User reviews

I watched the movie "The Raid" this morning on satellite TV with interest. I only learned of my relative, Col. Bennett H. Young, a few weeks earlier. When Bennett Young was a Lieutenant in the Army of the Confederacy he led the raid on St. Albans, VT. Van Heflin portrayed Lt. Young, though by a different name, and as usual Hollywood spruced the story of the raid up with a romantic twist with Anne Bancroft's character. Lt Young did in fact flirt with a lady, taking her out for a meal and later she took him for a tour at the Governors home. This was all intelligence gathering. In his later years he did send this lady $3.00 asking her to send him copies of newspaper clippings detailing the raid. Lee Marvin's character did not exist nor did the tale of his murdering a soldier in town. There was no calvary of soldiers in town before, during, nor soon after the raid. After the raid invalid soldiers were recruited from military hospitals to guard the border towns of Vermont. It was in fact towns people who gave chase to Lt. Young's band of raiders who fled into Canada. Equally entertaining is what happened afterward in Canada. This information is completely missing from the story in "The Raid". For those interested, it is worth searching for the reading material on the internet. Simply search "St. Albans Raid" Still the movie was interesting with a fine cast of characters who, as usual, delivered their best. The movie is recommended viewing as is further research for the full and accurate historical story.

A good film that moves along at a pleasing rate, helped by a good cast, including a young Lee Marvin, an equally-young Richard Boone before his face became lined (but he still plays a troubled person) and the distinctive John Dierkes (the "Gaunt Man" in "The Red Badge of Courage").

This film pairs with another, "The Siege at Red River". Both feature a Southern officer working undercover in Northern territory, both feature Boone, and both stars have the first name Van. But compared with Johnson in TSARR, Heflin's conscience is only slightly troubled by the consequences of his actions; indeed a web search for "St Albans 1864" suggests that "The Raid" greatly magnifies the arson Heflin's men cause with "Greek Fire" - apparently only one shed was actually burnt down. (This contrasts with the way the film "Quantrill's Raiders" greatly underplays the notorious attack on Lawrence.) Also, it would seem, in fact the raiders dropped a lot of the money from the banks.

My only slight criticism was that already voiced by other commentators - the smartness of the Confederate uniforms. On the plus side, the film avoids instant romance between Heflin and Bancroft (though they're obviously attracted to each other) and there's no mawkish bonding between the former and Bancroft's son.

Not that well-known a film, but well worth watching.

See it – I'm always a sucker for a good Civil War movie. If you are anything like me, you're always on the lookout for another film with a fresh depiction of that fascinating, yet tragic period in United States history. I like this one because it tells the story from the Confederate perspective. Van Heflin, Lee Marvin, and Richard Boone star in this exciting and relatively unknown film about a band of Confederate Rebels who escape from a Union prison camp. They escape to Canada, and start planning "The Raid" on a Northern Yankee town. Of course this movie is very "old-fashioned," but I guess that's why I like it. 3 action rating

There was a time that if you mentioned the Civil War in motion pictures, you could name four or five titles: BIRTH OF A NATION, ABRAHAM LINCOLN (both by D.W.Griffith), SO RED THE ROSE, THE GENERAL, and GONE WITH THE WIND. There were other films (THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND about the assassination of Lincoln and Dr. Mudd's martyrdom). But no films touched upon the major battles as such - until the 1950s. In 1951 John Huston filmed THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE. The Stephen Crane novel is fiction, but the battle it chronicles (according to Crane) was Chancelorsville (May 1863). The next time an actual battle was filmed would be the "Shiloh" segment in John Ford's HOW THE WEST WAS WON. Ford (who also had done THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND) did THE HORSE SOLDIERS, based on the raid by Col.Benjamin Grierson into Mississippi in 1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign. Aside from a reference to it in THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (where Errol Flynn, as George Custer, led a charge of some importance), Gettysburg did not become a film until the 1990s, when Ted Turner made a pretty accurate film of that battle from the novel THE KILLER ANGELS.

