untamed james

Transposing many of the western tropes to South Africa, Untamed (1955) winds up being all over the map...in a good way. The film forgoes the usual exposition to abruptly introduce Katie O'Neill (Susan Hayward), a fiery Irish redhead with cutthroat romantic ambitions. After being spurned by her first love, Paul (Tyrone Power), she marries again in hopes of following him to the dark continent where free land awaits those with the courage to claim it. Facing down Zulu tribesmen, catastrophic storms and financial ruin, Katie survives by setting one man against another, leaving a trail of broken relationships behind her in a quest for wealth, success and a slim chance at a happy ending with Paul.

It's rather shocking how unlikable Hayward is allowed to be here. Katie - rechristened Katje when arrives in her new home - is essentially a femme fatale, manipulating anything with Y-chromosome that looks her way. And the script revels in the emotional damage with melodramatic zeal, somehow escaping the typical production code dictate that "what comes around, goes around." Katie is a force of nature, but one that bears a grudge. Untamed garners her plenty of shocks, but little sympathy.

What it does offer is stunning photography and action scenes set against the South African scenery. Director Henry King's set-piece sequence - the attack by hundreds of Zulu warriors on the settlers' circled wagons - is cut together with a ripping amount of excitement and energy. It feels unlike anything else from the era, an orchestrated montage of spears, bullets and death spread across an equally imposing landscape. Untamed delivers an epic experience, but one lacks a strong moral compass. That's a rare find from a studio film in 1955.

Twilight Time's 3000-copy limited edition Blu-ray delivers a whopper of a hi-def presentation, milking the Cinemascope for every inch of screen space. Extras include an isolated music track, original theatrical trailer and liner notes.