Comanche Territory (1950) User Reviews

Worth watching for O'Hara and Geer.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 15 November 2014]

Silver has been discovered on Comanche lands. The U.S. government has reached a deal with the Comanches for mining of the land, but it seems that greedy locals want to make sure that they're not made aware of any agreement. The legendary James Bowie (Macdonald Carey) arrives on the scene, realizing that he's got his work cut out for him in trying to prevent hostilities from flaring. Among the characters that he meets are genial politician Dan'l Seeger (Will Geer) and the incredibly feisty local businesswoman Katie Howard (Maureen O'Hara).

Overall, this is a reasonably absorbing if also routine Western. It is beautifully shot, in colour, by Maury Gertsman. It treats its Indian characters with a modicum of respect, although it does take one out of the action seeing that Rick Vallin, playing Pakanah, is clearly white. A fairly short running time (76 minutes) and adequate direction (by George Sherman) help to make this pass the time agreeably. Certainly the big action finale is rousing enough.

The cast is the best asset that the movie has. Carey is an engaging lead. O'Hara is at her most fiery and ravishing as Katie. Carey and Geer have fine chemistry, and Geer, who steals the show, clearly has some fun playing a rather colourful character. Charles Drake is also good as Katies' brother Stacey. Other players include Pedro de Cordoba as Comanche chief Quisima, Ian MacDonald (the villain in "High Noon" two years later) as Walsh, film debuting Parley Baer as Boozer the bartender, James Best as Sam, and Glenn Strange as Big Joe.

There's nothing here that's really all that memorable, but it *is* entertaining.

Six out of 10.

Dumb title, interesting adventure flick

[xredgarnetx · 7/10 · 10 February 2007]

This little-seen quasi-Western from 1950 stars McDonald Carey as Jim Bowie helping his friends, the Indians, from an army of marauding white men out to steal Indian land for its silver. The action is set well before the Civil War, so it is improper to call this a Western, although on the meager budget this was shot on, there are plenty of classic Western outfits on display throughout. Carey is at his prime here, and makes for a virile and resourceful Bowie. An absolutely stunning and very youthful Maureen O'Hara is his feisty love interest, who initially is all for white folks taking over Indian land. She wears some silly outfits that look like they came from a Roy Rogers flick, but she also gets to wear at least one formal dress that shows off her distinctive assets. She also gets to put on quite a brogue, enough so that you might think you're watching THE QUIET MAN from time to time. All in all, a fun "B" flick of a type now long forgotten.

It's fellas like him that give the white man a bad name.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 8 November 2011]

Comanche Territory is directed by George Sherman and written by Oscar Brodney and Lewis Meltzer. It stars Maureen O'Hara, Macdonald Carey, Will Geer and Charles Drake. Music is by Frank Skinner and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.

A government treaty set up to protect sacred Comanche land is due to expire, just as silver has been found beneath the mountains on the land. James Bowie (Carey) has been sent to negotiate a new treaty with the Comanche leaders, thus allowing the silver to be mined without upsetting the Indians. But there are underhand plans being drawn up by settlers in the town of Crooked Tongue, a town run by feisty Katie Howard (O'Hara). Can Bowie prevent the pillaging of the sacred Indian land? Something that will inevitably lead to blood being shed…...

Good solid B Western that gets in and does its job without pretension or pointless filler. Shot in Technicolor and filmed impressively on location in Sedona, Arizona (Big & Little Parks/Red Rock), it's a film that offers an interesting story and a good sprinkling of action. Cast are mostly fine, Geer files in for the Arthur Hunnicut/Walter Brennan type role, O'Hara is spunky and a Technicolor picture (check out that gorgeous black and green frock sequence) and Carey, whilst hardly a convincing or robust Jim Bowie, plays it with restraint and works off of Geer and O'Hara rather well. The action is competently staged by old pro Sherman, who also doesn't let the pace sag, and Gertsman's photography of the landscapes (particularly Red Rock) is the high point of the production.