The only film, aside from these, dealing with a land battle of sorts in the Civil War that dates from the 1950s is THE RAID, with Van Heflin, Richard Boone, Anne Bancroft, and Lee Marvin. Curiously enough it is also the only American film dealing with the savage turn in Confederate strategy that appeared in 1864. That year a raid had occurred on Richmond, led by Col. Ulrich Dahlgren, a Northern soldier (his father was an important Admiral). Dahlgren was killed, and the Southern leaders claimed papers found on him actually showed that Jefferson Davis and his cabinet were to be murdered by the raiders. Lincoln and the Northern authorities denied this (the controversy about the "Dahlgren" Papers lingers to this day). But Confederate strategy began to formulate fifth-column activities, such as sending infected clothing to northern cities to start epidemics, setting fire to New York City (in November 1864), seizing a warship on the Great Lakes, destroying Northern railroads, planning an insurrection in the Midwest with Copperhead leaders, and attacking towns in New England and the Midwest from Canada. The raid on St. Albans in October 1864 was one of the few planned activities that came off without any real hitches, and surprised the North disagreeably.

The raiders were centered in Montreal and Toronto, and crossed the border into Vermont where they attacked and robbed the banks in St. Albans. One civilian was killed, but the raiders managed to cross the boarder back into Canada safely. However, the Canadian authorities (under pressure and threats from the U.S. government) kept the Confederates under close confinement for months. No further raids could be attempted.

THE RAID fictionalizes well this story, giving it's leader (Heflin) a conflict between his attachment to Bancroft and her son (and his friendship with the citizens of the little town) and his duty to his Confederate government and comrades. In the end he follows his duty, and his last look back at the burning town, as he reaches the boarder, is the realization that he can never hope to see what he has given up again. Besides Heflin's fine performance, Richard Boone (currently gaining his television fame as Paladin on HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL) is excellent as a Northern veteran with one arm, who is pitied and somewhat despised by his neighbors and Bancroft. He turns out to be the only one in town to return fire on the Confederates, and gains back the respect that his crippling injuries had briefly lost for him. In all, it is a worthy little film, and shows how a curious little anecdote can sometimes blossom into a decent movie.

I saw this film as a kid back in the 50's and I remember enjoying it very much so when I had the chance of watching it again recently on TV I wouldn't miss it. I was also interested in "The Raid" because it was directed by my fellow countryman Hugo Fregonese who directed several pictures in Hollywood in the 50's mostly action features.

It was a pleasant surprise to find out that also as an adult (nearly 50 years later) the film stands for me as a good and entertaining one in its genre. Fregonese's direction is prolix and adequate, with no major bumps, and sustains the interest in the story all along. It is also true that a good cast helps him a lot with really convincing performances by Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone and a very young Lee Marvin among others.

In my opinion, "The Raid" is an unpretentious but most watchable action film based on true facts that occurred in 1863 during the American Civil War. Along with the interesting "Blowing Wild" (with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck) this one of Fregonese's best films from his Hollywood days. Good for him!

A group of Confederate prisoners escape to Canada in a plan to revenge the destruction of Southern communities . As they plan to avenge by first taking over , and then robbing banks , sacking and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont . To get the lie of the land , their leader spends a few days in the northern town close to the Canadian border . As Maj. Neal Benton (Van Heflin) finds he is getting drawn into its life and especially into that of an enticing widow Katy Bishop (Anne Bancroft) and her son Larry Bishop (Tommy Rettig) . Meanwhile , his men (Lee Marvin , Peter Graves , James Best , John Dierkes) infiltrate the township , confronting emotions and dangers .

The picture gets Western action , shootouts , a love story , and intrigue is slowly but surely built up , being quite entertaining . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . This was the picture that served as a springboard John Arden in writing his play ¨Sergeant Murgrave's dance¨ . The picture contains an agreeable and feeling relationship between Van Heflin and Anne Bancroft , as growing respect for the widow with whom he lodges . Cast is frankly magnificent . Nice acting by Van Heflin as Confederate officer leads a group of soldiers with whom has escaped from an Union Prison Camp and Anne Bancroft as attractive widow . Spectacular ending including a savage massacre is powerfully staged . Excellent scenarios and adequate ambient with Lucien Ballard's (Peckinpah's ordinary cameraman) typically moody cinematography . And thrilling as well as atmospheric score by Roy Webb.

