Ulzana's Raid (1972)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writer:

Alan Sharp (written by)

Release Date:

18 October 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Western

Tagline:

One man alone understood the savagery of the early American west from both sides.

Plot:

Report reaches the US cavalry that the Apache leader Ulzana has left his reservation with a band of followers...

Plot Keywords:

Apache | U.S. Cavalry | Scout | Massacre | Cavalry

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	McIntosh
Bruce Davison	...	Lt. Garnett DeBuin
Jorge Luke	...	Ke-Ni-Tay
Richard Jaeckel	...	Sergeant
Joaquín Martínez	...	Ulzana (as Joaquin Martinez)
Lloyd Bochner	...	Capt. Charles Gates
Karl Swenson	...	Willy Rukeyser
Douglass Watson	...	Maj. Cartwright
Dran Hamilton	...	Mrs. Riordan
John Pearce	...	Corporal
Gladys Holland	...	Mrs. Rukeyser
Margaret Fairchild	...	Mrs. Abbie Ginsford
Aimée Eccles	...	McIntosh's Indian Woman (as Aimee Ecclés)
Richard Bull	...	Ginsford
Otto Reichow	...	Steegmeyer
Dean Smith	...	Horowitz
Larry Randles	...	Mulkearn
Hal Maguire	...	Trooper
Ted Markland	...	Trooper
R.L. Armstrong	...	Trooper
John McKee	...	Trooper
Tony Epper	...	Trooper
Nick Cravat	...	Trooper
William H. Burton	...	Trooper (as Bill Burton)
Fred Brookfield	...	Trooper
Jerry Gatlin	...	Trooper
Walter Scott	...	Trooper
Richard Farnsworth	...	Trooper
Henry Camargo	...	Indian Brave
Larry Colelay	...	Indian Brave
Gil Escandon	...	Indian Brave
Marvin Fragua	...	Indian Brave
Frank Gonzales	...	Indian Brave
Benny Thompson	...	Indian Brave
George Aguilar	...	Indian Brave
Wallace Sinyella	...	Indian Brave
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hal Baylor	...	Curtis (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Aldrich

Writing credits
Alan Sharp		(written by)

Produced by
Carter DeHaven	....	producer (as Carter De Haven)
Alan Sharp	....	associate producer
Harold Hecht	....	producer (uncredited)
Burt Lancaster	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Frank De Vol		(as Frank DeVol)

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(director of photography) (as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Michael Luciano

Art Direction by
James Dowell Vance		(as James D. Vance)

Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.		(as John McCarthy)

Costume Design by
Glenn Wright		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Tony Lloyd	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Mike Moschella	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Lorraine Roberson	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Ernest B. Wehmeyer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Malcolm R. Harding	....	assistant director
Jerry Grandey	....	director trainee (uncredited)
Tom Joyner	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Richard Leon	....	swing gang (uncredited)
Mel Lyell	....	swing gang (uncredited)
John Martinez	....	assistant prop man (uncredited)
Gary Moreno	....	lead man (uncredited)
Ygnacio Sepulveda	....	prop master (uncredited)
Ward Welton	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
James R. Alexander	....	sound (as Jim Alexander)
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound
George Malley	....	recordist (uncredited)
Don Sharpless	....	mike man (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sass Bedig	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Fred Brookfield	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Courtney	....	stunts (uncredited)
Patty Elder	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
John McKee	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Veto	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Aldridge	....	key grip (uncredited)
Larry Barbier	....	still photographer (uncredited)
John L. Black	....	dolly grip (uncredited)
Lee Brendle	....	second grip (uncredited)
Bob Eels	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
John Flanagan	....	best boy (uncredited)
Gilbert Haimson	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Bill Hannah	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Roy Hogstedt	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Joe Jackman	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Joe King	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Kenneth Peach Jr.	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Paul Schwake Jr.	....	company grip (uncredited)
Johnny Walker	....	camera mechanic (uncredited)

Casting Department
Frank Kennedy	....	extras casting: locations (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
James Gilmore	....	wardrobe man (uncredited)
Glenn Wright	....	wardrobe man (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Kelly Aldrich	....	driver (uncredited)
Jack Lloyd	....	driver captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Howard Brandy	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Rich Brehm	....	wrangler (uncredited)
John Buckins	....	wrangler (uncredited)
Nick Chiarolanzio	....	location auditor (uncredited)
Terry Flanigan	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Robert Gary	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Ray Hutchinson	....	night wrangler (uncredited)
Beverly Kilburn	....	first aid (uncredited)
Buzz Newhouse	....	location coordinator (uncredited)
Ronald Y. Ortega	....	caterer (uncredited)
Rudy Ugland	....	supplier: livestock (uncredited)
Danny Young	....	timekeeper (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents)
• Associates & Aldrich Company, The
• De Haven Productions

