By Lee Pfeiffer
We've often written about the shameful conceit of movie studios that used to cast caucasian actors in leading roles pertaining to ethnic minorities. Sure, it was fine to have actual minority actors playing supporting roles (often for comic effect) but the most important characters were generally always portrayed by white actors or actresses (remember Rex Harrison as The King of Siam???). Sadly, this blatant policy of racial prejudice often extended to films that were sympathetic to the very races they were portraying. Case in point: Geronimo, a 1962 Western that purports to tell the story of the legendary Apache leader who stood virtually alone against the U.S. government, even after most of his tribe was browbeaten into surrendering. The logic at United Artists at the time was that there was no actor more appropriate to play a famous Native American other than Chuck Connors, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed poster boy for the Aryan race. Connors was riding high at the time as the star of the popular TV series The Rifleman, and he certainly possessed an imposing physique as well as more-than-adequate acting abilities. However, even with contact lenses and a black Morticia Addams wig, there is no doubt he was completely miscast as Geronimo. This was also the case with fellow cast members Kamala Devi, a gorgeous flash-in-the-pan actress who worked on several projects with Connors before fading into oblivion and Ross Martin (!), the fine actor primarily known for playing Artemus Gordon in the Wild, Wild West TV series. Not only are all these folks woefully wrong for their roles, the characters talk in modern vernacular that makes you think they must be part of the obscure Apache tribe from Bayonne, New Jersey.
This much must be said about Geronimo, which MGM has just released on DVD - the intention of the producers was noble. This is probably one of the first major studio releases that dared to portray Native Americans in a truly sympathetic light. The film opens with Geronimo reluctantly surrendering to the U.S. Cavalry in order to spare his few remaining followers more deprivation and starvation. Once at the reservation, he quickly learns he has been deceived and that the tribe is slated to be humiliated wards of the government, stripped of any dignity or civil rights. This bold notion is watered down, however, by a screenplay that ensures that these deceitful practices are the work of a few bad apples. There's no way the American government in Washington D.C. would ever have sanctioned breaking treaties! By punting on presenting actual history, the story loses its impact. Geronimo and some of his men rebel by breaking out of the reservation and going on the war path. If the film goes lightly on the U.S. government, so, too does it present Geronimo in a sanctified light. There isn't a hint of the atrocities he committed against settlers, probably because Chuck Connors' fans would have marched on the studio bosses and burned them in effigy. The film is comic book history, presenting only the barest hint of historical fact and even includes a ridiculous happy ending that absolves the U.S. government and Geronimo of any mistakes in judgment.
It's to Connors' credit that he doesn't come across as ridiculously as he might. The film also presents that wonderful character actor John Anderson in a fine performance as a corrupt Indian agent and another future TV icon, Adam West, has a supporting role as a cavalry officer sympathetic to Geronimo. Director Arnold Laven keeps the action moving with nary a dull patch and it can be said that the movie is passably entertaining.
The DVD includes the original theatrical trailer.