Problems? Well Charles Drake as Katie Howard's crooked brother turns him into a pretty tepid villain, while the big saloon punch-up is beset by amateurish punch throwing. There's also the issue of non Native American actors playing Indians, which once in a while in the 50s did throw up the odd good turn, however here isn't one of them. Though in fairness they aren't helped by the script, which doesn't exactly give the Comanche characters some telling dialogue to impact on proceedings. Good to report that Pegasus' DVD release contains a very good print, there's the odd moment of colour fluctuation, but by and large it's a neat transfer. Though you may want to slightly tone down your colour setting since Sherman and Gertsman have gone for the high contrast option for the Technicolor filters! 6.5/10

Average movie, magnificent scenery.

[red-43 · 3 March 1999]

While the movie itself is just a standard western, the locations are absolutely beautiful, well worth watching the movie just for the scenery.

"Comanche honours his treaties. Hope his white brother do the same when time come."

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 1 March 2022]

A handsome, good-humoured Technicolor western about Jim Bowie, this time played by a laconic Macdonald Carey aided by wily old chum Will Geer.

Feisty, buckskin-wearing female lead Maureen O'Hara later recalled it as "a fairly decent western and the film in which I mastered the American bullwhip. By the time the picture was over, I could snap a gigarette out of someone's mouth".

Routine Western in which known scout Jim Bowie fights with invaders who are taking Indian land in order to rob their silver

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 5 March 2019]

Western frontiersman , adventurer , and pioneer Jim Bowie (MacDonald Carey) was born in Logan County, Kentucky, in 1796 , here he travels to Comanche country, where the government accomplished a peaceful agreement with the indians (Pedro de Cordoba , Iron Eyes Cody , among others) , then he helps the Comanche people save their land from settlers . There silver has been found on their territory while the white settlers scheme to defy the agreement between the government and the Comanche in order to mine for silver on Comanche land . Later on , he meets Katie (Maureen O'Hara) who along with her brother (Charles Drake) seem to play leading roles in this incroaching on Indian territory . As explorer Bowie and his pal (Will Geer) fight against invaders who are encroaching Indian land and a hidden gang who is supplying guns to the mean colonists . The Wild, Wanton Fury of 1,000 Howling Savages!

A standard and routine oater set during the Indian Wars with the violent upheaval of brave Comanches as the white settlers living near by planning to attack the dreaded indians , although they know about that an agreement has been broken , then fear and violence spread throughout the land .This one shows a campy and entertaining glimpse in the Wild West in B-style , being based on a story by Lewis Metzer and screenplay by Brodney . Starred by a legendary role : Jim Bowie , who moved to San Antonio, Texas, in 1828 , battled for Texas' independence in 1832 and served as a colonel in the Texas revolutionary army. James Bowie died in 1836 fighting against the Mexican military commanded by General Santa Anna at the notorious battle of the Alamo along with Davy Crockett and Colonel Travis . Furthermore , inventing the Bowie Knife , main motif at the movie , as he teaches use and manufacture it to Indians . The film packs thrills , noisy action , horse pursuits , crossfire , attacks and it is fast-moving and enough entertaining . It's a medium budget film with acceptable actors , technicians , functional production values and pleasing results . Bursting with appealing characters, including decent filmmaking and interpretation . Passable acting by MacDonald Carey as the historical scout Jim Bowie who tries to keep the peace in the territory. Co-stars the gorgeous and attractive Maureen O'Hara . Along the way , she dances and sings some songs . O'Hara managed to spring from this ridiculous camp Oriental Adventure outing to stardom . Maureen played brave females in several Adventure/Pirate movies during the 40s and 50s in Universal Pictures , similar to Yvonne DeCarlo . As DeCarlo had recently been ill and lost a lot of weight, so much that the Universal producers decided to replace her with Maureen O'Hara . Maureen interpreted various Muslim girls in Simbad the Sailor , Flame of Araby and Bagdad . She also performed the daughter of a powerful lord in The Black Swain , a valiant aristocrat in The Spanish Main , a feared pirate woman called Spitfire in Against All Flags and a French countess in Trípoli . Later on , in 1952 she starred At Sword point as Musketeer Athos' daughter , an untamed Australian girl in Kangaroo and after that , the known Lady Godiva . Finally , she played her best films thanks to John Ford . Support cast is pretty well , such as : Will Geer , Charles Drake , Glenn Strange , James Best , Pedro de Cordoba , Iron Eyes Cody , William Fawcett ,and Ian MacDonald . There stands out the colorful and brilliant cinematography by Maury Gertsman . Being shot on location in Sedona, Big Park, Little Park , Red Rock Crossing , Arizona , and Yavapai County, Arizona . As well as a moving and thrilling musical score by Frank Skinner .

