weezeralfalfa Another of Cecil DeMille's series of long, often epic-intended, films. Here, the 'unconquered' refers to the hardy pioneers who carved out settlements in the ever changing westward frontier. Although the dramatized rescue of Fort Pitt from a long siege by an Indian alliance was historically important, its significance to would-be settlers in the Ohio valley is overdrawn. This victory-of-sorts is largely credited to the imaginative use of the corpses of British soldiers recently slain by the Indians some distance from Fort Pitt, positioned in wagons, so as to appear living from a distance(hopefully up wind!), scaring the besieging Indians into scattering. Historically, there was such a relief force, and they did engage a portion of the besieging Indians sent to ambush them at Bushy Run, as mentioned in the film. However, the macabre column of wagons bearing uniformed corpses is merely an excuse for Cooper's character(Chris Holden) to be seen as an imaginative hero in helping to save the fort and its garrison.Of course, DeMille always liked to have clear-cut villains and heroes. We can't really blame the Indians for wanting to snuff out the encroachments of Europeans into their traditional territories. Thus, we need a villain or so among the Europeans to contrast with Cooper's character. This is provided by the persons of Garth(Howard Da Silva) and his henchman Bone. Garth has formed an alliance with the Indians, in which he supplies them with firearms, powder and shot and they supply him with furs to sell. Thus, as long as the threat of Indian attacks scare away potential white settlers, Garth feels that he effectively controls British North America west of the Appalachians. I should add that the official policy of the British crown at this time was to exclude settlers west of the Appalachians, in accordance with Garth's position. However, it was unofficially understood that this was a temporary demarcation, and that the official frontier would gradually move westward. Also, the Indians objected to a British military presence at Fort Pitt, desiring it to be purely a trading post.Holden(Cooper) was aware of Garth's dealings with the Indians at the beginning of the story. Thus, to spite him, he bid against a good- looking indentured servant(Paulette Goddard, as Abby) aboard the ship from England they were all traveling on to Virginia. Holden outbids Garth, but leaves a disappointed Abby to her own devices, as he doesn't want her as a companion when he meets his tidewater fiancé. This turns out to be a bad decision, as he soon learns that, in his absence, his fiancé has married his wealthy stay-at-home brother. Meanwhile, Garth makes use of Holden's failure to sign Abby's indentured servant contract, to nullify his purchase of her. She is taken to a fair on the way to Fort Pitt, where Holden sees her, beginning s series of arguments as to who owns her, that persists until the end of the film. In the meanwhile, Abby is shuttled between Garth, Bones, Holden and even a war party of Seneca, with Boris Karloff playing their grumpy chief. The warring Indians don't become a major part of the story until rather late in the film. In one segment, Holden and 2 companions are trying to find various tribes with some sort of peace offering, but get bushwhacked by some mounted Indians. I much doubt if Indians of this heavily forested region rode horses! I've never before seen them depicted on horses. In escaping from the Seneca, Holden and Abby steal a canoe and go down a river. They go over a high Niagara-like waterfall, which Holden was familiar with. He knew there was a small tree growing near one side, thus aimed the canoe for this side and, miraculously, the two clung to this tree, as their canoe was smashed on the rocks below. The branch then conveniently bent under their weight to a small cave, where they could stand, and inch their way past slippery rocks to safety. This sequence is indicated as having been filmed in the Snake River, Idaho region. Thus, I feel safe in assuming that the wide waterfall depicted is Shoshone Falls: higher than Niagara. Audiences are said to have laughed at this escape artistry, as being implausibly convenient and faked.This film has its pluses, as well as minuses. DeMille keeps the drama rolling, with quite a few main characters, and typically tangled relationships between them. In the latter half, Holden's relationship with fort commander Simeon Ecuyer(Victor Varconi) is complex and interesting. European-raised Varconi speaks with an accent, as presumably did the historic Swiss-raised Ecuyer. Although it's listed as one of the top box office films for '47, judging by the slim number of reviews here, it doesn't seem to have aged well. For one thing, it's too long, in my judgment. Paulette was supposed to be a teenager, often referred to as 'the girl'. But, she was no 'spring chicken'. Her repeated abuse as an indentured servant(slave) and Indian captive smacks of a series of cheesy romance novels. At one point, she's about to be burned at the stake, while savages threaten her. Cooper arrives as a theatrical 'magic man' to achieve her rescue.Cooper had starred for DeMille in 3 previous films. This was Cooper's last film for Paramount, after a 20 year career there...DeMille liked to spread his epics taking place in North America around geographically. Thus, "the Plainsman" is an epic Western. "Northwest Mounted Police" is mainly a 'Canadian'. The prior "Reap the Wild Wind", which costarred Ms. Goddard, was a 'Southern', and the present film is an 'Eastern'.

