Director Paul Winters plays Col. Ben Loftin, whose Confederate cavalry raids a Union camp, making off with a gold shipment under guard by Maj. J.T. Haskell’s 5th Michigan Cavalry.
Embarrassed, Haskell swears to recover the gold and kill Loftin.
Later in the war, Haskell and his men find themselves at Loftin’s North Carolina mansion. They ransack the place.
And when Mrs. Loftin refuses to disclose her husband’s whereabouts, Haskell shoots her down.
Now it’s Loftin’s turn to take a vow of vengeance.
And when he learns that the 5th Michigan has been dispatched to the West to fight Indians, he heads West, too, with the help of former slave Nate Washington (Ricco Ross).
They wind up making friends with a band of Chippewa Indians and, in the process, find new enemies in the Blackfoot.
But for Loftin and Haskell … well, old enemies are never far from their minds.
Paul Winters as Col. Ben Loftin, heading West with vengeance on his mind in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Ricco Ross as Nate Washington in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Review:
A nice looking film that features some decent action sequences. Unfortunately, they’re mostly spoiled by a fanciful plot that’s almost guaranteed to strike most viewers as implausible.
So, a Union major is so distraught by losing a shipment of gold and a pair of boots that he’s actually going to personally track down the Confederate commander? And somehow, he thinks he’s going to recover the gold, even after the war has ended? Hmm.
The only thing more unbelievable is the ending. With his silly fake beard, Carlos Milano isn’t very convincing as the villain. And director Winters spends the first half of the film drunk — Falls on His Face is his Indian name — making his sudden ascent to hero a bit tough to swallow.
Carlos Milano as Maj. J.T. Haskell, the man who kills Loftin’s wife in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Mark S. Brien as Hunting Thunder, the warrior who befriends the colonel in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Directed by:
Paul Winters
Cast:
Paul Winters … Col. Ben Loftin
Ricco Ross … Nate Washington
Mark S. Brien … Hunting Thunder
Al Harrington … Standing Elk
Carlos Milano … Maj. J.T. Haskell
Lee Whitestar … Offers the Pipe
Kansas Carradine … Rain Basket
Victoria Regina … Bird Feather
David Midthunder … Kills the Enemy
Micah May … Pvt. Johnson
Runtime: 95 min.
Kansas Carradine as Rain Basket, an Indian girl Nate rescues from an abusive trader in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Victoria Regina as Bird Feather, the Indian woman who married Loftin in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Memorable lines:
Haskell, speaking to his superior: “Well, sir, I think we should be killing the Indians, not making peace with them. The more we kill this year is the less we have to kill next year. Sir, I’ve never met an Indian that didn’t need killing. And the women, they breed like lice.”
Al Harrington as Standing Elk, the Indian leader whose life Nate saves in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
David Midthunder as Kills the Enemy, questioning Col. Loftin’s effect on the Indians in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Ricco Ross as Nate Washington, the freed slave who travels West with his former owner in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
Paul Winters as Col. Ben Loftin in Nate and the Colonel (2003)
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