AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

classicsoncall Well this is a new one on me, I didn't think John Wayne fought any battles prior to the Civil War. Played almost along the lines of a typical B Western, the film's story line and production values are a slight notch above, with Claire Trevor joining Wayne in another film released the same year as "Stagecoach" in which they both appeared. Trevor's character here is not much more than a caricature, as she's constantly grumbling over her status as a woman who's not allowed to take part in the rough and tumble world the men around her find themselves in. Thinking about it now, she was the only woman in the entire picture; how realistic was that? It struck me while watching that this was one film that probably would have benefited from the color treatment, what with all those Redcoats around causing dismay for the Allegheny settlers. Wayne's character Jim Smith and company rebel against the British for allowing trade to continue with marauding Indians, but except for one brief skirmish, the Indians aren't much of a factor in the story. It's those thieving, conniving traders in league with the Brits.If nothing else, the film forced me to search my brain to recall bits and pieces I learned in parochial school about the French and Indian War and the new 'American' spirit of freedom and independence. With the story taking place a decade and a half prior to the Revolutionary War, it's a somewhat different kind of Western taking place East of the Mississippi with the good guys trading their white hats for coonskin caps.

edalweber I think that this movie has been very much underrated and over criticized.As far as they way the actors speak, it is simply not practical to give them all lessons in how people spoke in those days.And many of the audience would't understand a lot of the dialog. After all, movies about Rome aren't made with everyone speaking Latin. As far as the way Claire Trevor dressed, well there is plenty of evidence that women on the fringes of civilization often dressed "practical",particularly young tomboyish ones Some people have referred to George Saunders as a "villain". Which he is not,Brian Donlevy and his men are the villains. He does cause trouble by his obvious contempt for the "yokels", and his insistence of going strictly by the book. But there is no doubt that if he had known Donlevy was violating the law by carrying forbidden goods,misusing his permit, that he would have arrested him on the spot. That is the one weak point in the plot. If when the fort surrendered, instead of having the troops march out and grabbing Donlevy and his men, Smith had exposed the whiskey kegs in the flour barrel and other frauds, the farmers could have left the fort and left Saunders in charge. Once Saunders had seen that Donlevy had deceived General Gage, and was desecrating the Royal permit in that way, he would never have protected the culprits.He was an honorable man, just stiff necked. He would have swallowed his pride and done his duty. This is a rousing movie about its times,and well captures the spirit that the colonials showed in those last days before the Revolution,and I think that it should not be judged too harshly on some of its technical shortcomings.

oldblackandwhite No wonder 1939 is widely regarded as Hollywood's best year of all time! With all the sparkling jewels produced that year, such as Gone With The Wind, Goodbye, Mr. Chipps, The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex, Union Pacific, Stagecoach, The Roaring Twenties, and Dodge City, RKO's relatively unambitious production Allegheney Uprising was just a pearl on the necklace. But this unpretentious yet stunningly beautiful picture of colonial life on the frontier and events setting the stage for the American Revolution is one of the best movies ever made.This movie is an absolutely thrilling from the beginning to the end, one knockout scene after another, directed with precision and panache by William Seiter, almost non-stop action and drama. So breathtakingly fast paced yet so smoothly edited, it seems as if two hours worth of movie has been crammed into 80 minutes of running time. All is swept along by an rousing, grand operatic score by British composer Anthony Collins. Producer P. J. Wolfson's script is intelligent with sharp, colorful dialog consistent with Eighteenth Century speech patterns. Allegheney Uprising is beautifully photographed in the luminous, sensuous black and white common to pictures of this Golden Era. The sets and costumes are superb, painting an authentic picture of colonial frontier life. Those who say it should have been in color or that the colorized version is better need to wash out their mouths with a bar of colonial lye soap. The entire tone of the picture would have been changed, and it is virtually perfect as is.Allegheney Uprising is beautifully acted by a cast led by John Wayne and Claire Trevor. Both fresh from their triumph in Stagecoach, Wayne and Trevor must have been anxious to prove it wasn't a fluke, that they were in fact top star potential. Both do so in style. Wayne, as the leader of the Allegheney mountain region's "lawful rebellion" against British misrule, is much more relaxed, mature, and confident than in Stagecoach. While Stagecoach raised him to the ranks of stardom, Allegheney Uprising proved he was there to stay. Ms Trevor, as the leather-clad tomboy in love with Wayne, gives one of her liveliest and most charming performances, refreshingly unlike the hard-bitten moll which was her typical roll both previously and later. She was quoted as saying that an actress should never fall in love with her leading man, but that she always did. It is obvious here that in this their second picture together she and the young he-man Wayne have a "simpatico". In support George Sanders plays to perfection the stern, dutiful, aristocratic British Army officer antagonistic to the surly colonists, while Brian Donlevy provides his usual sneering villain as the rum and gun runner to the menacing heathen savages. But it is Wilfrid Lawson who virtually dominates the picture with his colorful, exuberant portrayal of Trevor's riotous, boozy, seldom-home father. Some will find his acting over-the-top, but his character as portrayed represents one of the messy but likable hard case types who were common on the early frontier and necessary for its settlement. Moroni Olsen, Robert Barrat, and Chill Wills add their always reliable support.Allegheney Uprising is a thrilling and beautifully realized picture of early America and the birth of our traditions of freedom and independence. It is a prime example of the craft of Old Hollywood movie making at its peak. Exhillirating, thoroughly enjoyable entertainment from the Golden Era. Highly recommended!

MartinHafer The idea of placing John Wayne in the Colonies during the final years of the French-Indian War (called the "Seven Years' War" in Europe) was an inspired idea. Few films have focused on this era and it was nice to see something different. The problem was that although it was a change of locale, the film itself seemed all too much like a typical cowboy and Indian film. So much of the dialog was actually identical to stuff you'd see in films set a hundred years later--only the tribes' names were changed. As a result, the film just tended to blend into the huge pile of John Wayne westerns--and not with the great ones like the Cavalry Trilogy or THE SEARCHERS but instead the mediocre ones made in the 30s and early 40s. Claire Trevor as Wayne's main squeeze was in some ways very good (it was nice to see a less passive style of woman) but in other ways she was a 1930s gal transported to 1758! Women in that era simply did NOT run around in men's clothes, out-shoot men and insist on being treated like "one of the guys". Since I am a history teacher, I found the film frustrating and completely anachronistic. For a much better film made around the same time about Colonial America, try watching the usually overlooked HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA--a Cary Grant film better in just about every way.