Buffalo Bill (1944)
7/10
Light as well as colorful biopic about the mythical hero taking on Indians and Cheyenne chief Yellow Hand
27 June 2016
This is an entertaining chronicle of the noted frontier explorer . A simple story of William "Buffalo Bill" F. Cody (Joel McCrea) , legendary westerner , whose adventures made him a hero , this is a fictionalized account of the life and career from his days as an army scout or frontier hunter , his marriage to Louisa Frederici Cody (Maureen O'Hara) , to his later activities as showmanship . There happen sad events , as a lot of Buffalos had been exterminated , as hordes of eager hunters pursued the Buffalo herds in mass attacks and newspapers publicized special excursions to Buffalo grounds , including ¨the Great Russian Duke hunt¨ . Bill participated but also denounced these deeds . His hat along with a small part of his scalp was shot off by the Sioux Indians with their chief Crazy Horse and Cheyennes tribes , as in 1869 took place the action leading to a stunning victory over the Cheyenne at Summit Springs , Kansas . And there occurred his fight against ¨Yellow Hand¨ (Anthony Quinn) . Bill inspired dime novelist Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell) to write a serial featuring him and he began escorting hunting parties for rich men . The movie describes his rising and fall when Bill assaults an editor , denounced fraud , evicted from Astor ; though Bill , finally , accused Monied interests of instigating Indian wars . After winning a Congressional medal of Honor for bravery , then Cody left scouting and headed East to begin a theatrical career . Bill , subsequently , becomes a wealthy owner of a Wild West show , as a showman made him a legend.

Good biographic movie portraying the famous Wild West role . Well and lavishly directed by William A. Wellman with a great all-star-cast as Joel McCrea , Maureen O'Hara , Anthony Quinn , Linda Darnell , Edgar Buchanan , among others . Being emotionally right on the mark and there's precious action . The picture has an excellent Mise-En-scene with spectacular battles , big production design , thrilling score by David Buttolph and spectacular cinematography by Leon Shamroy .

During his 72 years Bill (1846-1917) enjoyed one of the greatest careers in Western history . Bill started early , by the age of 14 , he had already worked as drover , prospector , trapper and Pony Express rider . While grading track , and hunting Buffalos for the Kansas Pacific Railroad , after the Civil War , 21-year-old William F. Cody allegedly received the nickname ¨Buffalo Bill¨ after bringing down 11 of the beasts with 12 shots . Like his friend , ¨Will Bill Hickock¨ whom he met during the Civil war , Cody scouted for the Union in its wartime campaign against the Plains tribes and continued operating against Indians in the service of General Sheridan , General Carr's 5th Cavalry and other commanders . The dime novels and other popular entertainments of the time had already begun to be filled with rather fanciful accounts of Cody's exploits . And coming west on the newly completed transcontinental railroad . Shortly thereafter, the celebrated scout moved to Fort McPherson , Nebraska . In 1875-1876 he returned briefly to scouting in the Sioux Wars where he distinguished himself yet again . From then until his death in 1917 , Bill divided his time between ranching and producing Wild West Shows , in which Bill was cheered by crowds of enthusiastic citizens that made him wealthy and secured his everlasting fame .

Other films about ¨Buffalo Bill¨ are the followings : ¨Battling with Buffalo Bill¨ (1931) by Ray Taylor with Tom Tyler , ¨The Plainsman¨ (1936) by Cecil B. De Mille with Gary Cooper , James Ellison , Jean Arthur , ¨Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory¨ by Bernard Ray with Clayton Moore , Chief Thundercloud , ¨Buffalo Bill rides again ¨ (1947) by Bernard Ray with Richard Arlen , ¨Buffalo Bill¨ by Mario Costa with Gordon Scott , Mario Petri and the historical pastiche as well as perennial underrated ¨Buffalo Bill and the Indians¨ (76) by Robert Altman with Paul Newman who appears as a charlatan and shameless exemplar of encroaching imperialism .
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