It's a shame that so few Hollywood films have been done about South Africa--and almost none about the early years of this country. In light of this, it's even sadder that one of the few is this limp little film. Aside from being filmed in glorious Technicolor or a chance to see Jane Wyman in a very early appearance, there really isn't much to make this worth watching.
The story is set in the Natal (now part of South Africa) and the characters are mostly Boers--that is, Dutch settlers. It appears to be set during the first Boer War (1880-1881) due to their costumes. Regardless, some of the characters are fighting the British and it's a rare Hollywood film to not take the side of the Brits. I could try to explain the plot but won't--suffice to say it's a lot like an American western but with black people instead of Indians as the baddies. In addition, there's LOTS of singing and limp acting--none of which manage to make this interesting period of history the least bit interesting. To make it worse, EVERYTHING works out perfectly in the end--every single tiny plot thread!! Rather dumb and probably only of interest if you want to laugh at the acting.
The story is set in the Natal (now part of South Africa) and the characters are mostly Boers--that is, Dutch settlers. It appears to be set during the first Boer War (1880-1881) due to their costumes. Regardless, some of the characters are fighting the British and it's a rare Hollywood film to not take the side of the Brits. I could try to explain the plot but won't--suffice to say it's a lot like an American western but with black people instead of Indians as the baddies. In addition, there's LOTS of singing and limp acting--none of which manage to make this interesting period of history the least bit interesting. To make it worse, EVERYTHING works out perfectly in the end--every single tiny plot thread!! Rather dumb and probably only of interest if you want to laugh at the acting.
