When the savage Sioux come to Canada following the death of General George Armstrong Custer , 1876 , the Canadians and the Queen of Commomwealth permit them to stay in Canada if they come peacefully . Nevertheless , some hunters kill all inhabitants of one of their villages and carring out Buffalo massacre . As a rancher (John Dehner) attempts to recover a stolen or strayed horse from Indians who had nothing to do with said horse . Along the way killing a number of the Natives , but almost losing their own lives in the exchange of shootouts . Shortly, a Canadian Police superior officer (Robert Ryan) followed by his underlings (Torin Thatcher , Metcalf) executes a dangerous mission . Running into trouble with the rancher , but kept to the narrow and straight by the Mounties . The cowboys seek to get back their horses , but they are detained by the Mounties , and they state that pretend to search for a girl who once had been kidnapped by the Indians , but Mountie Ryan takes the hunters charged with murder .
Spectacular and enough budget western with thrills , adventures , fights , go riding , gunfire , emotion and being mostly shot on location in Saskatchewan . This is an impressive saga of the conquest of the Saskatchewan territory where the Royal Northwest Mounted Police stood alone against the fury of the Custer-massacring Sioux and the Cree nation . Despite Robert Ryan and John Dehner presences , a completely average movie , with a trite screenplay and regularly paced . Thinly written for the screen by Burt Kennedy , author of the original script allegedly based on facts , as the exciting story is fictionalized, but based on the Assiniboine massacre that occurred in Saskatchewan in1873 and including some disapponting moments . On the plus side , there are reasonable good acting from a nice cast and support cast . As main cast is pretty good , it stars the estimable Robert Ryan who incidentally performed a Mountie in his first movie : Cecil B. De Mille's North West Mounted Police . Ryan was a fine actor who interpreted some classic Noir Films and a lot of Westerns , such as : Hour of the gun , The Wild Bunch , The Professionals , Ice Palace , The Tall men , Return of the bad men , Best of the badmen . But he also outstood playing other genres as Wartime : Anzio , The Dirty Dozen , Battle of Bugle , Berlin Express , Flying Leathernecks , The longest day , Men in war , Billy Budd ; and Noir/thriller genre : On dangerous ground , Clash by night , Caught , The Racket, The Set-up , Crossfire , Beware my lovely , Back from eternity . Support cast is frankly fine , such as : John Dehner as a vengeful rancher , Torin Thatcher as a very authentic and striking looking officer and Metcalf as an inept Mountie . The female lead is taken by pretty Brooklyn Opera singer Teresa Stratas as a captive , but she has little to do and isn't in it very much , exception for her usual songs , being the film constantly slanted by her . Other secondaries appearing are John Sutton , Richard Alden and Michael Pate as Chief Four Horns .
This colorful movie belongs to Canadian Mountie sub-genre, as films about Mounties always get entertainment and amusement , they have been few and far between ; including important titles as the classy ¨Unconquered¨by Cecil B DeMille with Gary Cooper , Robert Preston , Paulette Goddard , ¨Pony Soldier¨ 1952 by Joseph M. Newman with Tyrone Power and ¨Saskatchewan¨ 1954 by Raoul Walsh with Alan Ladd , Shelley Winters , J Carol Naish , Hugh O'Brian . The Canadians packs a glimmer and rousing cinematography by Arthur Ibbeson, showing splendorous landscapes . As well as an evocative and sensitive musical score by Douglas Gamley . This movie was filmed on location in the real Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan, Canada , with a nice camera work by cinematographer Arthur Ibbeson . The motion picture was ably made by the great director/writer Burt Kennedy . Here's a thrilling manhunt tale written and made by Kennedy , later to become one of America's foremost filmmakers . There he maintains comfortably in the ordinary traditions , though it has some flaws . Kennedy was a good professional , a fine director who made several Westerns and being usual screenwriter of the notorious filmmaker Budd Boetticher. Kennedy was kept on at Batjac to write films for producer Wayne. His initial effort, 7 Men from Now (1956), was a superb western, the first of the esteemed collaboration between director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott. Kennedy wrote most of that series, as well as a number of others for Batjac, although it would be nearly 20 years before Wayne actually appeared in the film of a Kennedy script. Burt was a prolific director , writer , and producer , being essential his deep collaboration as a great screen-writer to director Budd Boetticher , the latter considered to be one of the best Western filmmakers . Kennedy directed all kinds of genres with penchant for Western , as Burt made quite a few Westerns , such as : The Rounders, Return of the seven , Welcome to hard times, The war wagon , Support you local sheriff , The good guys and the bad guys , Hannie Caulder , Support your local gunfiighter , Dirty Dingus Mgee , Young Billy Young , The Alamo , The train robbers , Down the long hills , Big bad John , Where the hell's that gold ? and Once upon a Texas train . The Canadians is no earth shattering seeing experience at all, but with its saving graces as the gorgeous , glimmer outdoors , and the presence of its main actors , it is just about worth a look . Rating 5.5/10
