The White Warrior (1959)
Overview
The story of Hadji Murad, a 19th-century Chechen chieftain who led his warriors in a fight against the invading forces of the Russian Czar.
Cast
Steve Reeves
Agi / Hadji Murad, the White Warrior
Giorgia Moll
Sultanet
Scilla Gabel
Princess Mario Vorontsova
Renato Baldini
Ahmet Khan
Gérard Herter
Prince Sergei Vorontzov
Milivoje Živanović
Tsar Nicholas I
Nikola Popović
King Shamil
Jovan Gec
Aslan Bey
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An almost unrecognisable Steve Reeves takes on the mantle of Tolstoy’s rebellious freedom fighter “Agi Murad” in this quickly paced but poorly produced action adventure. His character is determined to ensure that his Chechen population remains free from the tyranny of the troops of Czar Nicholas (Milivoje Zivanovic). The plot follows predictable lines as the small but determined band refuse to bow down in the face of overwhelming odds, scheming plotters and duplicitous allies that they can’t trust. There has been some vision here from director Riccardo Freda and his set piece action scenes, costumes and Roberto Nicolosi’s lively score all give this a certain style, but the editing is shocking and the acting, led from the top by an out-of-sorts Reeves but also featuring a lacklustre group of supporters who might have done better in silent films, really slows the thing down to the level of an overly verbose and episodic soap. Georgia Moll and Scilla Gabel do their limited best to bring some sultry glamour, but no amount of silk gauze can infuse them with much substance and the whole film rather fades away before us. Pity, it’s a solid story that had they bothered to provide a decent script and some post production effort for, could have been good.
