UNCONQUERED is eye candy with its glorious Technicolor scenery and elaborate sets (a mixture of real location photography and painted backgrounds) and, as is typical of any Cecil B. DeMille epic, it's got a splendid cast and a lengthy running time to tell its frontier story of early America--the colonists vs. the Indians.
PAULETTE GODDARD is sold into indentured slavery and two men fight over her--GARY COOPER and HOWARD DA SILVA. That's the basic nub of the story, all events leading up to who will win the girl as Goddard and Cooper go through a series of wild adventures with Indians on their track as Cooper attempts to rescue her from Da Silva's attempt to keep her as his own property. There's even a thrilling escape from the Indians across the rapids and a wildly implausible stunt over the falls pulled by Cooper that is impressive despite being incredibly over-the-top.
There are several well-staged battle scenes with various forts being attacked by the redskins and each segment has a "cast of thousands" look that makes it clear no expense was spared to bring all the excitement to the screen.
Paulette's character undergoes a "Perils of Pauline" type of narrow escapes, each more implausible than the one before, but who cares when it's all served up by DeMille with sufficient amount of tension and daring.
Both stars are in fine form and deliver good performances, ably supported by a fine supporting cast of players including HENRY WILCOXON, C. AUBREY SMITH, KATHERINE DeMILLE, WARD BOND and CECIL KELLAWAY.
One of DeMille's better epics, well worth viewing for fun and adventure with lavish attention to detailed costumes and settings.
