The first Western from director Delmer Daves, Broken Arrow tells the story of US army scout Tom Jeffords (James Stewart) who marries a young Apache girl (Debra Paget), becomes the friend of Cochise (Jeff Chandler) and convinces him to sign a peace treaty with the whites.
But Geronimo and a number of arms dealers refuse to accept peace. Then when white renegades murder his wife, Jeffords rebels against those of his own race.
Broken Arrow can be considered as the first great pro-American Indian film.
Based on verifiable fact it faithfully evokes the relationship between Cochise and Jeffords, marking a historic rehabilitation of Indians in the cinema.
It is also one of the first Hollywood films to show a mixed-race marriage.
The director gained sympathy for the Indians from living among the Navaho and Hopi tribes in his youth.
Tom Jeffords
James Stewart Cochise
Jeff Chandler Sonseeahray
Debra Paget General Howard
Basil Ruysdael Ben Slade
Will Geer Terry
Joyce MacKenzie Duffield
Arthur Hunnicutt Colonel Bernall
Raymond Bramley Goklia
Jay Silverheels Nalikadeya
Argentina Brunetti Boucher
Jack Lee Lonergan
Robert Adler
Director Delmer Daves
You May Also Like
Let The Good Times Roll (1973) Let The Good Times Roll is a 99-minute nostalgia wallow recorded at two of Richard Nader's…
Unwed Mother (1958) Sweet young Betty Miller (Norma Moore) moves from a small town farming community to work in…
Salem's Lot (1979) Ben Mears (David Soul of Starsky & Hutch fame) is a writer who has returned to his…
Good Humor Man, The (1950) Biff Jones (Jack Carson) - the favourite ice cream salesman (known as a “Good Humor man”…
Bronco Bullfrog (1969) In 1969, Britain woke up to skinheads. They had been around for ages but in September…
Empire of the Ants (1977) Based (very) loosely on a 1905 short story by HG Wells, this AIP production starred Joan…
