Reprisal! (1956)

Guy Madison plays Frank Madden, a man with a dream and a secret.

The dream: He’s scrapped and saved and gambled until he has enough money to buy a small ranch.

The secret: He’s a half-breed; his mother was an Indian and, that being the case, he has no right to own land if his true identity is discovered.

Problem is, he’s decided to settle down in the town of Kendell, where Indians can be hanged for a crime as minor as trespassing and where the killers won’t be convicted.

The killers in this case are Madden’s neighbors, the Shipley brothers — played by Wayne Mallory, Michael Pate, and Edward Platt. They take offense to Madden’s plans to fence his land, and to the fact that he treats Indians decently.

Edward Shipley resents Madden even more than his brothers, because Madden seems to be getting along well with a pretty Indian squaw named Taini (Kathryn Grant).

In spite of his family’s feelings toward Indians, Ed Shipley wants Taini for himself.

Felicia Farr plays Catherine Cantrell (Felicia Farr), who grew up with Indians and is incensed by the way they are treated in Kendall. She falls for Madden, partly because he doesn’t seem nearly as bigoted as most of the people in town.

Guy Madison as Frank Madden, a man struggling with his idenity and parentage in Reprisal! (1956)

Guy Madison as Frank Madden, a man struggling with his identity and parentage in Reprisal! (1956)

Felicia Farr as Catherine Cantrell, speaking out on Frank Madden’s behalf in Reprisal! (1956)

Review:

Taunt, effective little film and one of Madison’s more serious Western roles. He’s a man caught in the middle, trying to act white though the only people showing him much kindness are from the race he wants to abandon.

Pate and Platt turn in fine performances as two of the Indian-hating Shipley brothers. Pate’s character is nearly as torn as Madison’s, because he can’t stay away from a pretty Indian girl. Platt, of course, would go on to play The Chief in the hit TV series “Get Smart.”

This was one of four Westerns in which Farr starred in 1956, including “The Last Wagon” opposite Richard Widmark. She would later marry actor Jack Lemmon, a marriage that lasted nearly 40 years until his death.

Michael Pate as Bert Shipley, on trial for hanging two Indians in Reprisal! (1956)

Edward Platt as Neil Shipley, leader of a trio of brothers used to running roughshod over Indian rights in Reprisal! (1956)

Directed by:
George Sherman

Cast:
Guy Madison … Frank Madden
Felicia Farr … Catherine Cantrell
Otto Hulett … Sheriff Jim Dixon
Wayne Mallory … Tom Shipley
Michael Pate … Bert Shipley
Edward Platt … Neil Shipley
Kathryn Grant … Taini
Ralph Moody … Matara

Runtime: 74 min.

Kathryn Grant as Taini, an Indian girl who tells a lie to save Frank Madden’s life in Reprisal! (1956)

Ralph Moody as Matara, Frank Madden’s granddad, who keeps his secret in Reprisal! (1956)

Memorable lines:

Frank Madden: “Good fences make good neighbors.”

Mr. Cantrell: “This is my daughter Catherine, Mr. Madden. She gets a little upset when she discovers the world is different than in books.”

Michael Pate to Taini : “You dumb squaw. Don’t you know I have to have you.”

Guy Madison as Frank Madden, ordering a trespasser off his land in Reprisal! (1956)

Otto Hulett as Sheriff Jim Dixon, trying to prevent Frank Madden from a lynch mob in Reprisal! (1956)

Phillip Breedlover as Takola, looking to avenge the hanging of his wife in Reprisal! (1956)

Wayne Mallory as Tom Shipley, the brother who has a barroom altercation with Frank Madden in Reprisal! (1956)

Felicia Farr as Catherine Cantrell with her fatherr Jeb Cantrell (Robert Burton) in Reprisal! (1956)