1947. Undefeated A wonderful and completely forgotten film. Probably his contemporaries were annoyed by his high budget (to praise blockbusters has long been considered a moveton). He was later accused of racism, particularly by Ronald Bergen. But everything in order.
Aesthetics
Before us is a beautiful, colorful, large-format film that tells in an easy narrative form the difficult story of the Anglo-Saxon paradigm of the New World. Slavery, Indians, treacherous conspiracies and fratricidal wars - all mixed against the background of a quite romantic and cheerful love story. The regular presence of heroes on the very edge separating them from nothingness adds to the film charm.
Racism
I don’t know what Bergen thinks about this. I did not see any hint of the superiority of one race over another. Yes, the Indians are shown here as evil and ignorant warriors who can kill a woman, innocent inhabitants, without conscience. But, some Britons here are shown to be equally terrible personalities. Moreover, the key point here is the victim on the part of the wife of one of the colonists. An Indian woman in love with her man and realizing the severity of the situation, sacrifices herself to prove her feelings.
We need to be more careful at this point. For all ignorance, as de Mille shows the Indians, the ability to sacrifice shows not only personal nobility, but also a high level of spirituality. Although the Indians in the film are completely deprived of education and aggressive, it can hardly be said that against their background the English look more superior race. It is precisely neat and focused that everyone is human, regardless of education level, views and skin color.
Slavery
But here de Mille is so fierce and cruel that it is impossible not to admire courage. The stereotype of African slavery and “Uncle Tom’s cabin” is being broken. An ordinary British girl, who has never even been to America, is asked to replace the death penalty with fifteen years of slavery. Throughout the film, we understand how fragile and defenseless human freedom is. Forgery of documents or lack of evidence of freedom threatens a lifelong chimera of torture.
I believe that now the topic of such slavery, which could be any person on the planet, regardless of the color of his skin, is not accepted to discuss. A pity, and the film de Mill provides a basis for discussion and detailed historical debate.
Nature
Pay attention to nature. de Mill shows a very colorful world of the American outback. Waterfalls, rivers, forests - everything is picturesque, beautiful and attractive. Soon, such landscapes will accompany the work of Henry Hathaway.
Erotic subtext
I have to say that. The film is incredibly erotic. Only instead of nudity, we find ourselves in a world of secret hints and provocations, which Hitchcock will later so skillfully use in Marnie and his other films. Of course, we are not told a word about the fate that awaits a woman - a slave, but the insane scene in its intensity and content of the bargaining of two men for a heroine on the ship shows the acuteness of the moment and the true nature of desires. The axe is plunged into the dress of Pollet Goddard, not tearing it, but limiting the mobility of the heroine - it turns out spectacularly.
But most of all, Goddard’s reaction is amazing – her eyes are burning and you can see that she likes the very fact of bidding and regularly raising rates, for all her disgust. Therefore, our heroine is amazed at the freedom granted. But it’s all about interpretation.
Agree, not in every film the heroine sacrifices himself and gives himself to the villain, for the freedom of his beloved. It turns out that hidden eroticism is present and specifically accentuated.
Actors
The film has excellent casting. What to say, if the main role is serious Gary Cooper, who is at the very peak of his acting form, and in the role of the leader of the Indians – Boris Karloff. But, in the foreground here comes Pollet Goddar, the wife of Remarque and Chaplin. The actress is allowed to lead and often come to the fore, which she gracefully copes with.
Result:
However, the most pleasant thing is that despite the serious themes and piquant moments, the film does not lose its entertaining essence, combining and cruel recordings of murder, slavery, racism with moments of fascinating and adventure. For me, there is no doubt that Undefeated is one of the best films of 1947 (as well as the directorship of de Mill).
10 out of 10