Unconquered (1947)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Charles Bennett (writer)
Fredric M. Frank (writer)

Release Date:

10 October 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Crimson-haired slave girl . . . desired by a man of destiny! Together they shared the thrills of the most daring spectacle De Mille ever filmed !

Plot:

Intrepid frontiersman Chris Holden foils the political and personal ambitions of renegade Martin Garth in the Ohio Valley following the French and Indian War.

Plot Keywords:

Ohio Valley | Fort | Renegade | Frontiersman | Highlander

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Capt. Christopher Holden
Paulette Goddard	...	Abigail 'Abby' Martha Hale
Howard Da Silva	...	Martin Garth
Boris Karloff	...	Chief Guyasuta
Cecil Kellaway	...	Jeremy Love - Abby's 'guardian'
Ward Bond	...	John Fraser - blacksmith
Virginia Campbell	...	Mrs. John Fraser ('Half-Pint")
Katherine DeMille	...	Hannah - Garth's wife
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Capt. Steele - Ecuyer's deputy
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Lord Chief Justice (Old Bailey)
Victor Varconi	...	Capt. Ecuyer - Ft. Pitt commander
Virginia Grey	...	Diana - Chris's fiancee
Mike Mazurki	...	Dave Bone - Garth's henchman
Porter Hall	...	Leach - slave auctioneer
Richard Gaines	...	Col. George Washington

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Ashton, Idaho, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The famous Swedish actor Edvard Persson was travelling through the US to make Jens Månsson i Amerika (1947) when he came to Hollywood and made a cameo appearance in this film. The director, Cecil B. DeMille, reciprocated with a cameo appearance in Persson's movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Capt. Holden and Abigail are escaping from the Senecas by boat they are unarmed. Without explanation both are armed one scene later.

Quotes:

Martin Garth: The King's Law moves with the king's muskets, and there are very few King's muskets west of the alleghenies.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

WHIPPOORWILL'S A SINGIN'

Pre-Revolutionary War America focusing on the latter stages of the French and Indian War

"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.