Steffi_P Cecil B. DeMille undoubtedly believed in Manifest Destiny, and not just of the old-fashioned, land-grabbing, Injun-fighting variety depicted here. He also believed in a modern equivalent of his own, whereby he took his share, made his mark and crowned himself a king of the movie industry he had helped to create. This legendary arrogance carried itself over into every aspect of the pictures he produced and directed. belief Part of this arrogance involved an conviction in his own abilities to carry a movie. He would hire writers who were able to assemble a story with a decent balance of action and romance, rather than those capable of depth or elegance. Likewise he tended to cast people according to their physicality rather than their talent. Not that he always took on bad actors, but he gave them little coaching or try to fit person to persona. Paulette Godard for example falls well below her usual standard here. She looks right because she is both attractive and upstanding, but the character is far too bland for her usual feistiness. It didn't always work out badly though. DeMille's male leads could often be dull lumps grunting their way through the adventure, but Gary Cooper was really made for these more modest roles. He underplays it beautifully, and puts plenty of character into the tiniest of gestures. Then there were professional, naturalist types like Victor Varconi, who was always able to portray a credible human being no matter how leaden the script.And if DeMille's flair couldn't quite carry a movie, it could at least prod it along a little. Remembered largely as a showman, he was more than that a wonderful visual director, with an excellent command of crowd scenes. Take the second scene on board the ship. We dolly in through the bustle of sailors going about their business, but in the middle of the frame, mostly obscured at first, Porter Hall sits tapping his cane on a case. This draws our attention to him as a character rather than an extra, even though he begins the shot as no more than a face in the crowd. This is typical DeMille – the creation of a realistic looking environment, but with the ability to bend it towards the needs of story and scene. Later in the same scene we get some great examples of extras cutting through the line of action as Godard and Cooper talk, punctuating the scene and giving it a kind of awkward feel. Again, this is both realistic and effective.Contemporary reviewer Bosley Crowther described Unconquered as being "as viciously anti-redskin as The Birth of a Nation was anti-Negro long years back". He's not far wrong, although Unconquered is more tacitly patronising than Birth's explicit hostility. Still, you can get an impression of the tone from the fact that British horror legend Boris Karloff was cast as the Indian chief. It's not just that Karloff looks vaguely Amerindian if you squint and add a large dollop of imagination, it's the fact that in DeMille's eyes the natives are creepy boogiemen, and he casts Karloff as their leader for the same reason as someone might cast him to play a monster or a mad doctor. The fact that even critics of the day could castigate DeMille for his racism shows just how out of touch he was becoming.Then again, there is another strand to Unconquered that we cannot see in previous DeMille efforts – one that is almost certainly due to the impact of the recent war. The picture is incredibly frank and merciless about death and bloodshed. Cooper's buddies are picked off instantly without even a "say goodbye to my wife". One of DeMille's most elaborate and evocative shot compositions is of a mass of brutally slain soldiers. And when Cooper discovers the Salters, it is surely the most poignant moment in any DeMille picture. Perhaps the pompous old conqueror had a heart after all.

Mickey-2 "Unconquered" was one of those Cecil B. DeMille productions that did not quite make it as a true epic, but it did qualify as good film entertainment. Set in the American colonies of the 1760's, the film brings into conflict a love triangle, Indian uprisings, dastardly dealings by greedy whites in selling arms to tribes for furs, and the rights of indentured servants in the colonies. Featuring Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard in the lead male and female roles, plus Howard Da Silva in the role of the sneeringly evil fur trader, this film moves at a decent clip, even if some history is ignored for the sake of the story in the film.Ah, the story. Paulette Goddard has run afoul of the British judicial system and is given the choice of execution in England or slavery in the colonies for a period of 14 years. She chooses the route of an indentured servant, and is placed aboard a British frigate heading for the colonies. While on board ship, she catches the eye of both Cooper and Da Silva, and in a shipboard auction, is purchased by Cooper, much to the chagrin of Da Silva. Cooper intends to free her when the ship arrived in the colonies, but Da Silva forces the auctioneer to resell Goddard, unbeknownst to Cooper.In later scenes, the three engage in one conflict after another, which brings in to the arena, the Indian tribes led by Boris Karloff, playing a Seneca chief named Guyasuta. Da Silva's role, Martin Garth, had earlier married the chief's daughter, and that gives him an inroad with the Indian tribes. Cooper, as Captain Chris Holden, is able to rescue Abby Hale, Goddard's role, from the Indians, and they make their escape down river, which leads to a trip through the rapids and over a waterfall. Finally comes the showdown in which the Indians attack the nearby Fort Pitt, garrisoned by British regulars and frontiersmen and their families. While the battle rages outside the fort, Holden and Garth have to settle their disagreements in the fort's stable.Besides the trio of leading performers, the cast has several Hollywood regulars. Cecil Kellaway, Ward Bond, and a very youthful Lloyd Bridges add to the protagonists in the film, and Mike Mazurski gives a great performance as Garth's henchman in the attempt to control the Indian fur trading practice."Unconquered" gives Cecil B. DeMille a chance to embellish another period of history, and while the production is worth watching, a viewer needs to take the overall work as entertainment, and not completely true to the times of 1763 Colonial America. 8 out of 10.

sbox If you hate political correctness, you may love, "Unconquered." This film, from 1947, doesn't have the contemporarily familiar themes of evil settlers, or land thieves. In fact, the Indians are the bad guys in this one. The Indians, aided by a corrupt Englishman, have decided to wipe out white settlers in a race war. Gary Cooper is quick to the rescue. All the while he attempts to regain his bond slave, escape the gallows for treason, and fight his nemesis who happens to be the Indians' best friend. This is a strong film.