Reprisal!

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.

As Frank Madden, Guy Madison has a past more mysterious than Shane's. When he buys a ranch in the Midwest as part of a long-time dream to be a respected land owner, he encounters obstacles at every point.

George Marshall directs this B western with a master's touch. His handling of the mob scene, the near-lynching, the moving confrontation between Guy Madison and the Indian patriarch, and the final shootout are electrifying. Guy Madison gives one of his best performances in what is largely an unsympathetic role.

In 74 minutes this western makes a statement about prejudice against native Americans that is both moving and relevant today. A-budget pictures should be as good.

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.

I watched this film by accident, really, but it was actually very entertaining. The actor who played Guy Madison's grandfather was particularly good. I especially liked how the Native Americans were portrayed as human beings and not ruthless killers. This film was released in 1956, which shows a great effort for the producers to make such a film. The message is about unity and the human spirit. For that time period, I found the movie unique. It kept me watching. Plus, Madison has an interesting appeal as an actor because he never really made it big here in the United States. We know not all actors are great actors, and Madison wasn't phenomenal. However, he wasn't bad, either. So why wasn't he more of a major star? And even though I don't watch too many Westerns, I'd rather watch Madison than most of the other Western stars of that time. Like I said, interesting...

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.