The motion picture was compelling and professionally directed by Hugo Fregonese who makes a superb use throughout of an alright pacing . Hugo was an Argentina director who emigrated to Hollywood, then became technical adviser on latino themes at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, and subsequently under contract at Universal from 1950 to 1952 filming ¨Man in the attic¨ with Jack Palance , ¨Blowing wild¨with Gary Cooper , ¨Decameron Nights¨with Joan Fontaine , ¨Harry Black and the tiger¨with Steart Granger . Spent the rest of the decade in Europe directing Euro-westerns as ¨Savage Pampas¨ and potboilers as "The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse" , Terror as "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" before finishing his career back in the country of his birth . Rating : 7 , Above average , worthwhile seeing .

This interesting flick , factually based Civil war western , being the facts the followings : The St. Albans Raid was the northernmost land action of the American Civil War. It was a controversial raid from Canada by Confederate soldiers meant to rob banks to raise money and to trick the Union Army to divert troops to defend their northern border against further raids . It took place in St. Albans, Vermont, on October 19, 1864 . The confederate men staged simultaneous robberies of the city's three banks. They identified themselves as Confederate soldiers and took a total of $208,000. During the robberies, eight or nine Confederates held the villagers at gun point on the village green, taking their horses to prevent pursuit. Several armed villagers tried to resist, and one was killed and another wounded . Young ordered his men to burn the city, but a lot of bottles of Greek fire they used failed to ignite, and only one shed was destroyed by fire. The raiders escaped to Canada, despite a delayed pursuit. In response to U.S. demands, the Canadian authorities arrested the raiders, recovering $88,000. However, a Canadian court ruled that because they were soldiers under military orders, officially neutral Canada could not extradite them. Canada freed the raiders, but returned to St. Albans the money they had found . The raid served to turn many Canadians against the Confederacy, since they felt that Canada was being drawn into the conflict without its consent. The Confederate agents in Canada realized this and no further raids were made.

In black and white movies, when Van Heflin shows you his big, weepy eyes, you don't stand a chance. In glorious Technicolor, when he turns his baby blues on the camera, you have to restrain yourself from crawling into the television and giving him a hug. In The Raid, he manages to make you feel sorry for the bad guy. He plays a Confederate soldier out for revenge on the burning of Atlanta, leading a band of undercover Southerners on an attack on a town in Vermont. Included in his group is Lee Marvin, an insurance policy that you'll always have someone to hate more than Van Heflin.

While hiding out and plotting, Van establishes a new identity so that everyone in town will like him. He takes a room in a boarding house run by the respectable widow Anne Bancroft, makes friends with her son, and pretends to be a respectable Yankee. Richard Boone isn't too fond of him, especially because he's got his heart set on Anne and doesn't appreciate the competition. These are in the days before Richard Boone got typecast as a bad guy!

This movie has a bit of a slow start, but if you like Van Heflin, you'll probably want to stick with it all the way through. While he's clearly not the good guy in this movie, he's not exactly a villain, and you'll go back and forth between hoping he'll be successful and hoping he'll get exposed so Richard Boone can get the girl instead. Like this one? Check him out in the even more lovable Southern flick Count Three and Pray, where he plays a preacher who takes in a barefoot, backwoods Joanne Woodward in her first movie!

"This is a true story...it began on the night of September 26 1864, in a Union prison stockade at Plattsburgh, New York, not many miles from the Canadian border."

Tho director Hugo Fregonese's The Raid opens with the above written statement, it's not entirely accurate. Further research into what became known as "The St. Albans Raid" is required if you want the complete and unembellished story. However, The Raid is in structure and plot significantly in line with what happened back there in 1864. Lifting from the story entitled "Affair At St. Albans" by Herbert Ravenal Sass, The Raid is about seven Confederate prison escapees who infiltrate the community of St. Albans and plot a second front. As the town is gleefully praising General Sherman's march towards Savannah - and throwing auctions to sell off mementos of slain "Rebel" soldiers, the "Rebs" are fashioning bottles of "Greek Fire" with which to torch the town as they plunder the bank of all the town money.

