I should admit that I have no idea how accurate this biopic is of the legendary Native American called Geronimo. It's probably just loosely based on the real events surrounding him, so I probably should judge the movie on its entertainment level. I thought for the most part it was an okay western. While I would have preferred a real Native American to play the title role, I have to admit Chuck Connors did well, giving his character an intensity and charisma that keeps you watching and interested despite the script problems. The script problems include the movie not really going deep in his character, and ending at a point that will make you wonder what happened in real life to Geronimo afterwards. But despite these and other script problems, I have to admit that I was never bored, so I'll give this movie a pass.

Agreeable movie about the famous Indian leader and set on spectacular landscapes and attempts to adhere to historical facts concerning his life . The picture is well made , with plenty of action sequences as Geronimo and his band battle US forces , later fighting the white Americans , when they in turn, encroached upon Apache land . The film talks upon Geronimo (Chuck Connors , satisfactory in the lead) , chief of Apaches Chiricaguas and his band of rebel Indians . The continuous humiliation in reservoir of San Carlos caused the bursting of riots commanded by Geronimo , Mangus Coloradas (Ross Martin) and his group of Indians . They will confront American cavalry in charge of General Crook (Laurence Dobkin) and his officials (Adam West, Pat Conroy) . The sorrow and despair of finding his tribe starving , the sheer frustration of San Carlos ruled by corrupt Jeremiah (John Anderson) ,the hopelessness of resistance against a foe you know you can't beat originate the rebellion . Meanwhile , Geronimo falls in love with a gorgeous Indian woman (Kamala Devi in a rich characterization) .In the film there are wonderful outdoors shot on location of Durango(Mexico) territory and displays action , shootouts, violence and though sometimes is slow-moving , isn't tiring neither dreary , sustaining the interest for quite a while . The movie also portrays the sensitive side of the Native American character though is dramatically slack and some moments there's nothing left to maintain viewer involvement . This Indian-on-the-warpath tale is based on historical characters : Geronimo, Mangus , Cochise and general Crook who tries to subjugate the great Apache warrior . The motion picture didn't obtain success and was a real flop in box office , in spite of the extraordinary sets , glimmer cinematography by Alex Phillips and atmospheric Hugo Friedhofer musical score . This version of the "Geronimo Legend" results to be one of the best considering some of the other attempts to portray the Apache war leader . Most of the Apache leaders of the period are also featured as Cochise, Mangus Coloradas, Nana and Juh , all relevant figures at the time and an influence in the struggle against overwhelming forces . If anybody out there is interested in Native American history , this movie is well worth a watch . The motion picture is professionally directed by Arnold Laven . Laven formed a production company along with Jules Levy and Arthur Gardner. The first Levy-Gardner-Laven movie was 1952's "Without Warning"'; in the decades since, they have produced and directed dozens of additional features . He's an expert on Western genre as cinema as television as he produced and directed several TV series including "The Rifleman," "Law of the Plainsman," , "The Big Valley" . And directed acceptable Western films as ¨The glory guys¨, ¨Geronimo¨and ¨Sam Whiskey . ¨Geronimo¨ will appeal to Indian western fans . Rating: good , the result is a pretty fair movie . Well catching , you won't be disappointed .Other version upon this famous personage are the following : 1939 Geronimo with Preston Foster , Ellen Drew and Chief Thundercloud in the title role ; 1993 TV Geronimo by Roger Young with August Schellemberg , Nick Ramus and Joseph Runningfox ; finally , Walter Hill version titled Geronimo : An American legend (1993) that is the best so far , played by Wes Studi, Matt Damon , Jason Patric and Gene Hackman and utilizing at support cast some pretty heavyweight Native American acting talents.

On the border of Arizona and Mexico in 1883, Apache warrior Geronimo surrenders himself and his tribe to the American 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 U.S. Rather shameful script by Pat Fielder reduces history to textbook eye-for-an-eye business, not helped by a TV-movie cast and budget. Chuck Connors' Geronimo wages war on the Calvary men, 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 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 ****

I'm just about through the fourth season of "The Rifleman" on the Encore Western Channel, and I'm really starting to appreciate the work of Chuck Connors. So as I call up the TV cable listings yesterday, it's only about a minute to go before the movie "Geronimo" is set to play on Turner Classics. With no hesitation, I'm there.With a film like this you've got to be able to get past the license taken with historical accuracy; this one is about one third true and the rest is Hollywood. But for fans of Connors, you've got a decent amount of story to work with in a movie populated by a number of his regularly appearing guests on the TV series. There's the reliable John Anderson as Jeremiah Burns, and a second half appearance by Denver Pyle as Senator Conrad. You might also be surprised to see Adam West as a cavalry officer, and Ross Martin as an Apache friend of Geronimo named Magnus.I was surprised to see how authentic Connors looked as an Indian, probably even more so than Paul Newman as the title character in "Hombre". However I was taken aback at times where in size and appearance he resembled Arnold Schwarzenneger a bit. It's ironic actually that Connors plays the role of an Apache, when in Episode #1.37 of "The Rifleman" - 'The Raid' - Lucas McCain sets a personal high body count with seven Apaches killed in the story. He doesn't come nearly as close in this one against the white man, although one might argue they certainly had it coming.The biggest surprise though coming out of this picture was seeing actress Kamala Devi portraying the Apache school teacher who Geronimo takes for a wife. The idea must have intrigued Connors because some time after filming, Devi became Connors' second wife for real. Not surprising, she was absolutely gorgeous.Pay attention, and you'll catch a neat line that was a harbinger of things to come for Connors the actor. When he's on line at the San Carlos reservation to get his food rations for the first time, he's marked with a painted 'X' on his hand. In an eerily prophetic remark, Geronimo angrily tells the quartermaster - "I'm not an animal that has to be Branded"!