Indian Uprising

It is 1885 in Arizona, this is a mildly spectacular and so-so rendition about Indian upheavals in which an Army Captain Chase (George Montgomery) has dispersed his troops to keep the whites off of Government land thereby keeping the peace with the Apaches , but the notorious Apache leader Geronimo (Miguel Inclán) carries out a revolt against white men for the sorrow and despair of finding his tribe starving , the sheer frustration of San Carlos . The hopelessness of resistance against a foe you know you can't beat causes the rebelion . As Geronimo was a two-fisted chief of Apaches Chiricaguas, along with his band of rebel Indians . The continuous humiliation in reservoir of San Carlos caused the bursting of riots commanded by Geronimo , Mangus Coloradas and his group of Indians . They will confront American cavalry in charge of General Crook and his officers . Later on , Chase McCloud is promoted as a commandant , but soon a new commander arrives, and he is replaced , as the troops are recalled, and while the miners go after gold and they put pressure on officials in Washington. Then White Men murder a miner with an arrow so they can attack the Indians hoping the troops wipe them out when they retaliate . The End of the Mighty Apache Nation!

This one is a cheap Western mostly shot in Arizona where during the 50s and 60s were filmed several oaters . There is action and shootouts but no too much but the little action sequences are effective . Agreeable movie about the famous Indian leader set 1885 Tucson Arizona, dealing with prospectors illegally dig for gold on Apache lands, triggering an Apache retaliation against white settlers and trespassing miners, while the Army tries keeping the peace. Set on spectacular landscapes and attempts to adhere briefly to historical facts concerning life's Geronimo . The picture is regularly made , with plenty of action sequences as Geronimo and his band battle US forces , later fighting the white Americans , when they in turn, encroached upon Apache land . In the film there are gorgeous outdoors shot on location in Sedona, Arizona, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, and Iverson Ranch , Chatsworth, Los Angeles . It displays action , shootouts, violence and though sometimes is slow-moving , isn't tiring neither dreary , sustaining the interest for quite a while . The movie also portrays the sensitive side of the Native American character though is dramatically slack and some moments there's nothing left to maintain viewer involvement . This Indian-on-the-warpath tale is based on historical characters : Geronimo, Mangus , Cochise and general Crook who tries to subjugate the great Apache warrior . The motion picture didn't obtain success and was a real flop in box office , in spite of the spectacular sets , colorful cinematography by Alex Phillips and atmospheric musical score . This version of the "Geronimo Legend" results to be one of the worst considering some of the other attempts to portray the Apache war leader . Most of the Apache leaders of the period are also featured as Cochise, Mangus Coloradas, Nana and Juh , all relevant figures at the time and an influence in the struggle against overwhelming forces . If anybody out there is interested in Native American history , this movie is hardly ever worth a watch .The protagonist is a famous actor who starred B series called George Montgomery . He was born to Ukranian immigrants and was a heavyweight boxer previously becoming an actor . Besides was a magnificent craftsman and built and designed houses, plus a self-taught artist, creating bronze busts for famed actors . He starred movies around the world and diverse genres : adventures (Watusi,Steel claw) , Warlike (Battle of Bulge, Hell of Borneo) and specially Western (Seminola uprising, Fort Ti, Last of badmen, Great duel in Durango ).

Other version upon this famous character Geronimo are as follows : 1939 Geronimo with Preston Foster , Ellen Drew and Chief Thundercloud in the title role ; Geronimo by Arnold Laven with Chuck Connors , satisfactory in the lead , Laurence Dobkin , Kamala Davi ,Adam West, Pat Conroy ; 1993 TV Geronimo by Roger Young with August Schellemberg , Nick Ramus and Joseph Runningfox ; finally , Walter Hill version titled Geronimo : An American legend (1993) that is the best so far , played by Wes Studi, Matt Damon , Jason Patric and Gene Hackman and using at support cast some pretty heavyweight Native American acting talents.

