With the capture of Geronimo, it was only a matter of time before the Apaches were under the thumb of the white man, but one (Burt Lancaster as Massai) continued to fight, ending up on the lamb for desperately rejecting being sent to a reservation. He finds himself followed by Nalinle (Jean Peters), a Cherokee, and even though he somewhat abuses her in order to get her to stop following him, he can't help but falling in love with her and they desperately try to find a land to settle. But with the white man (John McIntire) on his trail (accompanied by the native Hondo, a young Charles Bronson), Massai needs to keep on run, difficult with Peters expecting a child.
The stunning color photography shows what happens when westerns went from black and white to color, how breathtaking they could be. This is one of the first to show natives as something other than savages, indicating that they fought for a reason, and freedom is certainly worth fighting for.
Even though he had played part native before as Jim Thorpe, Lancaster's looks don't feel truly native even with dark makeup. Peters succeeds a bit more, but their perfect spoken English (even with so called native terms) is also distracting. Even so, it's impossible to root against them because their cause is truly understandable, and this takes a far different look at the situation in a way that puts the bad guy hat on the soldiers and other hunters after them. Director Robert Aldrich really gives this a punch, and the muscular Lancaster, showing off his toned chest, is quite a sight for the eyes.
The stunning color photography shows what happens when westerns went from black and white to color, how breathtaking they could be. This is one of the first to show natives as something other than savages, indicating that they fought for a reason, and freedom is certainly worth fighting for.
Even though he had played part native before as Jim Thorpe, Lancaster's looks don't feel truly native even with dark makeup. Peters succeeds a bit more, but their perfect spoken English (even with so called native terms) is also distracting. Even so, it's impossible to root against them because their cause is truly understandable, and this takes a far different look at the situation in a way that puts the bad guy hat on the soldiers and other hunters after them. Director Robert Aldrich really gives this a punch, and the muscular Lancaster, showing off his toned chest, is quite a sight for the eyes.