Naturally all doesn't go to plan, as an on the edge soldier puts a spanner in the works; and the "Reb" leader, Maj. Neal Benton (aka Neal Swayze), finds a conflict of interest as his relationship with Katie Bishop and her son starts to form. All of which helps to make The Raid an engrossing picture outside of its already high interest point for being a "Confederate" movie (how many can you name about the "Rebs" winning for example?). More so when one knows that the film doesn't revert to genre formula, it threatens to, but Fregonese and his crew are not interested in serving up standard fare, with the ending a particular point of reference to ram home that opinion.

Van Heflin is excellent as Benton/Swayze, put this along side his work in other Western outings like Shane and 3:10 To Yuma, and he surely is a candidate for the genre's most undervalued actor award. Watch as he has to suppress various forms of emotion - anger as the town around him rejoices in his fellow countrymen's misfortune - affection as he gets close to the mother and son, and torn as he ultimately must abide by his war driven codes. A fine turn from a very fine actor. Anne Bancroft is suitably bright eyed and deep down strong as Katie, while Richard Boone does a nice line as the troubled, and limb absent Captain in desperate need of redemption. Lee Marvin, Claude Akins (uncredited) and Peter Graves man up the support cast, and a nod of approval is warranted for young Tommy Rettig as Larry Bishop.

Filmed on location at Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, I find myself once again searching for superlatives about Lucien Ballard's cinematography. This is a "gorgeous" film to look at, the Technicolor crisp in tone as the brown and orange hues of St. Albans play host to the shimmering blues of the soldiers uniforms, all of course about to be engulfed by the crackling spurts of the raiders incendiary use of "Greek Fire". I fell in love with this movie quite early on in proceedings, come the finale, I knew I just had to have it in my own collection, I can only hope that this picture finds a new audience from which to give it the love it dearly deserves. 9/10

Van Heflin stars and leads a group of escaped prisoners, re-formed into Confederate cavalry and operating in Canada that raid St. Albans, Vermont and burn the town down after looting it. It's a little known incident of the Civil War as the Confederacy in a last gasp takes the war north to about as far from the Mason-Dixon line north as you can get.

Always present in the background is the reminder that General Sherman is moving through the south leaving a lot more destruction in his path. Sherman said war is hell and he tried to make it so. The Raid on St. Albans was a reminder to the north that hell is a two way street.

Before The Raid, Heflin goes to St. Albans to scout the terrain and in the process becomes more than friends with Union widow Anne Bancroft and her young son Tommy Rettig. It's probably the most difficult part of Heflin's role. He is a likable and decent man, but war forces decent people to do indecent things. We're always reminded that his home was burned and wife killed during one of Sherman's raids.

Peter Graves, Claude Akins, James Best, and John Dierkes all familiar faces are part of Heflin's troops. Lee Marvin is also and he has a most memorable role as a soldier so thirsting for payback that he forgets all kinds of discipline.

Richard Boone plays a Union soldier who has left the front and runs a recruiting station at St. Albans. He too is a man with many secrets. What's not secret is his interest in Bancroft and his jealousy of Heflin in that regard.

The Raid is a fine film and Van Heflin leads a distinguished cast with his usual professionalism. Those people at St. Albans got a taste of what New Yorkers felt on 9/11 albeit much different circumstances.

It is sort of sad that Van Heflin did not get his due as a western actor, especially during the 1950s...most people think of Burt Lancaster, Audie Murphy, Fred McMurray, James Stewart, maybe Gary Cooper too...but Heflin made two total classics in the 50s, "Shane" with Allen Ladd, and "3:10 to Yuma" with Glenn Ford another noted 50s western star...also he was a iron clad major in "They Came to Cordura" in 59....in "The Raid" he is a rebel officer with a dual role, as he contrives with a band of rebel soldiers to overtake a small Vermont town toward the end of the civil war...further raids into unprotected towns by the rebels were planned to loot money and goods to be diverted into funds to buy war goods from foreign countries....Some very solid actors, very early in their careers make this a top notch wester, Lee Marvin, Peter Graves, James ("Roscoe") Best, Ann Bancroft, and a young Richard Boone, the man with the craggy face and disposition he made a career of....also a young Tommy Rettig, who went on to star in the "Lassie" TV series of the 1950s stars.... This is a top notch western and a true story to boot. Historical news reports from historians verify the raid on Vermont as a true civil war story. Lee Marvin in a good role as a renegade rebel solider who makes more trouble for Heflin that he bargained for as he gets drunk and threatens to blow up the whole "raid".....lots of plots and subplots....surreal part of this film is the rebel soldiers who were riding around with nitro glycerin in their pants and coats used to start fires in the town...everyone knows nitro is highly explosive to vibrations, whew!!! This is a very enjoyable civil war tale with top notch actors. Remember seeing this movie as a kid in 1954, but TV version of this film left me scratching my head as I remember Tommy Rettig coming into Heflin's room and seeing his rebel uniform in a chest, not on Heflin as he wore it in a hotel room.....did I miss something from seeing this film in a theatre as opposed to on TV...hard to figure. A good, solid 1950s western to see.