The motion picture was professional though middlingly directed by George Sherman in B-style , though has some flaws and gaps . Sherman made reliable low-budget fare for Columbia between 1945-48, then moved on to do the same at Universal for another eight years , where he directed ¨Tomahawk¨ and ¨Comanche territory¨. Sherman specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns there , including the "Three Musketeers" series, which featured a young John Wayne. George directed lots of Westerns as ¨The Last of the Fast Guns¨ , ¨The Lone Hand¨, ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ , ¨Red skin¨ , ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ ¨Calamity Jane¨, ¨Relentless¨ , ¨Treasure of Pancho Villa¨, ¨Comanche Territory¨ , ¨Dawn at Socorro¨, ¨Border River¨ , ¨war arrow¨, ¨The sombrero kid¨, ¨Rock Mountain Rangers¨, ¨Overland stage riders¨ , ¨Frontier horizon¨ , ¨Cowboy from Texas¨ , ¨3 Texas steers ¨ , ¨ Wyoming outlaw¨ , ¨Pals of the saddle¨ , ¨Outlands of Sonora¨ , ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ and many others . He also made occasional forays into action and horror themes, often achieving a sense of style over substance . The only "A"-grade films to his credit were two westerns starring John Wayne: ¨Comancheros¨ (1961) (as producer) and ¨The big Jack¨ (1971) . His last films were realized in Spain as "Find That Girl" , ¨The new Cinderella¨ and ¨Joaquin Murrieta¨. Rating : 5.5/10 . Passable and acceptable . Well worth watching

Nothing Special Unless You Crave Mareen O'Hara

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 28 April 2013]

George Sherman supplements the clichés with humor in "Comanche Territory," another disposable but pleasant dust-raiser with Maureen O'Hara playing her usual red-haired hellion. MacDonald Carey squares off against her over silver and a peace treaty with the Comanche nation. Will Geer is cast as Carey's sidekick, while Charles Drake is O'Hara's less than scrupulous brother. This movie qualifies as a period western since the characters are armed with black powder firearms. Yes, the American Civil War has not happened yet, much less the Alamo. Mind you, Andrew Jackson is President of the United States so it isn't a traditional oater. During the 1950s, westerns adopted a new sentiment that Native Americans weren't always good if they were dead. In other words, the Indians had won the cultural role and western filmmakers didn't utilize them as often as villains. Jim Bowie (MacDonald Carey) is sent into Comanche country to see that the treaty becomes a reality. He encounters former Congressman Dan'l Seeger (Will Geer) who had the treaty stolen from him by the villains. When Bowie and Seeger meet, they have to fight the Comanches. Bowie wins the favor of the Native Americans after facing off with some of them in a knife fight. Indeed, they like the pig-sticker enough that they insist Bowie show them how to make them. "Gunman's Code" lenser Maury Gertsman's cinematography is outstanding, and the real scenery in Sedona, Arizona, is gorgeous. Nothing about the Lewis Meltzer and Oscar Brodney screenplay is really exciting. The characters are shallow and one-dimensional. Carey plays Bowie without gusto, while dependable supporting players like Glenn Strange, James Best, I. Stanford Jolley, and Iron-Eyes Cody get a line or two of dialogue. Altogether, "Comanche Territory" is nothing special.

