The Indians Are Coming (1930) watch online HD

Quite popular back in 1930, it is a now a very dated curio. Some of the acting is so melodramatic that it provokes laughter. The camerawork is impressive ( especially for a serial ). However, most people will have to put up with a lot of nonsense in order to enjoy this one. We did like Pal the dog though.

When I was younger, I associated the title and subject matter of this film with grainy footage of a tornado, and of chapter after chapter of impending attack by a band of Indians. It's funny how are notions are incorrect.

As noted by the previous reviewer, the acting is nothing spectacular, but it is honest in its efforts to adapt to the new medium. Tim McCoy is appropriately daring, heroic, and tender by turns. I'm not sure if he needed the orchestra backing him up in the one romantic scene, but is was an interesting early example of music in what are usually very "silent" early talking westerns.

I wanted to wring Wilbur McGaugh's (the villain) neck, so he did a fine job in his last acting role. Allene Ray, sadly, was almost a non-entity, and Edmund Cobb did fine yeoman's duty as McCoy's pal. It's interesting that Cobb's two-reelers for Universal came to an end in 1930. If this was an attempt to build him up for future starring work, it must not have worked, because Cobb rarely headlined a film again, which is unfortunate because he has a very sincere presence. Don't even ask about the "pals in buckskin";I wanted to take aim at the interlocutor every time he mentioned it when he was summarizing the plot at the commencement of each chapter.

So, this one is worth your time; it is involving, and a good effort from a major studio (Universal) that had lots of experience in westerns. Why they jettisoned them, let Gibson and Maynard go that year, and then picked back up with Tom Mix in 1932 is a mystery. Their production values are superb.

One last thing: the credit sequence for each chapter super-imposed over a shot of advancing Indians is really quite stunning. Let their war-whoops guide you through each succeeding chapter.

Tim McCoy (Jack Manning), Allene Ray (Mary Woods), Charles Royal (Uncle Amos), Edmund Cobb (Bill Williams), Francis Ford (Tom Woods/George Woods), Don Francis (bit), Wilbur McGaugh (Rance Carter), Bud Osborne (Bull McGee), and "Pal".

Director: HENRY McRAE. Original story and screenplay: George H. Plympton, Ford Beebe. Based on the book The Great West That Was by William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Associate producer: Henry McRae.

Chapter titles: Pals in Buckskin, A Call to Arms, A Furnace of Fear, The Red Terror, The Circle of Death, Hate's Harvest, Hostages of Fear, The Dagger Duel, The Blast of Death, Redskins of Vengeance, Frontiers Aflame, The Trail's End.

Copyright Universal Pictures Corp., as follows: (1) 29 August 1930; (2) 12 September 1930; (3) 9 August 1930 (sic); (4) 26 September 1930; (5) 6 October 1930; (6) 9 October 1930; (7) 14 October 1930; (8) 23 October 1930; (9) 5 November 1930; (10) 5 November 1930 (sic); (11) 10 November 1930; (12) 15 November 1930. Each of the 12 episodes consists of 2 reels. U.S. release: 20 October 1930.

COMMENT: Wow! The first chapter is really something. Under Henry McRae's driving direction, the camera doesn't just track down a street, it really plunges down the street. Full of action -- fights, chases, shoot-outs, great stunt-work -- and expensive production values (including location shooting, running inserts and dazzling camera mobility, plus mobs of people milling around). In fact, there is scarcely time to take in the story before chapter's end.

Aside from Miss Ray (who is stiff and impossibly wooden, but maybe she will unbuckle a bit as the movie progresses), the acting is surprisingly solid. Francis Ford has a cleverly delineated dual role, whilst Ed Cobb is surprisingly animated and personable. Tim McCoy is more youthful too. And we enjoyed Wilbur McGaugh as the hissable young villain.

Chapter Two is introduced not by a rolling synopsis of what has gone before, but by an on-screen narrator impersonating "Buffalo Bill". A brilliant idea! And it is repeated for each of the following episodes. I'll admit that none of them are quite as thrilling as Chapter One, but at least three or four of them come mighty close!