A Major Disappointment

A Disappointing Continuation

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Ronald Reagan was a great President, true. he was a decent horse-rider, and a very sweet, radiant personality. But as an actor, he was rather second-rate and very forgettable, indeed. Well, yes, you can watch his movies, turn it off and then easily forget what was in the movie ten minutes later/ This movie is a typical example - a very much of a period piece, with all the obvious errata goofs of that era - rather predictable plot, unrealistic love-part,typical portrayal of Indians, and some extremely cheap dialogs, which you can utter a second before a word spells out form a speaker's lips. Battle scenes are funny in fact, too. They have no suspense and deliver no thrill. A very good B-movie, with a very average casting and all the plot twists that you can imagine. Some sprinkle of humor often seems to be at odd with the general mood of the film, and very generic performance of all characters make this movie very lightweight, unserious and not memorable. Yup, Reagan grew to some grand things a bit later, smiling his way up. Here, even his smile is a bit of a lame duckie.

In the later part of the Civil War, or War Between the States, if you will, one might have found few or some rebel officers dashing around in clearly dazzling tailored uniforms, but, in this movie, even the lowest enlisted men looked like they were ready for inspection, not dirty as they would have been after several charges into enemy ranks, nor did their uniforms and boots appear haggard or well-worn as they should have been after 3 years of close conflict with the Yankees in several well-fought campaigns. As an avid reader of related literature, I know that the southern soldiers were unmatched in dedication and loyalty to their cause, and that they had little money to splurge on spectacular articles of clothing. A good portion of the southern troops wore their own clothing. I imagine that Hollywood financed this company of men to look good, and they did. I was impressed, and this movie is probably why I personally preferred the uniforms of the Confederacy to those of the North, even though I was born and raised in New England. Remembering this movie after 30 plus years, and then seeing it again recently has only confirmed my appreciation for the looks of those gray uniforms, but not the overall content of the movie. Ronald Reagan was a top box office draw when he made this movie; he demonstrated to me that a gentleman of the South could still be a good American even if he was not a soldier of the Union forces. These words are only my opinion, and were not intended to offend anyone, but, there it is.

Reagan is star top-billed in this Paramount oater from 1951. Non- big budget movie was a surprise big hit in 1951. It also stars Rhonda Fleming, a woman it was could not photograph badly from any angle, and it shows in this movie, though her role isn't major. She plays the girl. She wasn't exactly known for her acting chops. The plot has the makings for a great Western, two brothers take different sides in the civil war. Reagan is a Confederate while Benett is a Union officer. Also involved is a certain benevolent look at the Indians - in the fifties, one can easily see the changing tone of Hollywood's outlook on the Indians; from snarly wordless caricatures to humane three dimensional characters, mainly highlighted by the James Stewart movie, Broken Arrow. Dances with wolves, this is not but it tries, as it has a white man as the Apache chief, an ex military officer who turned Injun after marrying an Indian. He was ousted from the army for this. Also, to be noted, Reagan and Bennett don't have anything really negative to say about the Indians. They are just interested in their war and just want to keep the Indians from getting involved. It is the supporting characters who are portrayed bug-eyed yellow in their thinking of the red man as the colloquial connotations go. But a notorious third act finale bruises all the good will the earlier sessions had earned. In this act, Bennett and Reagan, that is Confederate and Union team up to slaughter the Indians in a battle that was superceded by the white man. You can argue for this scene, in a pseudo " man must survive" argument that states that even if I'm on the wrong, I shouldn't just stand by the chop me to pieces. Man must defend himself. But staging of the battle is certainly cliched and flimsy as the Indians ride straight into a gauntlet set up by the allies. Right smack into it as they are shot of their horses. And do they change strategy? No. They keep running into the awaiting bullets. It should be noted that earlier, Bennett notes they are outnumbered 50-1. How original? Good entertainment especially the first two-thirds that focuses on Regan's derring-do.

All them Yankee writers in Hollywood usually manage to make at least one stupid mistake per script when they try to depict Southerners. When the Noah Beery character says to his commanding officer, played by Ronald Reagan, "Y'all gonna get us killed," it didn't quite ruin the movie -- "y'all" is a plural, and no real Southerner has ever said "y'all" to one person -- but did detract. The cast is quite good -- Rhonda Fleming seems almost the reason Technicolor was invented; Ronald Reagan made a great cowboy or, in this case, cavalry officer -- the story is intriguing; the battle scene near the end begins with a spine-tingling charge that, every time I see it, literally sends chills down my spine. Overall, the film is enjoyable, well worth watching.