I was excited to see that Sam Fuller wrote, directed and produced this film. After all, Fuller was a genius in squeezing the most out of a buck...making some amazingly good low-budgeted films. Sadly, however, this movie turns out to be among Fuller's weakest...and it is deservedly not among his his famous pictures.
When the film begins, O'Meara (Rod Steiger) is bitter because the Civil War ended and his beloved South lost. So, he packs up his stuff and heads west...unsure where to go but hating the United States. There he eventually meets up with Natives and he becomes one of them. However, when the tribe later attacks the US Cavalry, O'Meara's loyalty is tested.
The major problem with this film is the casting and Fuller's allowing this. Jay C. Flippen was a fine supporting actor...but him playing a Sioux was about as realistic as having Keye Luke play one! He neither looked nor sounded like a Native American....and never even tried to approximate an appropriate accent. But it wasn't just him....Steiger sounds nothing like a Southerner and rarely like an Irishman (though occasionally he remembered and used an Irishy accent). Add to that Charles Bronson as a Sioux and you've got a film that not only is insulting but really stupid--after all, he sounds EXACTLY like the same Charles Bronson who made "The Dirty Dozen" and "Death Wish"! It's sad, as MANY Native Americans DID appear in the film....but were all relegated to non-speaking rolls! What a huge missed opportunity! They could have played very convincing characters if given the chance.
So, if you look past the crappy accents and bad casting, it the story any good? Not especially so. It's different enough that it's still worth seeing but the overall picture lacks the Fuller touch and instead seems like a cliched western so typical of the era. There are a few interesting bits (hence my score of 4), such as the speech made by Brian Keith...but otherwise a bit let down.
By the way, I am NOT a super politically correct guy. My biggest quibble is simply realism....and few of the principle actors were realistic.
When the film begins, O'Meara (Rod Steiger) is bitter because the Civil War ended and his beloved South lost. So, he packs up his stuff and heads west...unsure where to go but hating the United States. There he eventually meets up with Natives and he becomes one of them. However, when the tribe later attacks the US Cavalry, O'Meara's loyalty is tested.
The major problem with this film is the casting and Fuller's allowing this. Jay C. Flippen was a fine supporting actor...but him playing a Sioux was about as realistic as having Keye Luke play one! He neither looked nor sounded like a Native American....and never even tried to approximate an appropriate accent. But it wasn't just him....Steiger sounds nothing like a Southerner and rarely like an Irishman (though occasionally he remembered and used an Irishy accent). Add to that Charles Bronson as a Sioux and you've got a film that not only is insulting but really stupid--after all, he sounds EXACTLY like the same Charles Bronson who made "The Dirty Dozen" and "Death Wish"! It's sad, as MANY Native Americans DID appear in the film....but were all relegated to non-speaking rolls! What a huge missed opportunity! They could have played very convincing characters if given the chance.
So, if you look past the crappy accents and bad casting, it the story any good? Not especially so. It's different enough that it's still worth seeing but the overall picture lacks the Fuller touch and instead seems like a cliched western so typical of the era. There are a few interesting bits (hence my score of 4), such as the speech made by Brian Keith...but otherwise a bit let down.
By the way, I am NOT a super politically correct guy. My biggest quibble is simply realism....and few of the principle actors were realistic.