The motion picture was regularly directed by Ray Nazzarro who directed a lot of Westerns in low-budget . By 1945 he fell into directing westerns for that studio, a genre and a studio in which Nazarro would spent the vast majority of his career. He worked steadily for the next 20 years, churning out dozens and dozens of Columbia's westerns, including many in the "Durango Kid" series with Charles Starrett, and was at the helm of a slew of Columbia's musical westerns and low-budget hillbilly musicals, which featured such acts as The Hoosier Hotshots. As he made Westerns as The Range Rider , The Kid from Amarillo , Fort Savage Raiders , Al Jennings de Oklahoma , Frontier Outpost , Streets of Ghost Town, Texas Dynamo , The Tougher They Come , Outcast of Black Mesa, Trail of the Rustlers ,Renegades of the Sage , Bandits of El Dorado , South of Death Valley , Cyclone Fury , Laramie , The Blazing Trail and many others . As the era of the B western ended, Nazarro journeyed to Europe, where he turned out some "spaghetti westerns" and was one of several directors to work on a bizarre and trouble-plagued Jayne Mansfield film, Einer frisst den anderen (1964). He also returned to directing television series, a medium in which he had occasionally worked since the early 1950s again, mostly in westerns. This Western could have been a lot worse but that's no reason to watch it.

Like it SHOULD be: One of those movies that makes you root for the Indians: Some white guys want to mine land which is part of a reservation, so they come up with an idea to result in the annihilation of the Apaches. The plan involves the caucasians killing a prospector but framing the tribe. The scheme also provides for the replacement of the Indian-friendly commander of the area's cavalry unit. How could the incoming major NOT think that he was dealing with unworthy savages? No glaring unreality here. Nice, color scenery. Professional in all other aspects, too. Pretty good, in my book.

In a film that's a cut rate version of the story told in the John Ford classic Fort Apache, George Montgomery stars as the Indian wise and fair army captain on the Arizona frontier. Montgomery is in charge of a post that is dedicated to keeping the whites out of sacred Apache homeland.

Easier said than done as there's gold in those Apache hills and some unscrupulous whites want it. Adding to that there's a glory hunting army major who's looking to advance his career by stopping Geronimo played by Robert Shayne.

The only cast link to Fort Apache is that of Miguel Inclan who was a stoic and impassive Cochise in the Ford film and in Indian Uprising Inclan plays a more animated Geronimo.

Though not quite as good as Fort Apache, Devil's Doorway or Broken Arrow Indian Uprising is a solid western film with good action sequences. And in that the Indians are three dimensional characters it's a valuable teaching tool as well.

I presume that's why this western is not as lousy as we could have expected, because it was not monitored by the (In)famous producer Sam Katzman. If not, this would have been a garbage stuff. Katzman did awful things when it was question of westerns, period and costume movies; only in noir or crime domain, he did good things. So, back to this umpteenth time Geronimo story, the result is acceptable, bearable, despite the poor cast and budget. This is rather a pro indian western, nothing new under the sun, as we say in France. Producer Edward Small was actually not smaller but greater than Sam Katzman wuth whom this film would not have been the same.

Out of Columbia Pictures, Indian Uprising is directed by Ray Nazarro, written by Richard Schayer & Kenneth Gamet and stars George Montgomery, Audrey Long, Robert Shayne, Carl Benton Reid, Miguel Inclan & Eugene Iglesias. It's shot on location at Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth in California and Sedona in Arizona (Ellis W. Carter on photography).

Arizona 1885 and Captain Chase McCloud (Montgomery) is desperately trying to keep the peace with the Geronimo (Inclan) led Apache. But the residents of Tuscon don't want peace, there's gold out on the Apache reservation, which is now deemed as sole Apache territory. So when a new commander comes to the base and McCloud is relieved of charge, the treaty is easily broken by the corrupt townsfolk who use underhand methods. Can McCloud avert all out war and restore peace with the now mistrusting Geronimo?.

Considering its low budget restrictions and a largely unknown cast, Indian Uprising is far better than it has right to be. Sure the story is nothing out the ordinary, and definitely the "lone white man trying to keep peace" theme has been done considerably better than this. But the pace is brisk, the scenery pleasant and there's enough action spread out during the 75 minutes to keep the Western fan happy. Thesp wise it's stock performances for stock characters, tho Montgomery does fit the part well physically. While a waterside fisticuff sequence is a particular highlight. Shot in something boldly called Super Cine Color, the print of the film sadly isn't up to much. Cloudy colour flits in and out and spotting too is a reoccurring issue. It's unlikely that anyone loves this film enough to re-master it.

Still the print issues aren't major enough to stop one from enjoying the film. Quickly forgotten once over, Indian Rising is, however, an enjoyable enough Oater to spend a part of the afternoon with. 6/10