La Révolte des Séminoles

First saw this as a second feature at my local theater many years ago. Held my interest then, still does. Forget the egregious misplacement of the Seminoles to the southwest and view it for the entertainment intended. If you don't expect to see Shane or 3:10 to Yuma, sit back and relax. For a 50s "B" western, not bad.

This western has a small budget look and the familiar plot of the U.S. cavalry rounding up Indians and returning them to their reservation. The movie is essentially that of the troopers skirmishing with the Indians and battling thirst before peace is restored. Another plot angle is a lieutenant's mixed heritage which causes romantic strife with his status-conscious fiancé. Most of the battle scenes are comprised of stock footage from other westerns which give this film a disjointed look. George Montgomery starred in many low-budget films of this type in the 1950s, and this movie doesn't offer anything new. Karin Booth plays Montgomery's romantic interest and Steven Ritch is the renegade chief whose Indians battle Montgomery's soldiers.

"Seminole Rising" was your standard B western movie typically shown prior to the A feature as was standard in theaters prior to the 1960s. These were low budget movies that allowed small name actors to gain experience and audience exposure. Therefore it is unfair to grade them by the scale one might grade an A movie like "The Cowboys", "Shane", or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".

I found it to be a basic B movie, with little to brag on and little to complain about. While some seem bewildered by Seminoles residing in Texas it is lack of education that leads to this. With but a modicum of effort one learns that following the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) about 3,800 Seminoles were "given" lands "west of the Mississippi river". Seminoles in OK and TX? Yep!

Just an entertaining little movie that runs a perfect 74 minutes sans commercials. Not a movie to watch again and again, but it can be viewed several times in a lifetime if you leave 25 years in between.

Don't tune into this one expecting to see alligators, Everglades and colorfully garbed Indians. Here, for some reason, the Seminoles are in TEXAS, riding the plains, living in Teepees and wrecking havoc. This is another of the cheapies, made in the 50s using much stock footage, much of the footage here came from "New Mexico"(1951). The story of the Seminole Indians has been done quite well in other pictures, most notably, "Seminole"(1953), "Distant Drums"(1951 and "Naked in the Sun"(1955). This is an easy one to pass up.

As previous reviewers have noted the most original feature of this Columbia western potboiler in colour is using narration by the hero's scruffy sidekick as a chorus; but that's largely sidelined when the Cavalry as usual get down to the serious business of devoting most of their energies to infighting than to fighting the Indians.

Glamour is supplied by platinum blonde Karin Booth who's obviously not joking when she declares "Getting men into trouble is not the only thing I can do!", and you know the Indian's are making a serious mistake when they hold her captive instead of just killing her.