ma-cortes
The flick gets noisy action , crossfire , spectacular raids , a love story , and intrigue , it is slowly but surely built up , being quite entertaining . This Cavalry vs. Indians Western , set in 1872 , when Cochise and General Howard sign a treaty , but it is broken by the white men . Then , peacemaking Apache chief Cochise (Chandler, the last of Jeff's appearances as the Apache chief) dies and handing over the reins of power to Taza (Rock Hudson , Sirk's favorite actor) . When tomahawk and carbine split the West asunder appeared Taza . Then , the Chiricahua Apaches are torn between following Cochise's peace loving son Taza and his brother Naiche (Rex Reason) who is following the warlike renegade Apache warrior Geronimo (Ian McDonald), chief of Apaches Chiricaguas and his band of rebel Indians , the most blood-thirsty of Apaches . But in San Carlos reservation happens the riots , as the hopelessness of resistance against a foe you know you can't beat originate the rebellion . They will confront American cavalry in charge of General Crook (Robert Burton) and his officials . As the fate of the great Southwest lays in his hands , for this war the hour of decision in the last and deadliest of the Indian wars . Enjoyable chronicle of Taza , Cochise'son , and his tribe isolated at Saint Carlos reservation and the strong fight between the Apache tribe led by Geronimo and the US cavalry , sustaining the interest for quite a while . This moving movie is an epic portrait of the historic story about the celebrated Indian battles against the USA cavalry , being inaccurate historically . As it has a highly fictionalized account of Taza's life , although famed Apache war chief Cochise did indeed have a son named Taza . An-Universal-International-Picture gets Western action , shootouts , romance , breathtaking raids on fort , colorful outdoors with big skies , being wonderfully photographed by Russell Metty and turns out to be fun . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians , production values and pleasing results . This Indian-on-the-warpath tale is based on historical characters : Cochise , Taza , Geronimo , Mangus , general Howard , and general Crook who tries to subjugate the great Apache warrior . At the ending , when takes place the Indian ambush , possesses all the sweep , grandeur and noisy action of the greatest Westerns of an age long past . Cast is pretty good . As Rock Hudson is acceptable as the known Apache who attempts to keep the peace between US cavalry and Indians . Rock gives category to the role , providing courage and uprightness . As well as the gorgeous Barbara Rush ; and Gregg Palmer as Capt. Burnett is nice as a honorable officer who is in charge of maintaining law and order . Fine acting from a great support cast such as : Rex Reason , Morris Ankrum , Eugene Iglesias , Robert Burton , Joe Sawyer and Lance Fuller . The best acting is given by Ian MacDonald as Geronimo who provides stature to the character , delivering sincerity and bravura . Brief interpretation from Jeff Chandler , he was known , until his early death , for playing Indian chief Cochise , a dignified portrait well shown in : ¨Broken arrow¨ (50) by Delmer Daves , that was acclaimed as the first Hollywood movie to side with the Indians , the first time the Red Indian was depicted as a human being rather than a brute savage merely to bite the dust at the hands of the US cavalry , as well as ¨Battle of Apache Pass¨ (1952) and ¨Taza , son of Cochise¨ (1954) , this latter Jeff/Cochise is briefly glimpsed as a dying man at the beginning . This trilogy of the Apache chiefs result to be one of the best considering some of the other attempts to portray the Apache war leaders .This motion picture was professionally directed by Douglas Sirk in colorful style and 3D , though has a few flaws . Douglas Sirk often cited this film as the favorite of his own films since he always wanted to make a Western . The great filmmaker Sirk later to shot the most successful of the Rock's fifties films , his fetish actor , such as : A time to love a time to die , Magnificent obsession , All that heaven allows , Battle hymn , and Written on the wind .
MartinHafer
Rock Hudson, Jeff Chandler, Rex Reason, Ian MacDonald, Barbara Rush...all not exactly American-Indian sounding names! Yet, all these folks are all painted up in "Taza, Son of Cochise" to play just such roles--which represents the single biggest problem with this movie. Not only aren't they Indians, they hardly look like them and give the film a certain silliness you can't get past. And, even if the actors had done great jobs in their parts (which they hadn't), this isn't enough to overcome this problem. However, for me this is EXACTLY why I watched the film--because it was so unbelievably cast! Yes folks, I AM a glutton for punishment. And, is there something worth watching here? The film begins with Chief Cochise's death. His son, Taza (Hudson), vows to keep the peace--whereas his hot-headed son, Naiche (Reason), is determined to destroy the white folks. However, after their big showdown in which Taza kicks the snot out of him, some other renegades sneak in and set Naiche free. So, it's up to our hero, Taza, to find his wicked brother and maintain the peace. But even when he does, it might be too late for him and his people--especially when Geronimo is sent to live on Taza's reservation.As for the rest of the film, it's a real mixed bag. On one hand, the film is gorgeous--with a fantastic location shoot in Utah as well as terrific music. So the film clearly had a nice budget and it's obvious the studio gave director Douglas Sirk the go ahead to make a quality film. However, the film also suffers from some downright awful dialog--dialog that often makes the 'Indians' sound like idiots. The worst of this often occurred with love scenes--which were among the least romantic in film history. Overall, the film is watchable but silly--and certainly not among the best or worst of the genre.By the way, I wonder if this film was originally planned as a 3-D movie. This is because often punches, spears, giant rocks and whips are tossed directly AT the camera--like you'd see in a 3-D picture. Considering it came out in 1954, this is awfully likely. Also, historically speaking the movie is a mish-mash of facts and pure bunk.
NewEnglandPat
Universal joined the parade of film studios that wanted to cash in on the popularity of Indian chiefs during the 1950s. This western followed the familiar formula of war and peace, reservation vs. warpath story lines, trigger happy soldiers and renegade Indians. Rock Hudson stars as the obedient, peace-loving son of Cochise in this Arizona saga but his brother opposes the chief's death-bed wish and schemes with other Indians to break free to raid and plunder. That is essentially the plot here, with nothing new to offer fans of this genre. The movie has enough action and scenic vistas to maintain interest but also looks like it was filmed on a shoestring budget. Hudson and Barbara Rush make a fetching couple and the supporting cast is good but the film lacks the polish of other Universal westerns of this period.
