Conquest of Cochise

I don't think so, as so many Sam Katzman productions, maybe not every of them however, but most of them for sure. Watch it only as a time waster, and also only if you are a die hard movie buff. Never look for historical facts, never with Katzman, it would be foolish. Directing is always bland, actors often ridiculous but the result rather surprisingly agreeable. It is a western about Chief Cochise and it could have been about any Indian leader: Chirf Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Geronimo.... Just non sense. Here, for the one millionth time, it is question of treacherous White dude selling booze to Indians, with predictable results.... I repeat, it is bearable. Nothing more. One thing very interesting though, the explanations that John Hodiak gives about Indians customs, for instance the water in the mouth that the Indians kids, future warriors, had to keep during a long run, without swallowing it. Thats was the only interesting thing in this tepid programmer. However I have seen far far worse and lousier. Especially from Katzman productions. Forget William Castle, the future director of som many excellent horror thrillers. He was just a yes man in this kind of films.

The Gadsden Purchase of Southern Arizona is the setting for this underrated western that has fine action, good photography and a nice music score. The plot involves the U.S. Government's attempt to forge a peace treaty between ancient enemies, the Apaches and Mexicans, the latter of whom the American troops are duty-bound to protect from Cochise's raiders. Indian-hating Mexicans and trouble-making Americans stand in the way of peace and inflame hostilities on both sides of the border. The Comanches, at war with both the Americans and the Mexicans, hope to enlist Cochise and his Apaches as allies in their war of extinction against their enemies. Robert Stack is the best-known name among a good cast of players who were veterans of many western films. John Hodiak is Cochise, and his mannered, formal bearing as the Apache chief is better than might be expected.

I remain staggered when contemplating the inconsistency of William Castle's direction. My being boggled is seemingly rooted in Castle's implementation of two stylistic systems - malformed 'Twins' as it were. The Arnie isn't present in this outing. The "Devito" system is in full force with passive direction that features a tableau frontality dominant in the staging/blocking and camera positioning that succumbs to the idea that action should pass through it or track it in the most linear fashion. Like some of the Boston Blackie films, groups of characters are staged symmetrically creating an evenness like a Moe Howard bowl cut. Hackneyed quips and stilted performances abound. I believe the AFI archival notes on the film remark that the uniforms didn't fit historically. The stereotyping throughout Conquest of Cochise would fit adequately if you upped the action sequences in quantity and quality. The stereotyping could thus be rendered parodical cartoon or comic-strip homage, and vice-versa. The authorial voice of Castle is mute in this film and sequences are connected with sterile methodical execution. As such, the 4th Wall stands strong and the story is required to tell itself. The story itself is poor and the characterization does nothing to create spectator investment. Too much melodrama and not enough action renders a comic strip story into a tepid soap opera. Romantic subplots are developed as filler and not as focused torrid affairs. The talkiness is so overt that I have to wonder whether this churned out "B" historical Western was not produced solely to serve necking teens who needed a dark anonymous escape for a couple of hours. The ethnography of this film is bunk for a contemporary audience and perhaps outdated even at the time of its release. Were these Katzman-Castle history-drama productions simply gimmicks in service of a romantic subculture among audiences? I will admit that it would be easy to pay full attention to my lover's lips and blouse buttons with Conquest of Cochise playing - there would be no chance of a distraction.

This is an interesting film of the Indians with John Hodiak as the legendary chief of the apaches Cochise, who finds himself in a quandary, whether to make war with the white Americans or with his brothers the comanches. He chooses what he thinks is the lesser evil and gets trouble with the comanches. The diplomatic efforts to make peace between Robert Stack as the white major and Cochise encounter difficulties and lead inevitably to a violent serttlement with the comanches. John Hodiak was always interesting as a character on film, always playing personalities with great integrity, and here he is perfect as Cochise, an apache chief of superior self control. He never shows his feelings, but the audience must understand them all too well. The film is directed by William Castle, who made all the Crime Doctor films, and this is made with equal efficiency with no waste on nonsense. The film is mainly worth watching because of the insight into the apache way of life that it offers, and of course there is a lady involved (Joy Page) who also knows her own mind: she actually kills an Indian here in a raid. The colours are brilliant, they always are in films of Arizona, and that is an extra credit to the film to make it more than worth while. It is one of the first major westerns that take sides with the Indians or at least shows a deeper understanding and interest in them, which makes it important in the line of westerns. Robert Stack as the major is more standard military officer routine soldier, while it is the actions of Cochise that keep you engaged.

Sam Katzman formerly of Monogram Studios probably could not believe the budget he had with Columbia Pictures for Conquest Of Cochise. Color and location shooting. I can hear him saying I know I'm not at Monogram any more.

This story about Cochise takes place as the USA has formally taken over the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the last bit of continental USA that we acquired. The Mexicans sold it to us for a tidy sum, it was mostly desert and its largest city was a desert settlement that was called Tucson. But it did sit across a possible southern continental railway route and we bought it for that purpose.

Now to enforce some law there because Cochise and his Chiracahua Apaches rule most of that bit of turf with Comanches occasionally raiding in there as well. That's what Major Robert Stack of the US Cavalry is sent there to do, make a treaty. Of course there are forces who don't want a treaty made.

Nevertheless Stack goes to negotiate with Cochise who is played most impressively by John Hodiak.

Broken Arrow which is set post Civil War has a lot of similarities and an actor who got great acclaim for playing Cochise. Jeff Chandler got an Oscar nomination for his performance. Broken Arrow got a far bigger budget than Conquest Of Cochise. Still what Hodiak did should have gotten more acclaim.

Conquest Of Cochise was not a bad film and for a Sam Katzman production its positively Cleopatra like.