Daily Archives: March 4, 2015

Unconquered
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Written by Charles Bennett, Fredric M. Frank, and Jesse Lasky Jr. from the novel “The Judas Tree” by Neil H. Swanson
1947/USA
Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

Martin Garth: The King’s Law moves with the king’s muskets, and there are very few King’s muskets west of the Alleghenies.

There is something wrong on so many levels with seeing Boris Karloff playing an Indian Chief in Technicolor.

The setting is Colonial Pennsylvania.  Abby (Paulette Goddard) is found guilty of murder in 18th Century England and given the choice of hanging or being sold as an “indentured slave” (?) in America at public auction.  She chooses the latter option.  On the journey to the New World, Abby catches the eye of the evil Martin Garth (Howard Da Silva) and he insists on buying her on the spot.  However, somebody insists on an auction and Capt. Christopher Holden (Gary Cooper) stays in the bidding until he wins her and can set her free.  Holden then departs to rejoin his fiancee.

After his departure, Garth manages to regain possession of Abby through some lies and bribery.  After securing ownership papers, he puts his minion “Bone” (Mike Mazurki) in charge of the young woman while he goes off to hand out weapons to the Indians.  Garth has profited from fur trading in the territories and is determined to see no white settlements in his area.

In the meantime, Holden finds his fiancee has married his brother in his absence.  He reports for duty at one of the forts, near where Abby is toiling as a serving wench in Bone’s tavern.  He reclaims his purchase but when Garth shows a bill of sale it is Holden that is exiled.

It is not necessary to reveal all the twists and turns of the 2 1/2 hour plot.  Just know that Abby changes hands several times; she and Holden make several desperate escapes, one  over a waterfall; and Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas (Karloff) is ever ready with a burning at the stake or a massacre.  With many familiar faces including Ward Bond, Henry Wilcoxon, Cecil Kellaway, and C. Aubrey Smith.

If Karloff is not bad enough, Da Silva and Mazurki are totally miscast for this kind of thing. The whole tone feels more like a WWII celebration of the American Way than a period piece.  But then I just don’t appreciate Cecil B. DeMille’s epics.  Cooper and Goddard are OK and there’s plenty of action for those who like this kind of thing.

Unconquered was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects.

The Egg and I
Directed by Chester Erskine
Written by Chester Erskine and Fred F. Finklehoffe from the novel by Betty MacDonald
1947/USA
Universal International Pictures
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] “Sunday! In the country Sunday is the day on which you do exactly as much work as you do on other days but feel guilty all of the time you are doing it because Sunday is a day of rest” ― Betty MacDonald, The Egg and I[/box]

Betty (Claudette Colbert) and Bob MadDonald (Fred McMurray) are newlyweds.  Bob has just returned from the war and surprises his bride on their wedding night by telling her he has quit his desk job and bought a chicken farm.  Seems he spent his time in the trenches dreaming of fresh air and farm animals.  Instead of walking out, as I might have done, Betty takes this news with some grace. Her fortitude is tested when she discovers that the farm has long been abandoned and only a mountain of work will make things right.  To say the least, Betty has a steep learning curve, particularly with her cantankerous wood-powered stove.

These trials are eased some what by laughter at the antics of the odd-ball town folks.  The Kettles in particular are a hoot.  Pa (Percy Kilbride) has never worked a day in his life and feels free to borrow any of the MacDonalds’ property he can get his hands on.  Ma (Marjorie Main) has the patience of Job in managing both Pa and her brood of about twelve kids, although she never can quite remember the names of the children.

The story is principally a light-hearted look at the challenges overcome by the couple and the idiosyncrasies of country life.  It is marred somewhat by an extraneous subplot dealing with Betty’s jealousy of Bob’s interest in their gentlewoman neighbor’s fancy modern farm.  The main reason I keep coming back to this one is Ma and Pa Kettle.  Every scene they are in is pure gold.  No wonder their characters launched a series of popular B films.

Marjorie Main was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Egg and I.

Trailer