This is an excellent movie, thematically ground breaking for its time. A model for many Westerns to follow, especially in terms of using the19th Century Indian/White conflict as a metaphor for modern African American civil rights.
Note: watch for the "prequel", "The Battle of Apache Pass", filmed two years later with Chandler and Silverheels reprising their roles as Cochise and Geronimo.
Here's what I liked:
Interesting that Stewart plays the role of peacemaker in the film. Stewart was a highly decorated bomber pilot in WW2 and was deeply traumatized by his exposure to death and destruction. After the war, he vowed never to star in a film that glorified combat. This is in stark contrast to John Wayne, who dodged service in WW2, yet went on to star several times as a war hero.
Here's what stopped the movie from being better:
Note: watch for the "prequel", "The Battle of Apache Pass", filmed two years later with Chandler and Silverheels reprising their roles as Cochise and Geronimo.
Here's what I liked:
- This kicked off a decade of great James Stewart Westerns. This was the beginning of Stewart establishing himself as one of the top leading men in the history of Western movies.
Interesting that Stewart plays the role of peacemaker in the film. Stewart was a highly decorated bomber pilot in WW2 and was deeply traumatized by his exposure to death and destruction. After the war, he vowed never to star in a film that glorified combat. This is in stark contrast to John Wayne, who dodged service in WW2, yet went on to star several times as a war hero.
- Albert Maltz, who wrote the screenplay, was blacklisted as a Communist. The struggle to stop the Apache/White conflict in the movie is a metaphor for the increasing tensions of the Cold War. Maltz' theme, indeed, was leftist, as the "good guys" Cochise and Jeffords, are trying to prevent war i.e. conservatives of the late '40's were preaching an activist military approach to stemming the spread of Communism.
- The movie is generally historical accurate. Jeffords was a real person who did many of the things James Stewart does in the movie. I'm not bothered by the small historical inaccuracies, which are more than justified by artistic license.
- Nice to see Jay Silverheels playing the militant Geronimo, since he was stereotyped later as the "Uncle Tom" Tonto in the "Lone Ranger" TV series.
- Nice location shooting in Arizona. Sedona isn't really where these events took place, but close enough. Stunning scenery more than justifies slight inaccuracy.
- So that's what Arthur Hunnicut looks like without a beard.
Here's what stopped the movie from being better:
- The whole thing's a little stiff and hokie.
- Jeff Chandler was OK, although I don't understand how he got an Oscar nomination for the role. I really don't get why they cast pure Caucasians in these roles, especially Debra Paget. Even if we assume that there were not enough trained Native American actors in 1950, there were any number of Hispanic actors who could have played this role more credibly.
- Stewart is 41, Page is 16. I know it was especially common in the 1950's to have large age differences between leading men and ladies, but this is way over top. Frankly, it's statutory rape.
- The movie needed a better characterized heavy.
- No comic relief. "Little Big Man" is still the only solid Indian point of view movie I've seen with a few laughs thrown in.