I conquistatori della Virginia

This independent production of the famous story coming out of Jamestown's founding released from United Artists plays like a combination of one of those educational films and a Grade C western. Even the Indians are made up to look like plains Indians instead the ones east of the Mississippi.

The story of how Captain John Smith was saved by Pocahontas pleading for his life is only the beginning here. Some upper class types who don't like the way Smith has taken over the leadership of the Jamestown colonists start trading ancient matchlock rifles with the Indians and later frame one of them for a colonist's murder. It's so dumb, I don't even think the Saturday afternoon kid matinée crowd swallowed this one.

Anthony Dexter who never quite got the career that playing Rudolph Valentino was supposed to bring him is Captain Smith and Jody Lawrence is Pocahontas. Douglass Dumbrille is an impassive and suspicious Powhattan and James Seay is the villain Wingfield who's behind all the nasty goings on. They all go through the motions essentially, I think they realize how dumb it was.

The Jamestown story actually deserves a good film. It was more disease and the elements in a new land that the settlers faced rather than the native inhabitants. Remember the Indians hadn't yet learned how grabby the white man was.

The story deserves a good film, but this isn't it. The Walt Disney cartoon had more going for it.