The Raid

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.

Maybe most interesting in the movie is the conflict between the social and the political. The Confederate major (Heflin) experiences this when he gets somewhat socialized into the Union town his raiders are slated to attack. He prepares the way for his raiders by infiltrating the town as a businessman. There he meets friendly people, including a widow (Bancroft) and her son (Rettig). It's impossible not to like what he finds there. Still, he and his men have a duty to the Confederacy, regardless of personal feelings. Besides, Gen. Sherman is burning his way through the southern states. So, given the personal conflict, what will the major do.

Well acted by a stellar cast, including an unstable Lee Marvin as a Johnny Reb with an itchy trigger finger. With his distinctive looks and manner, Marvin is clearly on his way up the Hollywood ladder. The burning of the town is done to scale, though the flames are clearly controlled. Still, it's an elaborate effect, though I didn't know portable fire-grenades like those used were available at that early time.

Of course, a topic like the Civil War means neither side can be treated as evil, unlike propaganda films involving foreign enemies. So each side, Union and Confederate, gets to show good points and bad, but ultimately, each gets respect. All in all, it's a good personality western and showcase for a number of up and coming stars.

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.

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.

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.