The Raid

**_Civil War “Western” that takes place a dozen miles from the Canadian border_** In September-October, 1864, a Confederate officer (Van Heflin) coordinates a group of 21 young soldiers, mostly ex-POWs, for an attack on a prosperous town in northern Vermont. His motive isn’t just revenge, but to fund the Confederacy with desperately needed funds, as well as to divert Union troops from the South. “The Raid” (1954) was loosely based on the St. Albans Raid, the northernmost engagement of the Civil War, led by 21 years-old Lt. Bennett H. Young and organized by George Sanders, a Montreal-based agent of the Confederacy. Heflin (at the age of 45 during shooting) basically plays a conglomerate of these two real-life people. It’s great to see so many familiar faces when they were young, like Lee Marvin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Peter Graves and Claude Akins. The film starts out with some quality action concerning a prison break in northeast New York, but then settles down with the Major inspecting the town over the course of a week, masquerading as a businessman from Montreal. He finds himself drawn into the lives of the townspeople, particularly a young widow (Bancroft) and her boy. While some might argue that the story bogs down at this point, it successfully establishes the main characters and the flick delivers the goods in the last half hour, starting with a notable scene involving the Major’s loose-cannon Lieutenant (Marvin). Human interest is effectively added to the historical events, which inspired me to research the incident further (I have read about it in the past, but wasn’t up on all the details). Boone’s character, a Union Captain, was inspired by the real-life Captain George Conger, who quickly amassed a group in the town to fight back with firearms. In the face of resistance, Young & his raiders retreated, attempting to fire the town as they went, but with little success, although one person ended up losing his life and two others were injured. A Confederate was also injured. The film doesn’t say, but the fleeing Rebels were apprehended by Canuck authorities and the loot returned to the three banks in St. Albans, although the men were let go because neutral Canada couldn’t extradite them. It runs 1 hour, 22 minutes, and was shot in RKO Studios in Culver City, which is just southwest of Hollywood, as well as Sherwood Forest, which is a 50-minute drive to the northwest. GRADE: B+/A-