When Cochise (played briefly by an uncredited Jeff Chandler) dies, his son Taza (played by Rock Hudson) takes over as chief of the Chiricahua Apaches and tries to maintain the peace. Followers of Geronimo wish to start fighting again.

It's a thoughtful script, and director Douglas Sirk claimed it was his favorite of his movies; he had always wanted to make a western. There are some issues with the movie, some caused by technical issues, and most by Rock Hudson's rather wooden acting. He's got two settings, thoughtful and angry, and that performance makes him, as the central character, seem rather stupid, especially given the more nuanced performances afforded the men playing cavalrymen.

The technical issues can be understood by knowing this was originally shot for 3-D, but released in a flat version. The compositions meant to showcase the depth of shot stick out like a sore thumb, lending a peculiarly film noir look to them. While Russel Metty's camerawork is exemplary in the big-screen shots of Utah, many of the more intimate scenes show up in a peculiarly dark and grey light.

The script by George Zuckerman keeps things moving along, but the problems of performance and camerawork lay heavily on this movie. Sirk and producer Ross Hunter abandoned the western for a series of glossy soap operas.

With Jeff Chandler doing an obligatory appearance in his most famous role as Cochise the torch is passed to a new generation of Apache leaders in the persons of his sons Rock Hudson and Rex Reason. But in the title role in Taza, Son Of Cochise, Hudson seriously takes his dying father's admonition to stay on the path of peace while Reason wants to join up with Geronimo.

This rivalry spills over into their personal lives as Hudson and Barbara Rush are in love, but her war like father Morris Ankrum much prefers Reason as a new son-in-law. And when the guys come courting and have to come up with presents for the father-in-law for Rush's hand Ankrum prefers the stolen white man's wampum to the humdrum Apache style gifts that are the normal course in these things.

Taza, Son Of Cochise was shot in 3-D which I'm sure must have really been exciting and effective during the battle scenes especially the climax battle. I'd have liked to have seen it in a theater rather than on YouTube. Hudson does well in the starring role.

Western fans should be pleased though this is far from historically accurate.

Rock Hudson, Jeff Chandler, Rex Reason, Ian MacDonald, Barbara Rush...all not exactly American-Indian sounding names! Yet, all these folks are all painted up in "Taza, Son of Cochise" to play just such roles--which represents the single biggest problem with this movie. Not only aren't they Indians, they hardly look like them and give the film a certain silliness you can't get past. And, even if the actors had done great jobs in their parts (which they hadn't),this isn't enough to overcome this problem. However, for me this is EXACTLY why I watched the film--because it was so unbelievably cast! Yes folks, I AM a glutton for punishment. And, is there something worth watching here?

The film begins with Chief Cochise's death. His son, Taza (Hudson),vows to keep the peace--whereas his hot-headed son, Naiche (Reason),is determined to destroy the white folks. However, after their big showdown in which Taza kicks the snot out of him, some other renegades sneak in and set Naiche free. So, it's up to our hero, Taza, to find his wicked brother and maintain the peace. But even when he does, it might be too late for him and his people--especially when Geronimo is sent to live on Taza's reservation.

As for the rest of the film, it's a real mixed bag. On one hand, the film is gorgeous--with a fantastic location shoot in Utah as well as terrific music. So the film clearly had a nice budget and it's obvious the studio gave director Douglas Sirk the go ahead to make a quality film. However, the film also suffers from some downright awful dialog--dialog that often makes the 'Indians' sound like idiots. The worst of this often occurred with love scenes--which were among the least romantic in film history. Overall, the film is watchable but silly--and certainly not among the best or worst of the genre.

By the way, I wonder if this film was originally planned as a 3-D movie. This is because often punches, spears, giant rocks and whips are tossed directly AT the camera--like you'd see in a 3-D picture. Considering it came out in 1954, this is awfully likely. Also, historically speaking the movie is a mish-mash of facts and pure bunk.