The Unforgiven

• Directed by John Huston
• April 6, 1960
• Based on the 1957 novel The Unforgiven by Alan Le May

When a local group of Kiowa claims that a family’s adopted daughter is one of theirs, the locals turn on her family.

This was a first time viewing for me but after viewing I learned that The Unforgiven is as well known if not more so for the drama and issues that happened behind the scenes during production than anything caught on film. All things considered it was a difficult production, but I do not think that harmed the end product. Having said that it does appear those instances have overshadowed this movie’s quality in the minds of many. Anywho…

Pretty early in the story-before anything really starts-it is set up that there are secrets being kept concerning the young Rachel Zachary (Audrey Hepburn) who is a foundling child taken in by the hardworking Zachary Clan. What those secrets could be are not immediately revealed but do connect to the sudden appearance disturbed Abe Kelsey (Joseph Wiseman). When a weird character shows up and spouts stuff like they are a crazy preacher you know it will be good.

Though well-acted and well-directed, the reality of the situation becomes pretty obvious after a few minutes. Huston is a directing great but did not try too hard here. If you cannot figure out how Abe and so forth all connects to Rachel then I can’t help you. Well, I guess I can by telling you that Rachel is in fact a Kiowa. The crazy dude lost his son and wanted to use her to trade to get the kid back, but the Zacharys wouldn’t allow it because the mother had just lost her daughter and Rachel was a replacement. Nobody really ever points out how f****d up that is.

Audrey Hepburn was a fine actress but in no way does she look anything other than very Caucasian. They did darken her skin a little bit, but her hair is a brunette as a chocolate bar. I don’t know how it looked when the film was released but on higher definition media it’s brown. They couldn’t even spring for a wig? Hair dye? Anything?!

Bigotry against Native Americans is front and center in The Unforgiven. Cannot miss it. Some characters are worse than others. There are no saints in this. These are not terrible people but rather deeply flawed people. And that’s a fine line. They have their problems, but they are not necessarily irredeemable. I would say the only horrible one passed off camera. Otherwise the whole exercise here would be pointless. The question is can they get better in some way by the end. There is potential for change which helps the viewer to invest in the story.

This is much more a drama of people coming to terms with what they’ve done and who they are than it is a shoot-the-Native-Americans Western. This is a reckoning with flaws and past sins. There is no wallowing in how awful they are unlike far too many movies today. Growth. What a concept!

The defacto Zachary Family patriarch Ben (Burt Lancaster) has most if not all the answers to what is going on but often refuses to actually admit them. I am not sure if he ever comes completely clean during the story. Partially but not entirely. Others expose the truth. Ben stands by Rachel and does his best to keep her there as tensions rise.

Aside from Joseph Wiseman the supporting cast includes Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, John Saxon, Doug McClure, and Albert Salmi. John Saxon plays Johnny Portugal who works for the Zacharys. There is a scene where his character attempts to tame a horse. He’s successful, but he’s talking to it like it’s about to have sex with a virgin. Even ends with the line “Easy, girl, easy. Ain’t you the prettiest devil I ever did see? I’m going to ride you now. Easy and slow. It ain’t going to hurt much. Not after the first time, anyway.” Just really weird. But then again, I think only someone like John Saxon could sell it. I hear the horse claimed sexual assault years later.

Huston stated this was his only film he completely disliked. While not his greatest, it is certainly not terrible. Then again Huston’s worst is better than most director’s best. The Unforgiven gets a little soapy and the ending did feel a bit off by painting the Kiowa lead by Lost Bird (Carlos Rivas) as worse than the Zachary family even though they were just trying to get back one of their own. A decade or two late but even so.

I am also bothered by the flip flopping on how much and what everybody knew and that Rachel was completely ignorant of the truth. At some points it appears to be an open secret and at others something known too only a select few. The neighbors knew and did not know as do certain individuals in the family that Rachel was to replace a recently deceased child/sibling. Decide!

There is a running gag with Andy Zachary (Doug McClure) talking about how he wants to get a beer which is a euphemism for losing his virginity. Every time he’s about ready to say what he’s really after he catches himself. It’s cute but is that really all that’s on your mind when you’re facing a horde of angry Kiowa? Just weird.

The Unforgiven is a good Western but not without its flaws. Even so Huston’s skill is on full display as he is able to smooth out the issues enough to make this rather enjoyable. It is not of the mythmaking variety, but it is a Western I recommend.