Geronimo (1939)

Written by CinemaSerf on January 26, 2024

With the eponymous Apache leader (Chief Thundercloud) swearing revenge on the white men who killed his family years earlier, it falls to "Gen. Steele" (Ralph Morgan) - at the personal instigation of the US President - to try to make peace with this marauding warrior. Of course, it's not going to be that simple - there are vested interests on both sides who wish the conflict to continue, there's a good old dose of family melodrama as his son (William Henry) is also at the post - and they don't exactly see eye to eye, and we also have a wagon train carrying his wife and his son's fiancée en route to the fort through treacherous territory. Now the acting here isn't up to much - aside from the odd gun toting scene from Andy Devine's scouting "Sneezer"; nor is the writing but there are some fun action scenes with the feisty band of blue-shirts facing what appeared to be the entire, and heavily armed, Apache nation bearing down on them. It's far too long, too - but as standard B-western afternoon fayre, it's watchable enough though don't expect any history lessons!