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Cecil B. DeMille's 1947 frontier epic "Unconquered"
may no longer be politically correct (and in fact is racist
in its attitude to Native Americans), but it still can provide
a rousing bit of entertainment as long as you understand
the context within which the film was made. Featuring Gary
Cooper, Paulette Goddard, Howard DeSilva, Boris Karloff
and Ward Bond the rousing score by Victor Young will pull
you into this old fashioned Hollywood epic from the Paramount
logo that skirts across the screen at the beginning. ***
Goddard plays a Abby Hale a girl convicted of murder
when she tries to defend her ill brother. She's given a
choice-either death by hanging or 14 years of indentured
servitude in the colonies. Purchased by Martin Garth a gunrunner
(DeSilva) finds her attractive, her freedom is purchased
by Captain Holden (Cooper) but Garth makes off with her
tearing up her note of freedom. It turns out that Garth
is selling weapons to the Indians trying to create an uprising.
Holden discovers his plan but can't prove anything and also
discover Abby has been abducted. He moves west to stop Garth
and save the girl. ---
Image & Sound:
Universal continues to do justice to their older films
particularly the Technicolor films. Acquired from Paramount
in the 50's for their Television division, "Unconquered"
looks marvelous capturing the supersaturated hues that were
typical of Technicolor at the time. It's not a perfect transfer
but it looks quite good.Audio sounds fine if a bit flat
(not a surprise given the age of the film) but adequately
puts dialogue at the front front of the mix. ---
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