Not even bad in a good way

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

While the story was in part fictionalized, "The Raid" is a decent retelling of a seldom mentioned part of Civil War history. In October, 1864, a group of Confederates entered the town of St. Albans, Vermont in order to burn the town, spread terror and steal bank money to help finance the Confederate cause. It was the northern-most raid made during the war and was a bit of an embarrassment to Canada, as the raiders used the country as a base of operations.The film starts with a group of Confederate soldiers mounting an escape from a Union prisoner of war camp. One of the leaders of these men, Major Benton (Van Heflin), would organize these men into a small band similar to Quantrill's Raiders and attack the town from Canada. But first, some of them would enter the town and pretend to be businessmen in order to scout out the town and determine the best way to mount the attack. Much of the film concerns this as well as their problems with a total screwup who is so bent on murdering Yankees that he's bound to blow their secret. At the end of the film, you see a re-creation of the raid and its aftermath. though they never really talked about the aftermath...which would make nice reading on your part!This is a pretty exciting film. The acting is quite nice and, as usual, Van Helfin is quite good. Had he been taller and better looking, I am pretty sure he would have been a much bigger star. Additionally, the project doesn't stray too far from the facts and is a quality film throughout. Well worth seeing and far better than I had expected.

It is sort of sad that Van Heflin did not get his due as a western actor, especially during the 1950s...most people think of Burt Lancaster, Audie Murphy, Fred McMurray, James Stewart, maybe Gary Cooper too...but Heflin made two total classics in the 50s, "Shane" with Allen Ladd, and "3:10 to Yuma" with Glenn Ford another noted 50s western star...also he was a iron clad major in "They Came to Cordura" in 59....in "The Raid" he is a rebel officer with a dual role, as he contrives with a band of rebel soldiers to overtake a small Vermont town toward the end of the civil war...further raids into unprotected towns by the rebels were planned to loot money and goods to be diverted into funds to buy war goods from foreign countries....Some very solid actors, very early in their careers make this a top notch wester, Lee Marvin, Peter Graves, James ("Roscoe") Best, Ann Bancroft, and a young Richard Boone, the man with the craggy face and disposition he made a career of....also a young Tommy Rettig, who went on to star in the "Lassie" TV series of the 1950s stars.... This is a top notch western and a true story to boot. Historical news reports from historians verify the raid on Vermont as a true civil war story. Lee Marvin in a good role as a renegade rebel solider who makes more trouble for Heflin that he bargained for as he gets drunk and threatens to blow up the whole "raid".....lots of plots and subplots....surreal part of this film is the rebel soldiers who were riding around with nitro glycerin in their pants and coats used to start fires in the town...everyone knows nitro is highly explosive to vibrations, whew!!! This is a very enjoyable civil war tale with top notch actors. Remember seeing this movie as a kid in 1954, but TV version of this film left me scratching my head as I remember Tommy Rettig coming into Heflin's room and seeing his rebel uniform in a chest, not on Heflin as he wore it in a hotel room.....did I miss something from seeing this film in a theatre as opposed to on TV...hard to figure. A good, solid 1950s western to see.

A great picture depicting the Civil War, and the surprise attack on Saint Albans, Vermont by Confederate soldiers. You will not see many movies wherein the movie industry deviates from the "politically correct" Northern side of the War Between The States. This one takes you mostly to the Southern side. It takes place about the time of the push to Atlanta - or the indiscriminate burning of Georgia by the then estimated (and later confirmed) mentally impaired General Sherman. The lead actors Van Heflin, co-starring the young Ann Bancroft did a tremendous job. It would be a shame for Civil War history enthusiasts to miss this exciting movie.

Interesting film about an actual event that took place during the Civil War in Vermont. It kept my attention to the end and I don't regret viewing it. I haven't ever read any on this raid incident so I was curious to see if the rebels pulled it off. I enjoy historical films from that era.My major complaint is with the Confederate uniforms. They look too good!!! The acting was a little stiff at times. I like the old man eating the mashed potatoes because he didn't have any teeth. The wounded soldier playing fetch with a hound was a little strange. Overall, it was a descent film.