Geronimo

On the Arizona-Mexico border in 1883, Apache warrior Geronimo surrenders himself and his tribe to the US Calvary in exchange for food and shelter on government land; naturally, the villainous, despicable whites sell the ground out from underneath the Indians after a greedy land baron sees they have turned the hard dirt into fertile soil for farming, leading to an unwinnable war between the fading Apaches and the Americans. Mixing "fact and legend", screenwriter Pat Fielder shamefully reduces history to textbook eye-for-an-eye business. Western-adventure from United Artists is further hurt by a TV cast and budget. Chuck Connors' Geronimo wages war on the Cavalrymen, though from what we can see it's really just Pat Conway's smirking Captain who's against him. Conway, decked out with an ostentatious neckerchief, unmercifully struts his way through this thing like a smug peacock...but, at least he wasn't forced to wear a ratty black wig like most of his co-stars. Some good scenes, such as an impromptu chicken dinner at the house of a strict widow, almost makes up for the general lack of story and character development. ** from ****