Soulèvement en Arizona

I am surprised that no western buff has noticed the resemblance between this one and Hugo Fregonse most iconicic feature, at least in some scenes, when the lead characters wait for the indian attack. But Lee Sholem is definitely not Fregonese, this is maybe here his best movie. He was no more else than a B movie director, without any ambition. The producers of this film were careful about it and the director followed, and that's good enough for me. Stephen Mc Nally and Julie Adams bring their talent and screen presence for the best. The Indians are once more not shown as bloodthirsty beasts. This is an excellent grade B western for me. Don't miss this powerful scene where Indians come to their enemies to get food by barter, not to get fire arms but ONLY FOOD to survive. Poor Indians who were cheated by the Whites. A very powerful, poignant moment, very surprising for such a B picture.

An engaging western with a bit meat in the character department, and consequently there's some talking but the exciting action sequences prevent the film from becoming dull. The underrated Stephen McNally plays the hero for a change and Julie Adams brightens the film with her beauty, dresses and sympathetic characterisation. But it's Hugh Marlowe as a cavalry officer who steals every scene he is in.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Universal Technicolor western. As usual. Even when the plots are, say, more bare than this one, I just love seeing movies from the days when actors knew how to act; and the Technicolor! Well.....

It's understandable that there are those people who take down such a film by: pointing out its historical innacuracies, or, mentioning the so unrealistic reality of leading lady Julia Adams having enough gorgeous gowns to open her own dress shop.....and this in the middle of nowhere.

Those are always very true complaints. But heck, when one of my favorite leading ladies is in another Universal technicolor western, I want to see those many colorful gowns just bursting with Techni-color!

One reviewer judged Adams having all of those gowns to be "ridiculous."

Another mentioned how he loved seeing Adams in those "tight fitting gowns. Yum"

I'm another "Yum" vote!

Familiar Faces, Steve McNally, Jack Kelly, Hugh Marlowe, and Julie Adams Fill the Technicolor Frame Nicely.

It Seems an All-Out Effort to Infuse some Action, Suspense, Romance, and Govt. Vs Apache into a Laconically Paced Picture that Sputters.

The Talky Script Vacillates between Apache Angst, Government Fork-Tongued Treaties, and the Love-Interests of the Hemmed In White-Folks.

The Male-Female Alliances are Forever Switching Around, with the Clinging Dresses of Julie Adams and Jaclyn Greene a Highlight.

The Calvary Colonel's Xenophobia and the Tit for Tat Tale of the Apache Chief and the Soldier is as Boring as Possible.

Good Production Values Help but there is just too Much Talk.

The Action Lacks Flare or much Suspense and is Less than Visceral.

It's a By-the-Book Mediocrity.

Hardly Indistinguishable from the Many, Many, 50's Westerns.

For Western Fans who are Completest, its...

Worth a Watch

And Perhaps Others with Low Expectations.

Universal made a number of these modestly budgeted Technicolor westerns during the 1950's, usually starring Audie Murphy. Here, it's veteran bad guy McNally in a good guy departure from his usual. The movie starts off with an eye-catching chase across scenic red rock country, but soon moves indoors to the way- station. At that point, the characters multiply and, unfortunately, so does the talk, while the action turns mainly to soap opera with Indian complications.

Actually, my main gripe is with the two girls. Unhappy wife Ann (Greene) over-does the unhappy part by looking and acting like she just swallowed a big lemon, while the gorgeous Adams is decked out in enough finery and elaborate eye make-up to impress a queen. Now, I'm ready to suspend some disbelief in a western, knowing how preoccupied Hollywood and its leading ladies' are with glamour, but Adams' glamorized appearance here in the middle of Indian country is little short of ridiculous.

The plot itself is a well-worn one of Indians jumping the reservation and attacking whites. It's notable, however, that by the mid-50's Hollywood has been forced to recognize that Indians amount to more than convenient canon fodder for the cavalry. Here, the Apaches are provided recognizably human traits, especially the chief (the blue-eyed Barrier), while the cavalryman colonel (Marlowe) comes across as cruel and blood thirsty, certainly a reversal of the usual.

Given all the character complications, it's too bad the studio didn't assign a director more attuned to dramatics. Instead, director Sholem moves the dialog along in pretty bland fashion, draining away whatever intensity and suspense is in the script. All in all, it's a pretty undistinguished western, one that I doubt would have improved even in its original 3-D.