Okay, But Forgettable

[FightingWesterner · 6/10 · 25 May 2014]

Jim Bowie (MacDonald Carey) and government representative Will Geer try to retrieve a stolen Comanche land treaty, which may have been stolen from Geer by lady-boss Maureen O'Hara as a means of taking the Indian's land and it's precious silver deposits.

Like all of Universal International's Technicolor B-westerns, this looks excellent, with nice use of color and picturesque locations. However, it's kind of bland, with action and suspense unimaginatively handled, though a compact running time helps keep it watchable.

The best thing about it is the witty banter between Carey and Geer, who steals every scene he's in.

Thar's silver in that thar Comanche Territory

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 27 April 2005]

Famous frontiersman Jim Bowie is sent by President Andrew Jackson to make sure the terms of a treaty with the Comanche is being carried out. But another emissary has been bushwacked and the Comanches never got the new treaty. It's up to Jim with his trusty knife to investigate what's going on. Nefarious villains are after the silver that's on the Comanche land.

Of all the American frontier characters in our history, Jim Bowie has had the biggest whitewash. In real life this man was a slavetrader, a land swindler and all around frontier scoundrel. The knife he is credited with inventing was made probably to his specifications, but by someone else. He had a certain amount of charm as MacDonald Carey plays him here with, but definitely was not of good character.

Andy Jackson might have bought a slave or three for the Hermitage from Jim Bowie, but never would have sent him on a diplomatic mission. And the Comanches who were not a blip on the American frontier radar yet, would not have made a deal with Jackson if they heard anything about what happened to the Cherokee.

Maureen O'Hara got to create another redheaded spitfire character that she was doing in picture after picture at this point of her career. Will Geer as the other Jackson emissary probably has the best part in this film.

Average Hollywood western which has absolutely nothing to do with reality. But the kiddies might like it.

Buried Silver

[jldmp1 · 3/10 · 8 July 2006]

While this isn't an awful Western, there are clearly deficient aspects here that prevent greatness. The fight scenes don't thrill. The saloon brawl is poorly crafted, and nowhere near as funny as intended. The Comanches are depicted as 'injuns', with whites playing the only speaking parts. The central love/hate relationship between Carey and O'Hara is of the screwball comedy variety, but Carey is no Clark Gable.

In addition to the desert scenery, the only other real value this has is historical -- a reminder of whence more recent movies extract their ideas. For example, the imposing presence of the Bowie knife would later be borrowed by the "Rambo" movies.

O'Hara is probably the best single feature here, her two-fisted feisty redhead serving as a template for the Nicole Kidmans of the modern era. And the bull whip cracking and fight on the runaway wagon would become ingredients in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Jim Bowie and Davy Crocket tangle with charming shrewish spitfire over treaty with Comanches

[weezeralfalfa · 9/10 · 5 July 2013]

Before Maureen O'Hara got spanked on film by John Wayne for her shrewish behavior, she got kicked in the behind several times by Macdonald Carey(as newcomer Jim Bowie), while pinned under a table in a saloon fight. This was in retaliation for her general hostile attitude toward him and her refusal to cash his bank draft as president of the bank or as owner of the saloon in the frontier town of Crooked Tongue in Comanche territory, presumably somewhere in Texas in the 1830s. Probably, the town name had the same meaning to the Comanche as 'forked tongue': their impression of most Europeans. Well, Maureen, as character Katie Howard, had a right to be angry with this stranger, 'cause he busted up her show of riding from one end of town to the other without spilling 2 mugs of beer on a tray she was holding. He claimed it was accidental, but it didn't look that way to me or her. Also, he addressed her as 'a lady', which she took offense to(apparently preferring to be thought of more like a man). The give and take between Carey, or sometimes another, and Maureen provides most of the humorous aspects of this colorful Technicolor Western. I say colorful because Maureen is quite colorful in both a physical and personality sense. She even gets to sing a folk song in a saloon setting. In addition, the abundant outdoors scenes were mostly shot in the colorful Oak Canyon region, near Sedona, AZ. In several shots, the postcard Cathedral Rocks are clearly in the background.

