L'ultime combat

This is a historic film that I watched in grade school, about Chief Joseph (Ned Romero) of the Nez Perce Tribe, who leads his army to fight General Howard and his army for the Wallowa Valley.

It's a powerful film about action, drama, and struggles for the West, and great acting that showed Chief Joseph's battle against his adversaries and his plight for peace.

Grade B

When this film was made in 1975 it was almost 100 years since the Nez Perce Indian tribe made its final stand for dignity and pride. That was no longer left to them after they were ordered from their ancestral lands in Eastern Oregon to a reservation in Idaho. I Will Fight No More Forever was their Chief Joseph's immortal words as he was now concerned with simply survival of the Nez Perce tribe and culture.

The man charged with delivering this ultimatum which he regarded as distasteful was General Oliver O. Howard for whom Howard University is named after. Howard is played by James Whitmore is a figure of both duty and compassion. But as a soldier duty comes first. His conflict is brought out in many conversations with Sam Elliott playing one of his officers who quite bluntly said he never signed on for duty like this.

The film sticks pretty close to the facts as they unfolded in 1877. What the back story of the film is about is that the Nez Perce up to that point had not taken up arms against the whites, preferring to accommodate. When they could no longer do that however, Chief Joseph who had no military experience as such proved to be a resourceful commander, leading his tribe in a defensive retreat that lasted for months.

Ned Romero plays a magnificent and proud Chief Joseph who in the end has to bow to reality. This is a fine film, highly recommended about a bitter and distasteful yet heroic incident from the Nez Perce point of view.

"I Will Fight No More Forever" is not your typical shoot em up western. The dialog is interesting and profound. Ned Romero as the Ned Perce Tribe Chief is sorely conflicted about how to best preserve his way of life. Fight, run, or submit to the United Sates Calvary. James Whitmore as the pursuing General is similarly conflicted with his beliefs and his orders. The Indians are not characterized as mere savages, but as human beings whose way of life has been obliterated by the White Man. Sympathies abound and the battle scenes are secondary to the dialog, which is some of the finest in any film. Do not think of "I Will Fight No More Forever" as some liberal propaganda, because it it much too entertaining, to be regarded as merely a message movie. - MERK

"I Will Fight No More Forever" is an overlooked Western from 1975, possibly because it was made-for-TV. Despite this, it's actually better than a lot of theatrically released Westerns from the same period or, at least, just as good.

THE PLOT: When gold is discovered on the ancestral lands of the Nez Perce (in the NE corner of Oregon and border of Idaho) their treaty is broken to allow settlers to move into their lands, which results in conflict. The US Army seeks to subjugate the tribe of 800 and relocate them to a reservation, but Chief Joseph – Native name: Hinmatóowyalahtq'it – resists, winning 18 engagements against the Army with only a little over a hundred warriors. These engagements include four major battles and four fiercely contested skirmishes. The Nez Perce War lasted four months and involved a 1200-mile chase. Joseph and his tribe ultimately sought refuge in Canada. Will they make it? See the movie.

Being a TV movie from 1975 I was expecting to be let down; I was anticipating white actors playing Natives and a roll-your-eyes tone, but this isn't the case at all. The main Indian characters are played by Native Americans of various tribes; even Ned Romero, who plays Chief Joseph, is Chitimacha Native American (as well as French/Spanish). The ending of the film lists the Native actors and their tribal ancestry.

As for the tone, although you can't expect "Dances With Wolves" quality in a TV Western from 1975, it's not that far off. Although the portrayal of the Indians is too "Hollywood-ized" in that they're perhaps overly noble and virtuous, it rings true nevertheless. There's a great scene where a few braves break into a saloon to enact revenge on the white trash who murdered a tribesman. The warriors are painted and the patrons are convincingly scared for their lives. The ending of the sequence makes a powerful statement.

James Whitmore and Sam Elliott play the general and colonel of the Army respectively and you can witness their struggle with performing their duty and doing what's right. They respect Joseph and his warriors and realize that the tribe only wants to retain their freedom, and understandably so: it was promised to them via a treaty. The officers know what they're doing is unjust, but they're under orders.

Composer Gerald Fried of Star Trek fame (e.g. "Amok Time") wrote the quality score and even reprises some obvious Trekian aspects. The film runs 105 minutes.

BOTTOM LINE: "I Will Fight No More Forever" inspired me to research the historical facts, which the movie is pretty good with, even supplying a screen-map detailing Joseph's 1200-mile route every step of the way. Despite being well-done, the topic is dreary and the story isn't compelling enough to give a higher grade. Still, this is a very respectable film and a must-see if you like pro-Indian Westerns and want to see the awful truth.

GRADE: B+

Yes, this is a movie. No, it is not an action flic. As they say at the beginning, this is a dramatized story. Yet, they have done a very good job of telling the story of Chief Joseph and his attempt to flee to Canada. He won every engagement against the army. Until he was 40 miles from Canada. Then he ran out of hope. Especially toward the end there are many very find points made about what led to this chasing of Chief Joseph. The movie worth watching just for that. Overall this is really an excellent documentary. A movie can only do so much. There are many excellent books written (I have read some of them) which go into far more detail. If you can't read them you won't go wrong watching this movie.