Ran across The Raid...

A good plot. Too bad about:

+the Southerners lacking any trace of Southern accents +Terrible post production sound- external shouting recorded in a tinny sound studio so it resembles someone inside a metal box +bad visual fx with fire and backdrops

Helfin and Bancroft a good pair tho there is something 1950's about their prim relationship (well, it was 1954). As usual the child actors are teeth grindingly bad. The star is Lee Marvin, in a minor role, coming straight out of Rebel Without a Cause and heading towards greater psycho things

Thanks to the site for telling me it was based on a real incident

I didn't dislike the film, to be honest. It was competently made. And they burned lots of stuff, so it was entertaining.

It follows a group of Confederate soldiers who escape from a Union prison camp in Plattsburg, NY.

They proceed to run an undercover operation out of Montreal, in which they target the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont, with plans to rob their banks and raze the commercial area.

They are being led by Major Neal Benton, played by Van Heflin.

Van Heflin never became a major star, but he plays the role competently...though not particularly memorably.

Anne Bancroft plays a young widow and mother, who runs an inn, and becomes the focus of a love triangle between Benton and a Union soldier who lost his hand trying to get out of the war with an injury, prior to seeing combat (though he does show some signs of valour when faced with a dire situation)...and she was pretty much the highlight of this, for me.

Despite the story being about a confederate "victory", Fregonese has not portrayed the confederate characters in a positive light.

The underlying message clearly acts as a subtle condemnation of the perspective and mentality of the south, in general.

That message being, that despite knowing what they are doing is wrong, the hate that drives their hearts tends to override everything...reason, love, human decency, etc...so they do it anyways (though it must also be noted that there is also some condemnation of the acts committed by the union- which effectively spurred this particular campaign of retribution on).

Not only is this condemnation applied to this specific act, in the specific case of this film...it's also used as a metaphor for the motivations of the south as a whole.

So it makes no sense to watch this film- like some other commenters clearly have- and think that it is promoting the confederacy, southern culture, or this particular "victory" in any sort of positive light.

But I guess if you're grasping at straws, and never were good at understanding something as complex as context...then it really isn't that surprising.

Anyways...all of this is displayed in the storyline of Benton, the main character.

He is welcomed into the town with hospitality. He falls in love with the young widow- whose husband died fighting as a union soldier. And even becomes the town hero when he guns down one of his comrades, who gets drunk and goes on a rampage (because he was at risk of exposing their whole plot).

Yet he still goes through with his plan, effectively making him become exactly the type of monster he shot his compatriot for being.

So, despite the fact that they ride away with the loot, having razed the town in the end...the moral of the story suggests, they did so by handing their soul over to an eternity of hellfire.

Making the burning bridge at the end a dual metaphor.

All in all, though, as a western...it's really quite entertaining...with a decently constructed narrative, lots of gunfights, and pretty much the entire set getting burned down with molotov cocktails by the time it's all over.

But it's no masterpiece or anything.

6 out of 10.

Kind of entertaining, but as far from the truth as can be. It's Lost Cause deliberate lies trying to make the bad guys, Confederates, seem heroic. Except for there being a raid, nothing about the film is true:

There was no escape from a Union prison.

They were doing it for money, not "revenge for Sherman's burning Atlanta." Sherman didn't even burn Atlanta, Confederate General Wheeler did.

