Sur le territoire des comanches

A handsome, good-humoured Technicolor western about Jim Bowie, this time played by a laconic Macdonald Carey aided by wily old chum Will Geer.

Feisty, buckskin-wearing female lead Maureen O'Hara later recalled it as "a fairly decent western and the film in which I mastered the American bullwhip. By the time the picture was over, I could snap a gigarette out of someone's mouth".

George Sherman was definitely a western maker, though he has not made only this, he had a very prolific filmography. But westerns were a domain where he was very gifted. This one makes no exception, but the plot brings nothing really new, except terrific natural settings. I was lucky enough to see it is a awesome LBX frame and not in a f...pan and f...scan copy. Yes, a good western, full of charm and fifties atmosphere. Dana Andrews rarely played in westerns; we especially remember him in OXBOW INCIDENT. This western was curiously not produced by Universal Studios for which George Sherman made so many of his westerns: BATTLE AT APACHE PASS, COMANCHE TERRITORY, LAST OF THE FAST GUNS...

Okay he passed away bout 6 months before I got hooked on days freshmen year in college. But they had flashbacks in late 1994. And well later on..

Movie fairly standard western , with absurd Iron Eyes Cody at the beginning (he's Italian not Native America ) Only seen him in one movie (Ernest goes to Camp) and 1 ad everyone makes fun of.... Still a good actor can fool everyone... Like Scotty. James wasn't Scottish. But ye would never know it

Maureen's Irish accent , which I've never heard before shows up here now and then. Was refreshing to hear and some singing to boot. Pretty much a family western with arrows falling oddly from the sky. (did an airplane drop them ) lol oh well if you are stuck inside the house from Covid-19 why not. Trying not to watch that many serious movies at the moment. :)

Quality: 4/10 Entertainment: 8/10 Re-Playable: 5/10 cause Jim Bowie is portrayed here so I bumped it up further slightly.

Comanche Territory is directed by George Sherman and written by Oscar Brodney and Lewis Meltzer. It stars Maureen O'Hara, Macdonald Carey, Will Geer and Charles Drake. Music is by Frank Skinner and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.

A government treaty set up to protect sacred Comanche land is due to expire, just as silver has been found beneath the mountains on the land. James Bowie (Carey) has been sent to negotiate a new treaty with the Comanche leaders, thus allowing the silver to be mined without upsetting the Indians. But there are underhand plans being drawn up by settlers in the town of Crooked Tongue, a town run by feisty Katie Howard (O'Hara). Can Bowie prevent the pillaging of the sacred Indian land? Something that will inevitably lead to blood being shed…...

Good solid B Western that gets in and does its job without pretension or pointless filler. Shot in Technicolor and filmed impressively on location in Sedona, Arizona (Big & Little Parks/Red Rock), it's a film that offers an interesting story and a good sprinkling of action. Cast are mostly fine, Geer files in for the Arthur Hunnicut/Walter Brennan type role, O'Hara is spunky and a Technicolor picture (check out that gorgeous black and green frock sequence) and Carey, whilst hardly a convincing or robust Jim Bowie, plays it with restraint and works off of Geer and O'Hara rather well. The action is competently staged by old pro Sherman, who also doesn't let the pace sag, and Gertsman's photography of the landscapes (particularly Red Rock) is the high point of the production.

Problems? Well Charles Drake as Katie Howard's crooked brother turns him into a pretty tepid villain, while the big saloon punch-up is beset by amateurish punch throwing. There's also the issue of non Native American actors playing Indians, which once in a while in the 50s did throw up the odd good turn, however here isn't one of them. Though in fairness they aren't helped by the script, which doesn't exactly give the Comanche characters some telling dialogue to impact on proceedings. Good to report that Pegasus' DVD release contains a very good print, there's the odd moment of colour fluctuation, but by and large it's a neat transfer. Though you may want to slightly tone down your colour setting since Sherman and Gertsman have gone for the high contrast option for the Technicolor filters! 6.5/10

This little-seen quasi-Western from 1950 stars McDonald Carey as Jim Bowie helping his friends, the Indians, from an army of marauding white men out to steal Indian land for its silver. The action is set well before the Civil War, so it is improper to call this a Western, although on the meager budget this was shot on, there are plenty of classic Western outfits on display throughout. Carey is at his prime here, and makes for a virile and resourceful Bowie. An absolutely stunning and very youthful Maureen O'Hara is his feisty love interest, who initially is all for white folks taking over Indian land. She wears some silly outfits that look like they came from a Roy Rogers flick, but she also gets to wear at least one formal dress that shows off her distinctive assets. She also gets to put on quite a brogue, enough so that you might think you're watching THE QUIET MAN from time to time. All in all, a fun "B" flick of a type now long forgotten.