Geronimo: the Last Renegade; Outlaws: the Ten Most Wanted

Originally airing on the A & E channel as episodes in the Kenny Rogers-hosted The Real West series, these two similarly-formatted programs are aimed at armchair buckaroos who want a taste of the legendary west without suffering saddlesores or being filled with hot lead. The subject this winter of both a made-for-TV movie and a major motion picture, the story of Geronimo is told in Geronimo: The Last Renegade through archival photographs, letters, and commentary from contemporary historians and authors such as Robert M. Utley and Dee Brown (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee). Losing his mother, wife, and children in a single stroke during an attack by Mexican soldiers, Geronimo's reputedly brutal raids against both Mexicans and Anglo-Americans were both legendary (and overstated). a medicine man and Apache Indian chief, Geronimo was captured and sent to the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona during the mid-1870s. But he and his followers repeatedly escaped over the ensuing decade, causing much political embarrassment to the U.S. Army. His final surrender on September 4, 1886 marked the beginning of a quarter century of confinement in Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma, during which Geronimo became a noted celebrity and budding entrepreneur (he charged the premium price of $.25 for an autograph). a winning, if elementary, admixture of legend, myth, and fact, Geronimo: The Last Renegade is sure to be a popular addition. [Note: Another The Real West episode, Custer & the 7th Cavalry, is included in the double-wide sleeve, making this a very economical purchase (though a bit problematical for processing since the two tapes are unrelated).]Outlaws: The Ten Most Wanted also draws on archival photographs, letters, and commentary from historians and authors to tell the very abbreviated tales of Billy the Kid, the James gang, the Dalton gang, Butch Cassidy's Hole-in-the-Wall gang, Black Jack Ketchum, John Wesley Hardin (whom a modern commentator dubs a "homicidal maniac"), Bill Longley (who reputedly said of his forthcoming execution "hanging is my favorite way to die"), Clay Allison, Ben Thompson, Black Bart (who left poems rather than dead bodies at the scene of the crime), Doc Holiday, Cherokee Bill, and the Rufus Buck gang. This is actually 13 outlaws or outlaw gangs, not the 10 referred to in the title. Mathematics aside, however, this is a fast-paced homage to the rugged West's most famous badmen. Those who won't snicker too loudly at host Kenny Rogers (who sports a gunslinger's belt and delivers his comments without a hint of irony) will definitely enjoy this. [Note: as is the case with Geronimo: The Last Renegade, this program also contains a free companion tape: Guns That Tamed the West.]Both titles are recommended. [Note: be sure to request the SP (Standard Play) versions of these titles, since they are also being offered at $14.95 each in the slow-speed recorded EP (Extended Play) mode.] (R. Pitman)