jdrows This movie has it all: great names, great locations, bad acting, bad writing and plot holes. The racism from both sides serves no purpose at all. Chuck Heston and Jack Palance both over-act, especially the former. Brian Keith does well for his first acting job but his character changes direction so many times it's hard to tell what his objective as a cavalry officer is supposed to be. There isn't enough of a story so extra characters were brought in that are really not needed to support the story. Confusing Apache culture and dress with that of the Lakota does nothing to create authenticity. Main characters do and say things that don't make sense. Not worth watching twice. Too bad. Katy Jurado was never more beautiful.

drystyx This is the movie which gave Heston the persona of the self righteous bigot of the movies. It is an action filled Western, true, and Brian Keith actually plays a more likable character than either Heston or Palance. Palance probably felt sick about the role he played in this movie which can only be described as a "hate film". There has never been a movie before or after this one which depicted native Americans so horribly, in such a way reminiscent of Nazi propaganda against Jewish people. This is the movie people are talking about when they talk about such sick junk. I'll try not to spoil it too much. It's told from the punk's point of view (I imagine, but it is the most insane point of view you'll ever see I hope). I will say that the "hero" sleeps with an Apache woman, kills her brother, then kills her, and after he kills her in his room, he tells a cavalry guard "There's a dead Apache on my floor. Get it out!" The punkiness leaves you speechless. It left people speechless when the movie was made, it was so insane! Somehow, the director must have thought he justified the wacko's actions, but he failed. Words can't describe how horrible this movie is. If you watch it, you'll be stunned with the fact someone duped you into wasting your time, and you'll be stunned that so many people actually spent so much time, effort, and alleged talent making this garbage.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) This is a western told from a very angry and bitter point of view. The story is about Ed Bannon (Charlton Heston), a scout who hates the Apaches. He keeps warning the soldiers that want to make peace, and when Toriano (Jack Palance) who is an Apache that went to school in the east, comes back, all of Heston's warnings seem to materialize. At a certain moment when they are being humiliated by being given name tags, not in an dignified way, Heston does not show any feelings, on the contrary, he still provokes them. He is far from being a "good guy" so you can't say this film is racist, it just shows two sides at war with each other. Katy Jurado is a sexy Mexican, half Apache. Charles Marquis Warren, who directed, wrote one of my favorite westerns "Only the Valiant".

ecapital46 This is typical Hollywood revisionism with the US Cavery constantly talking about peace and respect for the Apache, while all the Indians want is to kill and destroy. Nonsense. I could never figure out the Charlton Heston character. He plays someone who learned everything he knows from having lived and been raised by the Apaches, yet he hates them with a vengeance, always referring to them in degrading and subhuman terms. At home, however, he has no problem using the beautiful Mexican-Apache laundress (Katy Jurado) as his concubine.Poor Katy Jurado. Only a year away from her pillar 1952 role in 'High Noon,' this doll, with more class and talent in her little finger than most of her female Hollywood contemporaries, can only get offered this role playing a half-breed concubine to a hate-mongering character who insults her at will and doesn't deserve her company. Kind of puts it in perspective why 40 years later we similarly didn't see most of the intelligent kids from 'The Cosby Show' cast in any roles of substance once that non-stereotypical show ended. Maintaining your integrity while remaining employed is a monumental challenge for many in Hollywood. No wonder Katy never relinquished her Mexican citizenship or Mexican movie acting career.The end credits to the movie state that Heston's character is based on the true life of the Army's Chief of Scouts during this period, Al Sieber (1844-1907). If so, it isn't exactly a flattering portrayal. After seeing the movie, I wonder if Sieber's family sued the studio for 'definition' of character. Watch this one only if you've never seen how Hollywood depicted American Indians in the West.