Last of the Renegades

An oil baron wants land in the region. The land belongs to the Assiniboin and they will not sell. Forrester finds a way: if he starts a war between the Native people and the whites the army will step in and the land will empty. He sends his men out in Native dress to make attacks. Old Shatterhand and Winnetou see what is happening and try to stop the war. The two have to persuade both the tribe and the people of the border town. Meanwhile Winnetou falls in love with a woman who stands between the two sides. Harald Reinl directs. Lex Barker plays Old Shatterhand and Pierre Brice plays Winnetou; Karin Dor and Anthony Steel are in the cast. The source is Karl May's novels. Karl May was a much read writer in Germany; he wrote these books without ever going to America and they sold across generations. The film is the second link in the Winnetou series, which was a large commercial success in Germany in the sixties. It was shot in Yugoslavia; the rocky country in Croatia was used for the American west, a choice kept throughout the series. The matter it treats is provocation; neither the Native people nor the townspeople start the war. The narrative draws the Native characters positively; but the parts are largely played by European actors, which is found problematic today. Its limit is production; the fights and battles are plain, the acting flat and the plot simple. Who it is for: viewers who like European westerns and adventure films of the sixties. Who it is not for: the representation is a problem, the narrative simple, and the pace slow.