenes at night appear to have been shot in broad daylight with a few crickets overdubbed to add suitable night time ambiance.

WHEN THE REDSKINS RODE (1951) is set in Williamsburg, Virginia and adjacent regions in 1753 and takes its plot from an actual incident involving George Washington in the lead-up to the French-and-Indian War. This account was found on a website called George Washington's Mount Vernon:

"Concerned by reports of French expansion into the Ohio Valley, Virginia Lt. Governor Robert Dinwiddie sent 21-year-old Major George Washington of the Virginia Regiment on a mission to confront the French forces. Washington was to deliver a message from the governor demanding that the French leave the region and halt their harassment of English traders. Washington departed Williamsburg, Virginia in October 1753 and made his way into the rugged trans- Appalachian region with Jacob Van Braam, a family friend and French speaker, and Christopher Gist, an Ohio company trader and guide. On December 11, 1753, amidst a raging snowstorm, Washington arrived and was politely received by Captain Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre at Fort LeBoeuf. After reviewing Dinwiddie's letter, Legardeur de Saint-Pierre calmly wrote a reply stating that the French king's claim to the Ohio Valley was 'incontestable.'"

The film does show Washington undertaking that mission for Governor Dinwiddie accompanied by Christopher Gist. And Captain Saint-Pierre at Fort LeBoeuf does indeed reject the English governor's demand. Everything else in the film has been highly embellished by the screenwriter in order to craft an efficient low-budget colonists-and-Indians action movie with good and bad Indian tribes, French spies, a femme fatale, an impossibly noble Indian hero, and a devoted Indian maiden in love with him. There are two major battles and a couple of skirmishes as well as a barroom brawl or two. Footage from a much bigger-budgeted movie about the French-and-Indian War, NORTHWEST PASSAGE (1940), is employed to spice up the action. In fact, Christopher Gist (John Ridgely) and his men are rather inappropriately dressed up like Rogers' Rangers from the earlier film so that the footage will match. He even suggests at one point that he and his men "wear green" in order to blend in with the forest, all the better to sneak up on the opposing Indians.

The protagonist is Hannoc (Jon Hall), the "prince" of the Delaware tribe, whose father, Shingiss, the "king" of the tribe, is solicited by George Washington (James Seay) for help in opposing the French and their Indian allies, the Miamis and the Wyandottes (who look a lot like Mohawks). Frankly, I didn't know Indian tribes had kings. I thought they were chiefs. But I guess Shingiss got the same elevation in rank that the film gives Washington, who's been promoted to Colonel here. In any event, Shingiss has a headband adorned with reverse swastikas, an ancient symbol used in various ancient cultures, including the Hopi, who lived about 2000 miles from where this takes place. Hannoc is loved by his childhood sweetheart in the tribe, Morna (Sherry Moreland), but the poor guy, after getting educated by Washington and Gist in western ways, has been seduced by local Williamsburg beauty Elizabeth Leeds (Mary Castle), a spy for the French who has come on heavy to Hannoc in order to try and get the Delawares to stay neutral, making it easier for the French to push the English around. Miss Leeds has weakened Hannoc's resistance to loving a white woman by claiming she's half-Shawnee.

Washington's portrayer, James Seay, was 15 years older than Washington was in 1753, but he gives a spirited performance and makes a credible future president, not yet the wax figure we see in so many more prestigious movies about the father of our country. John Ridgely, as the faux Rogers Ranger, is looser, more relaxed, and funnier than I've ever seen this actor before. Mary Castle (Frankie Adams in the excellent western series, "Stories of the Century") makes a suitably attractive temptation for the straight-arrow Indian hero, played rather stiffly and sluggishly by Jon Hall, who seemed more at home in the South Seas in THE HURRICANE (1937); in the medieval Middle East in ARABIAN NIGHTS (1942) and ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES (1944); and Ancient Egypt in SUDAN (1945). Of course, he had Dorothy Lamour or Maria Montez in those films and that might have brought out a distinct physicality in those performances. Also on hand are dependable character actors Pedro de Cordoba as the wise and judicious Indian leader and John Dehner as a French spy posing as a Brit. Producer Sam Katzman turned out a lot of low-budget historical adventures in the 1950s, many of them using footage culled from more expensive movies. This isn't the best film I've seen to tackle this particular era of history, but it's action-packed, laden with plot twists, and reasonably entertaining. I saw it on the Encore Western Channel earlier today, June 4, 2016, and the print shown, in a process advertised as "SUPERcineCOLOR," is remarkably inconsistent in its color values. The earlier review posted here, by John Seal, cites some of the problems with film stock and cinematography and I noticed the same things.

