Unconquered (B or 3/4 stars)
In the mood for a big, bold, $5 million Technicolor historical spectacular from the Golden Age of Hollywood? If so, then you can check out Cecil B. DeMille's, 'Unconquered'. The story begins in 1763, as Abigail Hale (Paulette Goddard) - unjustly accused of a crime against England - is sentenced to 14 yrs. of slavery over in unsettled North America. Shipped off to the auction block, Abigail is coveted by slimy slave master Martin Garth (Howard da Silva), but the highest bidder ends up being Virginia militiaman Capt. Christopher Holden (Gary Cooper). Holden intends to free her, but Garth foils his plan & Abigail is resorted to being a tavern bargirl. Having been jilted by his fiancee, Capt. Holden has no romantic feelings (as of yet) for Abigail, but he's determined not to let her fall into Garth's clutches.
Holden also knows that Garth, who's married to the daughter of an Indian chief (Robert Warwick), has been trading firearms to the Ottawas! The treacherous Garth later participates in the 'Pontiac Conspiracy', an allegiance of 18 Indian nations sworn to wipe out every settler from the eastern wilderness. To get Holden out of the picture, Garth arranges for him to be court-martialed & sentenced to death(!) on a trumped-up desertion charge. But in repayment for her rescue from Seneca chief Guyasuta (Boris Karloff) & partly because she's in love with Holden, Abigail helps him to escape, just in the nick of time to save a nearby military fort from an Indian massacre. Long-winded chats about war in small rooms ensue, but so too does adventure sequences; with narrow escapes abounding.
As historically suspect as any historical epic from the Golden Age of Hollywood, 'Unconquered' still provides some fantastic escapist entertainment (it was #1 at the box office in 1947). This motion picture, due to Cecil B. DeMille's typical sensibilities, will likely make contemporary audiences shake their heads {just like I did}. As mentioned, he plays fast & loose with historical accuracy. There's no subtlety in the script. The Colonial Settlers are good, the Indians are bad, & the British are made to look incompetent. The dialogue is fairly horrid. The make-up (rouge, big red lips, eye shadow) on the female actresses looks like they are "ready for their close up, Mr. DeMille", instead of going for historical accuracy ... no woman would look like that in 1763, haha. And the film lasts 146 minutes -- tooo longgg.
But the good aspects of DeMille are also in full flight. Audiences & critics enjoyed the famous bathtub scene involving a bare-shouldered Paulette Goddard (who spends most of the movie in slavery, nearly-whipped, chained, tied-up, washed-down, thrown about, almost burned at the stake, among other atrocities. Because of that, people in the industry nicknamed this film, "The Perils of Pauline", as she was NOT pleased with DeMille throughout production, haha). Other good DeMille-ish aspects? He got his typical cast of hundreds. He got Ray Rennahan to film some stunning Technicolor cinematography. His sets are big, beautiful, & mostly authentic (firearms, forts). The costumes are great. The sound design (during the action) is crisp. And Victor Young's music score is suitably melodic/epic in sweep.
Furthermore, this movie was nominated for an Academy Award for its special effects work. There is a superb canoe escape sequence where the villainous Indians are chasing down Gary Cooper & Paulette Goddard. A steep waterfall looms ahead and, what Cooper, Goddard, & the special effects team are able to do there is pretty darn cool {again, for the times}. On the acting front, Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper ... which is fine. Goddard rivets. Howard da Silva is an effective baddie. Boris Karloff makes for an interesting warmongering chief. So yeah, while much of 'Unconquered' is preposterous with a capital P, it's a rousing (with slow patches) wilderness epic filled with Hollywood stars who look like Hollywood stars, good visuals, & fun action -- you just can't take it all seriously.
Holden also knows that Garth, who's married to the daughter of an Indian chief (Robert Warwick), has been trading firearms to the Ottawas! The treacherous Garth later participates in the 'Pontiac Conspiracy', an allegiance of 18 Indian nations sworn to wipe out every settler from the eastern wilderness. To get Holden out of the picture, Garth arranges for him to be court-martialed & sentenced to death(!) on a trumped-up desertion charge. But in repayment for her rescue from Seneca chief Guyasuta (Boris Karloff) & partly because she's in love with Holden, Abigail helps him to escape, just in the nick of time to save a nearby military fort from an Indian massacre. Long-winded chats about war in small rooms ensue, but so too does adventure sequences; with narrow escapes abounding.
As historically suspect as any historical epic from the Golden Age of Hollywood, 'Unconquered' still provides some fantastic escapist entertainment (it was #1 at the box office in 1947). This motion picture, due to Cecil B. DeMille's typical sensibilities, will likely make contemporary audiences shake their heads {just like I did}. As mentioned, he plays fast & loose with historical accuracy. There's no subtlety in the script. The Colonial Settlers are good, the Indians are bad, & the British are made to look incompetent. The dialogue is fairly horrid. The make-up (rouge, big red lips, eye shadow) on the female actresses looks like they are "ready for their close up, Mr. DeMille", instead of going for historical accuracy ... no woman would look like that in 1763, haha. And the film lasts 146 minutes -- tooo longgg.
But the good aspects of DeMille are also in full flight. Audiences & critics enjoyed the famous bathtub scene involving a bare-shouldered Paulette Goddard (who spends most of the movie in slavery, nearly-whipped, chained, tied-up, washed-down, thrown about, almost burned at the stake, among other atrocities. Because of that, people in the industry nicknamed this film, "The Perils of Pauline", as she was NOT pleased with DeMille throughout production, haha). Other good DeMille-ish aspects? He got his typical cast of hundreds. He got Ray Rennahan to film some stunning Technicolor cinematography. His sets are big, beautiful, & mostly authentic (firearms, forts). The costumes are great. The sound design (during the action) is crisp. And Victor Young's music score is suitably melodic/epic in sweep.
Furthermore, this movie was nominated for an Academy Award for its special effects work. There is a superb canoe escape sequence where the villainous Indians are chasing down Gary Cooper & Paulette Goddard. A steep waterfall looms ahead and, what Cooper, Goddard, & the special effects team are able to do there is pretty darn cool {again, for the times}. On the acting front, Gary Cooper is Gary Cooper ... which is fine. Goddard rivets. Howard da Silva is an effective baddie. Boris Karloff makes for an interesting warmongering chief. So yeah, while much of 'Unconquered' is preposterous with a capital P, it's a rousing (with slow patches) wilderness epic filled with Hollywood stars who look like Hollywood stars, good visuals, & fun action -- you just can't take it all seriously.