Reprisal!

The original novel was written by Arthur Gordon, a Southerner who was educated at Yale and Oxford. During WWII, he read about a lynching in his home state of Georgia, and was so incensed by it, he came home and wrote Reprisal. The novel is a black/white story, not Indian/white, but otherwise pretty similar. Gordon's anger was based in the fact he was in Europe fighting Facists and Nazis, and back home there were people killing citizens--just like the Nazis. Plus there were thousands of black troops fighting in Europe against the Nazis as well. The injustice was too much, and so the author fought back using his novel to illuminate the issues of race and hate.

A delightful surprise...this small, rich wonder of a film surely offers up Guy Madison's best performance...as the compromised cowboy....trying to deal with the racism of his villainous neighbours and their hangers-on. So refreshing to find a 1950s western which goes full-bore at the question of US xenophobia re their dealings with their first nations people. Not a political diatribe.....good simple narrative with well-played, not overplayed, characters, good dramatic ducking and diving.

Reprisal! Is directed by George Sherman and written by David P. Harmon, Raphael Hayes and David Dortort. It stars Guy Madison, Felicia Farr, Kathryn Grant, Michael Pate, Edward Platt, Otto Hulett, Wayne Mallory and Frank De Kova. Music is by Mischa Bakaleinikof and Technicolor cinematography by Henry Freulich.

Frank Madden (Madison) is half white, half Indian, in order to be allowed to own his own land in the County of Kendall, Texas, he keeps his half-breed status a secret. Acquiring a ranch and land, Madden quickly falls foul of the Shipley brothers, a trio of thugs known to be Indian killers and intent on making Madden tow their party line.

Nice, in fact something of a treat for Western fans. On plot terms it doesn't sound like much, the sort of run-of-the-mill Oater so prevalent in the 1950s, but there's a lot going on psychologically here to run along side the shoot em' ups, fisticuffs and simmering passions. It starts off very strongly with a court case as the Shipley brothers are on trial for lynching two Indians, clearly guilty, they of course get off because most of the town are Indian haters. This instantly sets it up for half-breed Madden to be constantly at war with himself, he wants to just settle down and earn a crust, but can he keep turning the other cheek as his half kin are abused and used by the very townsfolk he rubs shoulders with?

He keeps winding up in situations where someone needs his help, and it frustrates him greatly, and when his Indian grandfather appears on the scene to offer some sage advice, his emotional confliction goes up still further. The back drop is a town bursting at the seams with racial tensions, then throw in revenge, mob justice, inter-racial lust and murders, you got yourself a film packing in as much as it can in its relatively short running time. It looks nice with photography out of Tuscon, the acting is up to the standard of the production, Grant and Farr are twin delights for the eyes, and Sherman once again proves to be a good old pro who knew his way around a Western.

One of the better "B" Westerns of 1956, well worth catching by duster fans if the chance arises. 7.5/10

Pretty good western if you can get past Guy Madison as part Indian. Hiding his Indian blood so he can own land, Frank Madden (Madison) gets in trouble when one of the vicious Shipley brothers is killed for which he's blamed, and a lynch mob forms.

Actually, there's more plot here than the 70-minute run time can accommodate. Add the two leading lady sub-plots to the Indian sub-plot to the Shipley brothers main plot, and you've got a lot of story complications. The screenplay does a fair job of integrating them, but there's still an overflow.

The real oddity is Michael Pate playing a white guy (Bert Shipley) instead of an Indian in a western where Indians are featured. In fact, he darn near made a career out of playing Native Americans, so I'm wondering if a cast member dropped out at the last minute such that he had to switch roles. Anyway, he nearly steals the film with a lively, colorful performance.

Also, veteran director Sherman manages to inject genuine energy into the several crowd scenes, especially the lynch mob march down the street that had me really worried for the hapless Madden. Then too, the Arizona locations add a scenic touch to a B-western that could have easily cut corners and stayed in LA. All in all, it's a decent, if crowded, little western with some interesting features.

Incredibly good story, denouncing racism against Native Americans - Indians - one of the earliest western to talk about this scheme, besides the great classics such as BROKEN ARROW of course. This story is excellent in terms of writing, story telling, avoiding clichés, but onlt spoiled by a foreseeable ending. What a surprise to have this George Sherman's film for Columbia instead of Universal, his usual home studio. Guy Madison plays right, good job, but not that terrific. I think this western is a bit underrated for its quality, it should be watched again. I love those Indians characters here, they attract so much empathy.