I was unlucky enough to watch this movie in black and white, instead of Cinecolor. That said Lew Landers also offred us CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS, and DAVY CROCKET INDIAN SCOUT, movies taking place during the same period, more or less, not entirely pure westerns. Yes Landers, a very prolific B director, took very early the opportunity of colour for his adventure movies. I will comment more of them later; I have plenty of his stuff in my library. This one is not particularely surprising but a good time waster, because of Jon Hall's presence, bringing his exotic charm that he saved from his Universal pictures with Maria Montez. Yes, he took this atmosphere in his luggage and brought it here !!!! I don't know how much accurate it is to the true history, concerning the details of the late eighteenth century, and George Washington, but who cares? Amazing, impressive battle scenes, very rare for the early fifties.

¨When the Redskins Rode¨ is an ordinary and tolerable Indian Western , a run-of-the-mill yarn with usual confrontation between French troopers and Britsh army with Indian tribes supporting both sides . By the time of the conflict, the boundaries between British and French colonial possessions in America were not well defined. The Seven Years' War broke out between 1754 and 1755 when the British attacked French-claimed positions in North America and captured a significant number of French merchant ships. However, the large-scale conflict that mobilized most of the European powers centered on the Austrian ambition to regain Silesia, lost to Prussia during the War of the Austrian Succession. The Seven Years' War was characterized in Europe by the siege and burning of towns, as well as by battles in the open with the massive loss of human lives. The conflict was a historic milestone whose devastating economic consequences on the European powers would eventually trigger the American Revolution in 1765, the French Revolution in 1789, the Haitian Revolution in 1791, as well as the rest of the revolutions and insurrections that culminated in the process. Of decolonization of the American continent in the XIX century. The film is set in 1753, Col. George Washington (James Seay) and frontiersman Christopher Gist (John Ridgely) are proudly introducing their protégé, Delaware Indian Prince Hannoc (John Hall) to Williamsburg, Virginia society. French spy Elizabeth Leeds (Mary Castle ) and her lover (John Dehner) plot a scheme against Hannoc (John Hall) , hoping to swing the Delawares to the French side in the impending colonial war. Things go wrong when Hannoc's father, Chief Delaware Shingiss (Pedro de Cordoba) comes to Williamsburg to sign a mutual defense pact with the British ruled by King George III that are allied along with the Mohicans , while the Wyandat and Huron tribes support the French army under kingdom Louis XV . Our protagonists must pass through a dangerous territory surrounded by hostile enemies until Fort Boeuf . Along the way, Hannoc falls in love for two beauties , the traitor Elizabeth Leeds (Mary Castle) and Indian maiden Morna (Sherry Moreland) and with Washington and his troops besieged at Fort Necessity. Untold Excitement and Tumultous Adventures...on the warpath in SUPERcineCOLOR!

The film packs thrills , fights , noisy action , crossfire , Indian charges , including natives habits with their rites and ceremonies and being entertaining enough .Moving and action-packed Western with a simple , standard story that engages the viewer until the last scene at Fort Necessity when Indians comes to the rescue . It's a medium-short budget film with comfortable actors , technicians , functional production values and passable results . Being freely based on historical events . Stars the handsome John Hall as the Indian chief Hannoc who saves Washington and his men from a French trap during a peace mission while unmasking a spy just as war breaks out . And appearance by some legendary roles as George Washington himself well played by James Seay and Delaware chief played by Pedro de Cordoba .

It contains an atmospheric and adequate musical score , as well as faded and tarnished cinematography by Lester White with a very bad print , being utterly necessary a perfect remastering . Produced in low budget by Sam Katzman , due to a combination of intelligent marketing and the fact that he ground out films so quickly and cheaply that he could cash in on a fad before it faded away, Katzman's movies seldom if ever lost money , and taking a lot of stock-footage here and there . At first he started producing action/adventure serials , where he got the nickname "Jungle Sam" , Katzman's output encompassed virtually every genre imaginable. In the 1930s he turned out Tim McCoy westerns for Puritan and Victory, the next decade he was grinding out the East Side Kids series at Monogram, the 1950s saw him making sci-fi opuses and teenage musicals for Columbia and in the 1960s he was cranking out hippie/biker films for AIP and Elvis Presley musicals for MGM. The motion picture was professionally directed by Lew Landers , rivaling Sam Newfield and William Beaudine as one of the American film industry's most prolific directors, The Raven was his first feature made under his real name . Landers galloped his way around 130 films , called quickfire and almost none of them exceeding 80 minutes , they have nearly all vanished into the mists of time now, exception for his cult movie : The Raven (1935)