The raiders didn't "win." Not even close. 13 of them were captured by a Union captain on leave. The raid turned Canadian opinion against the Confederacy.

And Canada's govt made the raiders return the money. The raid failed in every way.

I grew up in St. Albans and I remember as a young grade school student and old gentleman who was a witness to the event visited our school and told of us his experience. It was a thrilling to us young people. The tree where a Confedate bullet hit was still standing back in the 30's and still remember it well. Many of the old structures are still standing today. Banks , livery stable etc. The Park where the people were herded is a more or less unchanged from the Old days. Every year a local store displayed the old uniform etc of the Confederate Officer. No animosity was held towards any one and I guess Lt. Young ? even returned to visit.

This is a good film with lots of The Andy Griffith Show regulars. It was also filmed on the same set location as TAGS episodes, the legendary "Forty Acres" - where "Gone with the Wind" was filmed - and which later became the Desilu Studio lots where TAGS, Gomer Pyle, Hogan's Heroes, The Real McCoys etc were all filmed). Mayberry town landmarks such as the church steeple, the hotel, and even the courthouse are clearly visible and easily recognizable. It's an interesting sideline.

See more of this amazing place at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RKO_Forty_Acres

A great picture depicting the Civil War, and the surprise attack on Saint Albans, Vermont by Confederate soldiers. You will not see many movies wherein the movie industry deviates from the "politically correct" Northern side of the War Between The States. This one takes you mostly to the Southern side. It takes place about the time of the push to Atlanta - or the indiscriminate burning of Georgia by the then estimated (and later confirmed) mentally impaired General Sherman. The lead actors Van Heflin, co-starring the young Ann Bancroft did a tremendous job. It would be a shame for Civil War history enthusiasts to miss this exciting movie.

This fine Western is based on a little-known incident of the Civil War. Boehm's screenplay features Heflin as the Confederate officer who, after escaping to Canada from a Union prison camp with several of his men, plans to take over and sack a town just across the Canadian border in retribution for Northern Raids into the South. Marvin is the fiery officer who nearly gives the game away, Boone the one-armed Union veteran and Bancroft the war widow Heflin boards with while studying the lay-out of the town. Fregonese directs suspenseful, much aided by Ballard's brooding cinematography.

Phil Hardy

Despite its Technicolor processing, this film retains a dark, almost sinister atmosphere, as the tension mounts. Much of the center of the film is simply spent waiting, as Van Heflin, the leader of this small band of Confederate soldiers, tries to keep their secret, keep the group together with its morale intact, and becomes more deeply involved with his boarding housekeeper, Anne Bancroft. Great character acting by many sustains this picture, notably Lee Marvin as the hotheaded rebel officer and Richard Boone as a discharged one-armed veteran Union soldier. Also notable is Robert Easton as a young confederate (Easton went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful and remarkable dialect coaches). Although there is a fine bit of military action near the conclusion of "The Raid," this is mostly a film about character and the stress of relationships. A fine effort.

While the story was in part fictionalized, "The Raid" is a decent retelling of a seldom mentioned part of Civil War history. In October, 1864, a group of Confederates entered the town of St. Albans, Vermont in order to burn the town, spread terror and steal bank money to help finance the Confederate cause. It was the northern-most raid made during the war and was a bit of an embarrassment to Canada, as the raiders used the country as a base of operations.

The film starts with a group of Confederate soldiers mounting an escape from a Union prisoner of war camp. One of the leaders of these men, Major Benton (Van Heflin), would organize these men into a small band similar to Quantrill's Raiders and attack the town from Canada. But first, some of them would enter the town and pretend to be businessmen in order to scout out the town and determine the best way to mount the attack. Much of the film concerns this as well as their problems with a total screwup who is so bent on murdering Yankees that he's bound to blow their secret. At the end of the film, you see a re-creation of the raid and its aftermath. though they never really talked about the aftermath...which would make nice reading on your part!

This is a pretty exciting film. The acting is quite nice and, as usual, Van Helfin is quite good. Had he been taller and better looking, I am pretty sure he would have been a much bigger star. Additionally, the project doesn't stray too far from the facts and is a quality film throughout. Well worth seeing and far better than I had expected.