WE are so often conditioned into viewing History as a sort of two-dimensional, us against them, good guys vs. the bad. If that is not a black and white way of viewing the World, it's certainly a dull and monotonous view of these planetary occurrences of ours.
IN the subject of our own American Civil War, we probably have become conditioned into believing that we know everything about it and all of the causes that was behind its being fought in the first place. The Secession of the 11 Slave States was the product a multi-faceted breakdown of relations between those in the various sections of the Republic, as well as the issue of the Legalized Slavery of Blacks of African; as well as the practice of having Indentured Servants (those bound to a Master for a period of years (9 or 11, I think.).
BUT a War is a great undertaking and has multi groups in the causal drivers' seat who generate the desire and fervor of a free people to undertake such a task. Those involved in the Declaration, Administration and Prosecution of the said hostilities by the Armed Forces. The men on the fronts are as different from each other as can be. There are as many different types as there are Stars in the Milky Way. (Our home Galaxy, Schultz.) IN the motion picture, THE RAID (Panoramic Productions/20th Century-Fox, 1954), the fact that those clashing Armies of the Blue and the Gray were made up of individuals; men with different backgrounds, stations in life and reasons for fighting. THE RAID makes a genuine attempt at driving this point home to each and every viewer.
OUR STORY .We enter the story to view a prison break. A number of Rebel Prisoners are making there way out of a Yankee P.O.W. Camp; to freedom and to return to fight in the War Between the States. Among the escapees are Major Neal Benton (Mr. Van Heflin), Lieutenant Elmo Keating (Lee Marvin) and Captain Frank Dwyer (Peter Graves). They successfully get out and make their way to the Canadian Border; but not without the cost to them of the loss of life.
WE next encounter Major Benton disembarking from a Passenger Train from Montreal, Quebec, in the then Dominion of Canada to the Town of St. Albans, Vermont. He is now in his civvies and well dressed at that. He is the Commanding Officer of a Special Operations raid on the Northern Town by real Troops of the Confederate States of America's Army.
HE poses as a Canadian Business Man, the kind of individual that we would today refer to as being "an entrepreneur". Carefully he "cases" the whole town and formulates the final plan to sack the Town, rob the three existing Banks and burning any vestige of business or industry that is found there.
ALONG the way he gets to know a good deal of the Townspeople, such as: Josiah Anderson, Banker (Will Wright), Captain Lionel Foster, Union Army Recruiter (Richard Boone), Widow Katie Bishop, Hotel Keeper (Anne Bancroft). It was Mrs. Bishop and the Major who had the potential to become an "item", as we had referred to it and still do call it in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.
THE Major's smooth and successful completion of the assignment is further complicated by his meeting up with The Widow Bishop's little Son, Larry Bishop (Tommy Retig, Jeff Miller on "LASSIE") and his lil' bud, Elmo (Lee Aker, Rusty "B"Company on "RIN-TIN-TIN"*) There is also the unexpected arrival of a contingent of Union Infantry and Cavalry; all on their way to link-up with General Grant's Army of the Potomac. He also finds himself to be sweet on Miss Katie (Miss Anne Bancroft, remember?).
LIEUTENANT Keating (Lee Marvin), a brutal, hot-headed Yankee hater, gets himself stone drunk, beats a Union Soldier to death and is shot to death by Major Benton at Sunday Prayer Meeting as he threatens the Reverend Merle Lucas (Douglas Spencer) with a pistol; objecting to the Clergyman's imploring the help of the Almighty in defeating the forces of the rebellious 11 States of the Confederacy.** ABOUT two or so days late, the raid takes place. Captain Foster, a self confessed coward, gets the chance to redeem himself in battling the group of Rebels and Mrs. Bishop reads a letter from Major Benton asking her forgiveness and understanding for his military actions.
IN the formulation of the storyline of THE RAID (based on the Historical Novel "Affair at St. Albans" by Herbert Ravenal Sass), the production team attempts to put a human face on the characters caught up in the realities and horrors of War. They also brought attention to the little publicized special military excursions by the Confederates way high up in the North. This is one subject of which this writer has very little knowledge; but, I promise that will change and soon. Didja hear that, Schultz?
NOTE: * It's one of those stranger than fiction occurrences as the future owner of Lassie meets the future mentor of Rinty! (Both in later TV Series.)
NOTE ** Just for the Record, the 11 secessionist Southern Slave States were: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Other Slave States that didn't secede from the Union were: Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware and the Indian Territory (the future Oklahoma, OK!)
