This ain't history, but it does provide some information and enjoyment, if a sad reflection on man's inhumanity to man.
Review: Who's the savage and who's the civilized nation? That's what comes to my mind in this allegory of alleged history, mixed with family drama, honor and certain beliefs in what was right or wrong. While cast as the title character, there's little information on the story of Geronimo other than the fact that he vowed to take the lives of 1000 white men when white men took the lives of his family. All that's presented here in the performance of alleged native American actor Chief Thundercloud, grunting a bit, looking evil eyed and very determined in his quest for vengeance. Army general Ralph Morgan has abandoned his wife and son for a military career, and when his son graduates from West Point, he is reunited with his gruff father. But when Morgan's estranged wife and Sutton's fiancee are viciously attacked by Geronimo, Morgan wakes up to how the savagry has impacted him, only then does he have the desire to become a father again.
Along the way, officer Preston Foster mentors the young son and when the inevitable reunion takes place, it's the three of them verses Geronimo's massive army which features the traitorous Gene Lockhart who pits the first settlers against the white man interloper. Watching this cowardly evil man get his comeuppance is one of the film's highlights. I don't think that this is the type of film to look as a history lesson, nor is it a film to find one side to root for. It was an ambitious project for Paramount studios which didn't always do well on American history unless Cecil B. DeMille was involved. For a bit of comedy, there's chubby and squeaky voiced Andy Devine as an army scout, fortunately not as annoying here as he was in that string of Universal programmers he made throughout the 1940's, and at a few points pretty substantial to the plot. Technically, this is outstanding, and even if the history seems much fictionalized, it shows one point of view and perhaps a reminder that the best points of view aren't either yours or mine, but the truth, if only you can figure out exactly what it is.
Along the way, officer Preston Foster mentors the young son and when the inevitable reunion takes place, it's the three of them verses Geronimo's massive army which features the traitorous Gene Lockhart who pits the first settlers against the white man interloper. Watching this cowardly evil man get his comeuppance is one of the film's highlights. I don't think that this is the type of film to look as a history lesson, nor is it a film to find one side to root for. It was an ambitious project for Paramount studios which didn't always do well on American history unless Cecil B. DeMille was involved. For a bit of comedy, there's chubby and squeaky voiced Andy Devine as an army scout, fortunately not as annoying here as he was in that string of Universal programmers he made throughout the 1940's, and at a few points pretty substantial to the plot. Technically, this is outstanding, and even if the history seems much fictionalized, it shows one point of view and perhaps a reminder that the best points of view aren't either yours or mine, but the truth, if only you can figure out exactly what it is.