I noticed something unusual tonight. Although I have seen most of the films of most of the most famous American actors of the 1930s-50s, I actually have seen very few of Audie Murphy movies. Because of this, I really have no idea if he was a good actor or not or whether or not I'd enjoy his movies. I have seen a few westerns as well as "The Red Badge of Courage"....but not in many years. So, I searched YouTube and found his film...one of Murphy's later outings.
When the story begins, Captain Stanton (Audie Murphy) is given command of a company of Cavalry soldiers to capture a group of renegade Apache who, for some odd reason, don't want to live on a crappy reservation. However, to capture these men, the Captain orders his men to live much like Indians...eating what they find as they travel, going without sleep and being just as dedicated as the Apache. They eventually catch up with them...but the Apache voice their gripes to him...that gold prospectors were invading their reservation lands (which really did happen in the 1870s)! What's to come of this fragile peace? And, what is to become of the Captain and his less than enlightened views of the natives?
Like too many westerns of the 1950s and 60s, the major Indian characters are all played by white guys in makeup. I don't hate this so much for politically correct reasons as realism reasons....they just don't look like Apaches. I did appreciate, however, how they had the Apache leader speak Spanish instead of English, as the Apache often spent much of their lives in Mexico...not just the US. This is just a nice touch of realism. Plus, throughout the movie, the Mescalero Apache are actually the heroes.
So is the movie any good? Yes, though I was surprised that the story made the Captain a rather stereotypical 'Indian hating' guy. Fortunately, and what made the film so good, is that over time, the Captain did change his views...especially as he saw those in charge cheat the Mescalero AND the local miners did much to stir up the war...something that actually happened in real life, especially in the Dakotas when gold was discovered on Indian territory.
Overall, a most unusual film...and a movie that seemed very ordinary but improved as I watched. It's actually an excellent film and portrays the natives in a much better way than they'd generally been shown before this.
