''Conquest of Cochise'' is a 1953 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film set in 1853 at the time of the Gadsen Purchase. Produced by

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. E ...

and directed by

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

, it stars

John Hodiak John Hodiak ( ; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film. Early life Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and ...

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC tele ...

and

Joy Page Joy Page (born Joy Cerrette Paige; November 9, 1924 – April 18, 2008) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as the Bulgarian refugee Annina Brandel in ''Casablanca'' (1942). She was sometimes credited as Joanne Page. Early l ...

Plot

Army Major Tom Burke is assigned to lead four troops of cavalry dragoons into

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in the Gadsden Purchase, recently acquired by the United States from Mexico. Both the Apache, led by Cochise, and Comanche Indian tribes are at war with the Mexican population. In addition to the three stakeholders, Major Burke faces a treacherous businessman whose profits from selling alcohol to all parties is threatened by the prospect of peace.

Cast

(in brownface) as

Cochise Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...

as Maj. Tom Burke *

as Consuelo de Cordova * Rico Alaniz as Felipe *

Fortunio Bonanova Fortunio Bonanova, pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll, (13 January 1895 – 2 April 1969) was a Spanish baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor. He occasionally worked as a producer and director. According to Lluis Fàbregas Cuixar ...

as Mexican Minister * Edward Colmans as Don Francisco de Cordova * Alex Montoya as Jose Garcia * Steven Ritch as Tukiwah * Carol Thurston as Terua *

Rodd Redwing Rodd Redwing (August 24, 1904 – May 29, 1971) was born Webb Richardson on August 24, 1904 in Tennessee, USA. His father, Ulysses William Richardson (b. 1873), was Black and was an elevator man from Tennessee. His mother, Lillian Webb (b. 1 ...

as Red Knife * Robert Griffin as Sam Maddock (as Robert E. Griffin) * Poppy del Vando as Señora de Cordova

Production

The film was shot at Santa Clarita, California,

Corriganville __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothil ...

movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...

and the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Agua Dulce, California. William Castle says Katzman insisted Indians wear bathing caps to indicate they had shaved their heads in order to save money.

References

External links

* * * } * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conquest of Cochise 1953 films 1953 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Western (genre) cavalry films Apache Wars films Films set in Tucson, Arizona Films set in 1853 Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Columbia Pictures films Films directed by William Castle 1950s English-language films 1950s American films