You won't find a character listed in the credits as Davy Crocket, so why do I claim such in my title? One of the main characters is Daniel Seeger, played by Will Geer. In his eastern formal dress and top hat, he doesn't look anything like Fess Parker's later coonskin-capped film Davy Crocket. But he claims to be a long time frontiersman, Indian fighter/trader and sometimes congressman, and sports what looks like a Kentucky rifle. What historical figure who went to Texas and became a friend of Jim Bowie fits this description? Will Geer was quite a diverse character, with a degree in horticulture, a sometimes folk singer and always a willing advocate for radical political reform. In consequence, he would soon be blacklisted as a result of congressional communist witch hunting. But not before acting as Don O'Connor's buddy in the pirate spoof "Double Crossbones".

You may not be familiar with Carey as a Western leading man. I was not. He rather reminds me of Ray Milland. He may have lacked the larger-than-life physical image of the top Western leading men, but he proved a scrappy adversary of the evil and wrong-headed elements in this story, and his character eventually managed to make a friend out of Maureen's belligerent character, sealed in the parting shot, which you will like.

Now, what's all this talk about treaties between the US government and the Comanches? Remember, Texas at this time was still part of Mexico and would not become part of the US for another decade. Nonetheless, Sam Houston did arrive in Texas in 1833 to try to arrange a treaty between the US and Comanches. Mexican authorities were not amused and booted him out for a while. All the shenanigans in the film about disappearing and prospective treaty papers are pretty silly, although they form an important part of the plot.

What's all the fuss about a big silver strike in Comanche territory, that also is the central issue in the plot? I'm not aware of any such historical silver strike. However, it does have a slight historical basis. The real Jim Bowie did lead an expedition to central Texas in search of some diggings by Native Americans and , later, Mexicans, reputed to have yielded silver. But, nothing of consequence resulted. The screenplay story is quite different.

Overall, I found this quite an enjoyable film, with lots of humor, colorful characters, both hostile and friendly relations with Comanches, and insider, as well as outsider, badman elements. Most of the Comanches looked like real NAs. Probably, Quisima: the chief, is a corruption of the name of the last free Comanche chief: Quanah, historically relevant not for several decades later. The firearms generally had the look of the flintlocks of this period.

Along with "Against All Flags", and "The Redhead from Wyoming", released a couple years later, Maureen's character in this film allows her to be at her most charming shrewish spitfire self, and thus my favorite incarnations of her. Rather reminds me of my wife. Her spars with favorite leading man John Wayne in "The Quiet Man" and the much later "McClintock" may be much better known, but I prefer these two much shorter Universal films, which are now available as parts of cheap DVD sets of some lesser known films of that era.

Why it's ol Tom ( Macdonald Carey) Horton

[PatrynXX · 5/10 · 14 April 2020]

Okay he passed away bout 6 months before I got hooked on days freshmen year in college. But they had flashbacks in late 1994. And well later on..

Movie fairly standard western , with absurd Iron Eyes Cody at the beginning (he's Italian not Native America ) Only seen him in one movie (Ernest goes to Camp) and 1 ad everyone makes fun of.... Still a good actor can fool everyone... Like Scotty. James wasn't Scottish. But ye would never know it

Maureen's Irish accent , which I've never heard before shows up here now and then. Was refreshing to hear and some singing to boot. Pretty much a family western with arrows falling oddly from the sky. (did an airplane drop them ) lol oh well if you are stuck inside the house from Covid-19 why not. Trying not to watch that many serious movies at the moment. :)

Quality: 4/10 Entertainment: 8/10 Re-Playable: 5/10 cause Jim Bowie is portrayed here so I bumped it up further slightly.