POODLE SCHNITZ!!
IN the subject of our own American Civil War, we probably have become conditioned into believing that we know everything about it and all of the causes that was behind its being fought in the first place. The Secession of the 11 Slave States was the product a multi-faceted breakdown of relations between those in the various sections of the Republic, as well as the issue of the Legalized Slavery of Blacks of African; as well as the practice of having Indentured Servants (those bound to a Master for a period of years (9 or 11, I think.).
BUT a War is a great undertaking and has multi groups in the causal drivers' seat who generate the desire and fervor of a free people to undertake such a task. Those involved in the Declaration, Administration and Prosecution of the said hostilities by the Armed Forces. The men on the fronts are as different from each other as can be. There are as many different types as there are Stars in the Milky Way. (Our home Galaxy, Schultz.) IN the motion picture, THE RAID (Panoramic Productions/20th Century-Fox, 1954), the fact that those clashing Armies of the Blue and the Gray were made up of individuals; men with different backgrounds, stations in life and reasons for fighting. THE RAID makes a genuine attempt at driving this point home to each and every viewer.
OUR STORY .We enter the story to view a prison break. A number of Rebel Prisoners are making there way out of a Yankee P.O.W. Camp; to freedom and to return to fight in the War Between the States. Among the escapees are Major Neal Benton (Mr. Van Heflin), Lieutenant Elmo Keating (Lee Marvin) and Captain Frank Dwyer (Peter Graves). They successfully get out and make their way to the Canadian Border; but not without the cost to them of the loss of life.
WE next encounter Major Benton disembarking from a Passenger Train from Montreal, Quebec, in the then Dominion of Canada to the Town of St. Albans, Vermont. He is now in his civvies and well dressed at that. He is the Commanding Officer of a Special Operations raid on the Northern Town by real Troops of the Confederate States of America's Army.
HE poses as a Canadian Business Man, the kind of individual that we would today refer to as being "an entrepreneur". Carefully he "cases" the whole town and formulates the final plan to sack the Town, rob the three existing Banks and burning any vestige of business or industry that is found there.
ALONG the way he gets to know a good deal of the Townspeople, such as: Josiah Anderson, Banker (Will Wright), Captain Lionel Foster, Union Army Recruiter (Richard Boone), Widow Katie Bishop, Hotel Keeper (Anne Bancroft). It was Mrs. Bishop and the Major who had the potential to become an "item", as we had referred to it and still do call it in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.
THE Major's smooth and successful completion of the assignment is further complicated by his meeting up with The Widow Bishop's little Son, Larry Bishop (Tommy Retig, Jeff Miller on "LASSIE") and his lil' bud, Elmo (Lee Aker, Rusty "B"Company on "RIN-TIN-TIN"*) There is also the unexpected arrival of a contingent of Union Infantry and Cavalry; all on their way to link-up with General Grant's Army of the Potomac. He also finds himself to be sweet on Miss Katie (Miss Anne Bancroft, remember?).
LIEUTENANT Keating (Lee Marvin), a brutal, hot-headed Yankee hater, gets himself stone drunk, beats a Union Soldier to death and is shot to death by Major Benton at Sunday Prayer Meeting as he threatens the Reverend Merle Lucas (Douglas Spencer) with a pistol; objecting to the Clergyman's imploring the help of the Almighty in defeating the forces of the rebellious 11 States of the Confederacy.** ABOUT two or so days late, the raid takes place. Captain Foster, a self confessed coward, gets the chance to redeem himself in battling the group of Rebels and Mrs. Bishop reads a letter from Major Benton asking her forgiveness and understanding for his military actions.
IN the formulation of the storyline of THE RAID (based on the Historical Novel "Affair at St. Albans" by Herbert Ravenal Sass), the production team attempts to put a human face on the characters caught up in the realities and horrors of War. They also brought attention to the little publicized special military excursions by the Confederates way high up in the North. This is one subject of which this writer has very little knowledge; but, I promise that will change and soon. Didja hear that, Schultz?
NOTE: * It's one of those stranger than fiction occurrences as the future owner of Lassie meets the future mentor of Rinty! (Both in later TV Series.)
NOTE ** Just for the Record, the 11 secessionist Southern Slave States were: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Other Slave States that didn't secede from the Union were: Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware and the Indian Territory (the future Oklahoma, OK!)
POODLE SCHNITZ!!