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema Internazional Corporation (1973) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Films de España (1973) (Spain) (theatrical)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1975) (USA) (TV)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Universal Vault Series)

Other Companies

• Cinematique  cosmetics
• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (cut) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Denmark:11 (2003) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Coronado National Forest, Arizona, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Aldrich privately admitted that he wasn't entirely satisfied with the way the film turned out.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the platoon sets out from the fort, Macintosh's Indian girlfriend is watching them depart, with her face half-hidden by the shawl she is holding tightly under her nose. The next shot cuts straight to a close up of her face, but her hands are not in view and more of her face is hidden by the shawl.

Quotes:

McIntosh:Lieutenant, a horse apple dries out at a certain rate. This one's pretty solid. Ke-Ni-Tay figures four, maybe five hours.
Lt. Harry Garnett DeBuin:What do *you* think?
McIntosh:I ain't about to argue with no Apache about horseshit, Lieutenant. He's the expert.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Golden Girls: Big Daddy (#1.24)" (1986)

Authentic period piece about the horrors of the Indian wars…

Robert Aldrich was a director I much admired, directing some of my favorite films: Kiss Me Deadly (1955) – the quintessential Mike Hammer flick – Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and others. Now, after missing it for over thirty years, I can now add this one: as a truly realistic and accurate portrayal of what would have happened in one of many skirmishes during the Indian wars of the late nineteenth century.

This is a mature and sometimes grossly horrific account of what Apaches did to settlers and soldiers, and what soldiers did to Apaches. It pulls no punches in depicting how the marauding band of Apaches eviscerate the dead and play sport with the entrails of victims, how they rape and torture wives of settlers, how they torture the men slowly and most cruelly. But, it also shows how soldiers are driven to perform cowardly, and equally cruel acts when retaliating, in the name of justice.

And caught in the middle of this mayhem is young Lt. DeBruin (Bruce Davison) who's given the task of rounding up Ulzana (Joaquin Martinez) and his band of Apaches who left the reservation, stole some horses and began to lay a path of destruction and death across part of Arizona. Being fresh out from military college, he needs help; and so, the fort commander (Douglass Watson) sends the grizzled Army scout McIntosh (Burt Lancaster) along to provide necessary advice and guidance – together with a company of toughened army veterans kept in check by a weary sergeant (the ever competent Richard Jaeckel). Rounding out the 'posse' is the Apache army scout Ki-Ni-Tay (Jorge Luke) who provides the young DeBruin (and the viewer) with insight into the mind of the Apache.

The story resolves to a cat-and-mouse game between Ulzana and his pursuers, each trying to outguess and outmaneuver the other across and through the wide and desolate expanse of the Arizona hills and semi-desert. So, it's as much an entertainment as it is a lesson in the tactics necessary for the soldiers to gain the upper hand. There are some wonderful landscape shots that illustrate just how difficult the task was; and there are moments of sheer brilliance when Aldrich shows Ki-Ni-Tay's on-foot pursuit of one of Ulzana's band, a standout sequence of stealth and suspense.

Throughout all of this McIntosh brings his long experience to bear upon DeBruin's decisions, convincing the lieutenant to set the only trap that would fool Ulzana into making a mistake – McIntosh reiterating many times that "those who make the first mistake" will lose. All too true because things always go wrong with the best laid plans...

Once again, Lancaster shows the master's touch in this role: his crinkly eyes, lined face and quiet voice attesting to a man who's seen it all and who just wants to get a job done and survive another day. Which makes Davison almost perfect as the cherubic – almost angelic – faced neophyte who wants to do well but who also wants to change his world and make it better for all – including the Apache. Such irony...

The only jarring notes were the sometimes-quick cuts (which made me wonder if some scenes had been deleted); and the sometimes-peculiar music sound track that you have to listen to, to understand my point. Otherwise...

Not recommended for children as this film does contain some graphically awful scenes. For all adult fans of the western genre, however, I thoroughly recommend a viewing.