A Grade-B Western

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 15 December 2012]

Silver has been found in Comanche territory and the United States wants it badly. So "Jim Bowie" (MacDonald Carey) comes to talk with them and promises that they will get a fair deal with a new treaty that has just been written in Washington D.C. What he doesn't know is just how badly some other white men want to keep the treaty from being delivered so that they can obtain the silver for themselves. Anyway, one of the reasons this movie was filmed in color was to capture the beautiful scenery. But another interesting reason was because the red hair of Maureen O'Hara (playing "Katie Howard") was thought to actually enhance the film as well. True fact. Be that as it may, while she performed in an adequate manner it simply wasn't enough to improve this film into anything more than the Grade-B western that it actually is. Worth a watch for die-hard western fans or if nothing else is available. But that's about all.

Okay, but they've all done better

[frankfob · 4/10 · 17 May 2013]

This "B" western from Universal Pictures is no better or no worse than most other westerns Universal ground out at the time. It has a good cast who've all done this kind of picture before (and better), a director with a long and extensive background in turning out this kind of western (and better), first-rate cinematography in excellent locations, and a script that's serviceable, at best. The plot of greedy white men trying to push Indians off their land when a valuable mineral--in this case, silver--is discovered underneath it has been done endlessly before and nothing different is done with it here. The climactic battle between the villain's gang and a Comanche tribe is somewhat poorly done--which is unusual for director George Sherman, who usually handles action scenes far better (check out his work on "The Battle at Apache Pass")--but at least it's interesting to see a battle in which the Indians are the good guys and the whites are the bad guys.

Overall it's an OK western, nothing special. It's worth a one-time look, but not more than that.

A struggle over land and silver.

[michaelRokeefe · 3/10 · 8 July 2006]

Run-of-the-mill western. A fictional adventure of the legendary Jim Bowie(Macdonald Carey), who represents the government in keeping peace between the Comanches and whites. Silver has been found on Comanche land and a treaty has been stolen. It appears that a fiery redhead saloon keeper(Maureen O'Hara)and her brother(Charles Drake)know more about the situation than they let on. The 'white skins' plan on making a small fortune from mining the silver on the land they take from the Indians.

O'Hara is the movie. Carey is just too wooden in his portrayal of an otherwise flamboyant Bowie. Other cast members: Will Geer, Parley Baer, James Best and Glenn Strange.

Lighthearted fun western

[coltras35 · 10/10 · 28 May 2021]

Silver has been found on Comanche territory and the government accomplished a peaceful agreement with the indians. When James 'Jim' Bowie comes into the scene he finds the white settlers living near by planning to attack the indians although they know about that agreement and the beautiful Katie seems to play a leading role in this intrigue.

This Universal western is quite an enjoyable film, with plenty of humour and colourful characters. It has no pretensions to be anything but a action-packed romp with fine scenery to help it along. MacDonald Carey makes a good Jim Bowie with wry one liners ( when a Ute warrior says "come" four times, Bowie replies: "look's like that's the only vocabulary he knows")and he's quite athletic, and his comic interplay with Maureen O' Hara when they first meet is funny ( when Carey realises that O Hara is the saloon owner, banker etc!!! Is quite funny). A zestful little film.

Light, campy, fun western

[dieseldemon85 · 9/10 · 28 June 2023]

When I saw 5.6/10 on IMDB I went in not expecting too much from this film. I would say the 5.6 is incorrect. The scenery is great, some funny dialogue, and likable characters. James Bowie meets up with Daniel a tall tale telling man who turns out to be a great sidekick in this film. My first film with McDonald Carey and I think he was a great lead, Maureen O'HARA was the very definition of Independent woman. That wasn't often depicted in these old pictures as it usually was damsel in distress and must say refreshing to see. Look for Iron Eyes Coady as one of the Comanches. If you enjoy action , with light humour or a film that doesn't take things too seriously it's worth a watch. 4.5/5.