Unconquered (1947)
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58% of users liked it
(351 ratings)
Cecil B. DeMille's first postwar production, the $5 million Technicolor historical spectacular Unconquered lacks only the kitchen sink. The story begins in England in the 1760s, as Abigail Martha Hale (Paulette Goddard), unjustly accused of a crime against the Crown, is sentenced by the Lord… More Cecil B. DeMille's first postwar production, the $5 million Technicolor historical spectacular Unconquered lacks only the kitchen sink. The story begins in England in the 1760s, as Abigail Martha Hale (Paulette Goddard), unjustly accused of a crime against the Crown, is sentenced by the Lord Chief Justice (C. Aubrey Smith) to 14 years' forced servitude in North America. Carted off to the auction block, Abigail is highly coveted by slavemaster Martin Garth (Howard da Silva), but the highest bidder turns out to be Virginia militiaman Captain Christopher Holden (Gary Cooper). Having been jilted by his aristocratic fiancee Diana (Virginia Grey), Holden harbors no romantic feelings for Abigail, but he's determined not to let her fall into Garth's grimy clutches. The patriotic Holden also knows that Garth, who is married to the daughter (Katherine de Mille) of Indian chief Pontiac (Robert Warwick), has been trading firearms to the Ottawas. The treacherous Garth later participates in the "Pontiac Conspiracy," an allegiance of 18 Indian nations forsworn to wipe out every colonist on the East Coast. To put Holden out of the way, Garth arranges for him to be court-martialed and sentenced to death on a trumped-up desertion charge. But Abigail, partly in repayment for her rescue from Seneca chief Guyasuta (Boris Karloff) and partly because she's fallen in love with Holden, helps him escape, just in time to save a nearby military fort from an Indian massacre -- a feat accomplished by a subterfuge straight out of Beau Geste, which also starred Gary Cooper! As historically suspect as any Cecil B. DeMille epic, Unconquered is still marvelous escapist entertainment, especially during the time-honored bathtub scene involving a bare-shouldered Paulette Goddard (who spends most of the film in either a state of dishabille or bondage, or both!) Once again, however, Mr. "Spare No Expense" DeMille cuts corners by filming most of his major exterior scenes within the artificial confines of the Paramount sound stages. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Cecil B. DeMille
- Written By
- Charles Bennett, Fredric M. Frank, Jesse Lasky
- Genres
- Western, Action & Adventure, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 24, 1947 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
There are no special features in the new DVD edition (part of Universal Classics 2, June 2007), other than an introduction by TCM host Robert Osborne; other titles in the collection are Scarface (1932), No Man of Her Own, and So Proudly We Hail.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
You don't expect from DeMille logic or accuracy as the showman is notorious for preposterous spectacles such as this expensive historic epic whose appeal rests on Cooper's masculine image and Paulette Goddard's sexiness shown in a bathtub or torture stake
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Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
The DVD provides a colourful picture in the movie's original non-widescreen format.
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Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
By 1947, Cecil B. DeMille and the movie studios should have known better that to paint a picture of Native Americans as stupid, bloodthirsty, depraved rapists and murderers.
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Cast
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Gary Cooper
as Capt. Christopher Holden
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Paulette Goddard
as Abby Hale
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Howard Da Silva
as Martin Garth
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Boris Karloff
as Guyasuta Chief of the Senecas
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Ward Bond
as John Fraser
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Katherine De Mille
as Hannah
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Cecil Kellaway
as Jeremy Love
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Richard Gaines
as Col. George Washington
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Porter Hall
as Leach
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Marc Lawrence I
as Sioto medicine man
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Mike Mazurki
as Dave Bone
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Gavin Muir
as Lt. Fergus McKenzie
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Alan Napier
as Sir William Johnson
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Jane Nigh
as Evelyn
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C. Aubrey Smith
as Lord Chief Justice
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Victor Varconi
as Capt. Simeon Ecuyer
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Henry Wilcoxon
as Capt. Steele
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Dorothy Adams
as Mrs. Bront
- Mimi Aguglia
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Eddie Albert
as Mermaid barker
- Eric Alden
- Erville Alderson
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Richard Alexander
as Slave
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Lloyd Bridges
as Lt. Hutchins
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Lex Barker
as Loyal American Officer
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Griff Barnett
as Brother Andrews
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Paul E. Burns
as Dan McCoy
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Virginia Campbell
as Mrs. John Fraser
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Leonard Carey
as Jeremiah Dixon
- Lane Chandler
- Chief John Big Tree
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Chief Thundercloud
as Chief Killbuck
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Davison Clark
as Mr. Carroll
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Iron Eyes Cody
as Red Corn
- Jeff Corey
- Edgar Dearing
- Claire Du Brey
- Fernanda Eliscu
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Julia Faye
as Widow Swivens
- Al Ferguson
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Byron Foulger
as Townsman
- Greta Granstedt
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Virginia Grey
as Diana
- Karolyn Grimes
- William Haade
- Frank S. Hagney
- Chuck Hamilton
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Raymond Hatton
as Venango Scout
- Rose Higgins
- Olaf Hytten
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Si Jenks
as Farmer
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Noble Johnson
as Big Ottawa indian
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Tiny Jones
as Bondswoman
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George Kirby
as Charles Mason
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Fred Kohler Jr.
as Sergeant
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Bob Kortman
as Frontiersman
- Anna Lehr
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John Merton
as Corporal
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Charles B. Middleton
as Mulligan
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John Miljan
as Prosecutor
- Belle Mitchell
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Art Mix
as Citizen
- William Murphy
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Clarence Muse
as Jason
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John Mylong
as Col. Henry Bouquet
- Ottola Nesmith
- Inez Palange
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Hugh Prosser
as Soldier
- Constance Purdy
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Buddy Roosevelt
as Guard
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Sid Saylor
as Spieler for Dr. Diablo
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Jay Silverheels
as Indian
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Nan Sunderland
as Mrs. Pratt
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Ray Teal
as Soldier--Gilded Beaver
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Oliver Thorndike
as Lt. Baillie
- Ethel Wales
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Frank Wilcox
as Richard Henry Lee
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Jeff York
as Wide-Shouldered Youth
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Denver Dixon
as Citizen
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Mary Field
as Maggie
- Francis Ford
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Jack Pennick
as Joe Lovat
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Robert Warwick
as Pontiac Chief of the Ottawas
- June Harris
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Russ Conklin
as Wamaultee
- Charmienne Harker
- Mike Kilian
- Isabel Cooper
- Sally Rawlinson
- Gertrude Valerie
