Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Micitype Pretty Good

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

SimonJack "New Mexico" is a cavalry and Indians Western that is just so-so as far as the story goes. A number of films have been made about the exploitation of Indians, illegal sales of weapons to Native Americans, and their mistreatment at the hands of dishonest and unscrupulous people. This one starts with that premise, and with some promise, but then slips into a battle between the Indians and cavalry. It doesn't have the love interest, but it does have the gratuitous female. This was an independent film produced by one of the poverty row studios and released through United Artists. The quality of the film is poor. The other technical aspects also are low. The acting is split – some good and some not so good. The good include Andy Devine as Sgt. Garrity, Marilyn Maxwell as Cherry, and Lloyd Corrigan as the corrupt Judge Wilcox. The bad is Ted de Corsia as Indian chief Acoma, Jeff Corey as Coyote, and Lew Ayres as Captain Hunt. Raymond Burr is in this film and is a real despicable character. He already has his huge physical frame in this film. He's such a delegable character that I can't tell if he's guilty or not of bad acting as well. We may have loved Burr as Perry Mason in his long-running TV series by that name (1957-66, and revival series from 1985 until his death in 1993). But in this and a couple other early films I've seen him in, he wasn't very good. What is of interest to me in this film, though, is the shooting location. This was mostly outdoors and on location in New Mexico. I thought I recognized the Acoma Indian Pueblo with its village built atop the 365-foot mesa. It's located about 60 miles West of Albuquerque, off I-40 at Exit 108. Today it's also called "Sky City." I visited there a few years ago, and took a tour from the Acoma Reservation Visitor's Center. In the 1950s – after this film was made, the Acoma tribe blasted a road through the rock to get to the top. We rode up in the tour bus and walked back down over a narrow, steep, almost hidden path. From the film, it appears that the views of the mesa and the church were from the South side, and possibly SE and SW. That would avoid any developed roads and facilities to the north. Today about 300 adobe buildings are on top of the mesa. Most now have been repaired and finished with adobe. These are mostly two-story and three-story residences, with exterior ladders to go from one level to another. About 30 people now live permanently atop the mesa. It has no modern conveniences, no running water, electricity or sewage. The residents truck their supplies up, and haul their garbage out. Since this movie was made, the tribe has built a very nice Visitor's Center near the base of the mesa. The Acoma Pueblo is one of the oldest continuously occupied places in North America. I went back and checked the shooting locations for this movie. The IMDb credits list Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Gallup, New Mexico, and California. But the credits don't specify the pueblo. While there are other pueblos to be sure, I don't think there's another located so distinctly as this one. And, there's a clue in the film tells me my guess is right. The Indian chief's name is Acoma. Now, how coincidental might that be, if it's not also the name of the tribe, reservation and pueblo where much of this movie was filmed?My six stars for this film are for the action and the interesting location. Movie buffs who find themselves in that area in the future would enjoy a stop off at the Acoma Visitor Center and a tour of the pueblo's "Sky City."

mamamute The movie centers on a strong clear plot structure strongly defined in the beginning. The story progresses to a seige, where pure character takes over the plot as the main element that defines the fine quality of this movie. For some reason I did not know at the time, I loved this movie as a child. Later in theater I learned the quality aspects that New Mexico writers and actors used. I wish it was available in DVD or VHS.

Snow Leopard "New Mexico" is a fair cavalry-versus-Indians movie that could have been better. It has a good cast and provides a couple good moments, but a routine script and a rather stereotyped set of characters keep it from realizing its potential.Lew Ayres, a fine actor, has the lead role of the cavalry's Captain Hunt, and the rest of a good cast is highlighted by Andy Devine, Raymond Burr, Marilyn Maxwell, and Ted De Corsia. Unfortunately, most of their characters are not given much depth, and they do not have much dialogue to work with either.The lack of depth of Captain Hunt is the most important, as the other characters are primarily defined in terms of their relationship with him. At the beginning, he seems to be developing as an interesting character. He is present at a meeting between President Lincoln and Chief Acoma (De Corsia), and seems to be sympathetic with the problems that Acoma's people face after Lincoln's untimely death, even defying for a while his insensitive and boorish military superiors. But when the inevitable conflict breaks out, Ayres is just given some stereotyped lines about how the Indians ought not to resort to violence. Likewise, Acoma, as the leader of the uprising, is a thoroughly conventional character, although at least portrayed with some degree of sympathy.There are some decent action sequences, and a couple of creative touches in the battle scenes, but it is likely that "New Mexico" will be of interest mainly to those who enjoy any and all Westerns.

bux The great cast here, including Ayers, Maxwell, Divine, and Conried cannot save this predictable and routine Western effort. All the stereo-types are here, the fallen woman, the honor-bound Cavalry Captain and comic relief, but none of it seems to work well. The ending attempts to be different, but by that time the viewer could not care less.