Ulzana's Raid

Thanks to DirecTV making all the premium movie channels available on a free preview over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to DVR Ulzana's Raid.

The movie starts off on an Apache Indian reservation in the early days of the reservations when the representative of the federal government was still there and ran the place, not giving the Apache a fair deal on anything. So a couple of the Apache escape

Cut to the local army fort, where things seem normal, at least to the point there the men can play an impromtu game of baseball. That is, until a rider comes in informing them of the escape from the base. That means trouble, because the Apache in general were vicious in fighting against the encroaching Americans, and the leader of the group that broke out, Ulazna (Joaquin Martinez), is particularly brutal. All those homesteaders who have been moving into the Arizona territory are in danger. But how to deal with Ulzana?

Capt. Gates (Lloyd Bochner), the base commander, would prefer not to resort to violence, although it's probably not going to be his choice. He sends out the old scout McIntosh (Burt Lancaster) to get information on the size of the raiding party and their intentions. McIntosh knows the Apache well enough to have a fair amount of respect for them but also to have no illusions about them. Meanwhile, Gates gives military command of the Army pursuit to greenhorn lieutenant DeBuin (Bruce Davison), son of a minister and as such a devout Christian. DeBuin doesn't quite understand McIntosh, and McIntosh is none too sanguine about having DeBuin in command.

So they set out with a bunch of men across the desert to try to find Ulzana and if possible see that he gets to Mexico and becomes their problem, or get him back to the reservation. Neither scenarios is particularly likely. Ulzana is clever and ruthless, as DeBuin finds out in how they deal with one of the homesteaders. Also it seems as though Ulzana is playing a cat-and-mouse game with DeBuin, trying to tire out DeBuin's horses, something which would be fatal for the army men.

I think I've said quite a few times that I'm not the biggest fan of westerns, so I tend to be a harder judge when watching them than when I'm watching some other genres, or than other people might be of westerns. With that in mind, I generally liked Ulzana's Raid, although I wouldn't say I was blown away by it. It's very well made, with an intelligent plot and excellent performances by Davison and Lancaster. At the same time, the movie had the feel to me of a solid genre picture, something that's good but been done before. Mind you, what's done here is done quite well. Anybody who's a fan of westerns will very much enjoy this one, I think.

Ulzana's Raid is available from Universal's MOD scheme.