Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

sandcrab277 The stronghold was actually in the lava beds of northern california, now a monument ... this indian war got strung out mostly because army resupply came over the mountains from medford by mule to the klamath valley ... the modocs were successful by inhibiting the resupply ... there is a book called the modoc wars that explains all

drystyx A fairly scenic Western which boasts that it is based on true events, and announces in the beginning that it does take literary license to make it more entertaining, so there's no beef about that.Ladd plays Indian fighter Johnny, who has a hate-like-hate relationship with Captain Jack, played by Charles Bronson, and is on a first name basis with the leading thugs that accompany Captain Jack.Captain Jack is a Modoc Native American, but he is not a real captain. He steals medals from officers he kills. The real leaders of the Modoc don't trust him, and think little of him. Same for his main cohorts.He makes a name for himself in villainy, and President Grant tries to quell his killing peacefully. He sees the importance of keeping peace with the good Modoc people who would make good neighbors.As with any Delmer Daves directed movie, we know his high handed American Nazi ideology will prevail, and he will force the issue to kill at least one beautiful brunette woman. One must wonder if Daves was once jilted and humiliated by a brown eyed brunette, in order to make him continually do this.It is just one of the "forced" looking events that take place in this movie. More "forced" is the direction, in which Daves seems to want to display certain lines and characteristics in very unnatural looking sequences of events. It looks like Daves had in mind to make sure certain lines were spoken, and certain images taken. It almost looks like a movie made by a story book artist.Daves is a bit more subdued in this movie than in most movies, however, and it probably is the best of his works, which isn't saying much.

Lee-Anne Phillips Captain Jack, the Modoc leader, is depicted as a murderous savage throughout, despite being somewhat admired by the white hero, Alan Ladd, yet the film fails to mention that until the early 1870's the State of California was still offering bounties on Indian scalps, men, women, and children.The Modocs had been deported to Oregon, and forced to share the reservations of their tribal enemies, and had only returned to their homes in California because they were being murdered.In fact, it was the white immigrants to California who had murderously attacked, enslaved, and persecuted the Modoc Indians, because they happened to live in "Gold Country," and the more-or-less official policy of the California Government was to "drive the native Indians into the sea," if at all possible, but in the meantime they could legally be sold and used as slaves, despite the fact that California was nominally a "Free" State.

MartinHafer The only reason I saw this film is because is starred Alan Ladd. Other than that, it really has nothing special to add to the 134427923459329 other westerns made during this era (don't believe me? I counted!). Sure, it has nice scenery and decent acting, but the plot is quite ordinary.The film begins with Alan Ladd being summoned to the White House to talk with President Grant. It seems that Ladd was called because he is a famed 'Indian fighter' and knows a lot about the recent uprisings among the Modoc Indians in the Washington/Oregon area (though the film sure didn't look that that part of the country to me). Ladd is given a commission as a Peace Commissioner--to pacify the problems, not just go in and kill everyone! As Peace Commissioner, Ladd is in a bind. Some settlers and a cavalry officer and his wife have been murdered. The settlers are calling for action, but Ladd can't just start killing Indians without knowing exactly who was at fault. Ladd's job sure looks like a tough one.When you see Captain Jack (not the pirate but the leader of these Indians), you will not be surprised that he's not played by a real American-Indian--this was very typical for the time period. Heck, the 1950s saw the likes of Rock Hudson(!), Jeff Chandler and other non-natives playing Indians. In this film, Charles Bronson (!!) plays the renegade Indian warrior--the same man of Lithuanian ancestry who was born Charles Buchinsky! Well, at least he WAS able to carry off the role, as despite his very white ancestry his chiseled looks were a reasonable approximation for a Modoc Indian--though his nose is clearly not correct (you can't win 'em all). Anthony Caruso, an Italian-American, also plays a Modoc tribesman but frankly, he WAS able to carry off playing an Indian very well and you'd swear he was one himself. And, Mexican-born Rodolfo Acosta also plays one of the tribesmen. IMDb did not indicate he had Indian blood, either, but he, too, at least looked like a very good approximation of a Modoc Indian.This is a well-polished and decent western with good production values. However, aside from discussing the Modocs (hardly a tribe mentioned in a typical western), there really is nothing new here. The Indians are, generally, shown as unreasonable savages and the day is saved by a combination of macho-Ladd and the US Cavalry. I am quite sure that the Modocs would have a different interpretations of these hostilities! Watchable and well made but also quite ordinary.By the way, although the dates are wrong and several important omissions occur, the general facts of the film were essentially correct (there WAS a Captain Jack, for instance as well as a hold-out in the mountains by the warriors). There was a lot of friction between the Modoc tribe and settlers--with quite a few 'massacres'. However, by 1876 (when the film is set), the Modocs had been forcibly moved to Oklahoma and their leader hanged following the killing of a US Major. It makes for interesting reading and is actually a lot more interesting than this movie.