White Feather
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Movie Reviews of White Feather
Movie Review: Directed with a Fair Hand and a Commendably Civil Tongue
Summary: 5 Stars
White Feather takes us back to 1877 Wyoming for the signing of a Peace Treaty. On the one side, we have the Sioux, Arapaho, Crow, Blackfeet, and Cheyenne Indians. On the other, we have the US Government. In the middle, we have Chief Broken Hand, the leader of the Cheyenne, and a complement of the US Calvary commanded by Colonel Lindsay, a man of considerable integrity and remarkable wisdom.
Josh Tanner, played by a young and handsome Robert Wagner, a topographical engineer dispatched by a group of wealthy individuals with interests in land development, also finds himself immediately implicated in the rapid movement of events.
Two young Cheyenne braves, Little Dog and American Horse, played by Jeffrey Hunter and Hugh O'Brian, add their hot blood to the escalation of rivalries.
In a role particularly suited to her undeniable charm and winsome beauty, we find Debra Paget playing the part of Appearing Day. She is sister to Little Dog and the daughter of Chief Broken Hand.
And let us not forget Virginia Leith. Her role is small as Ann Magruder, a lovely young woman with a vivid scar in her past, yet she is quite memorable. With the figure of a dancer and the face of a siren, she harbors a great deal of compassion.
"Sitting on a powder keg," as Colonel Lindsay described the conditions to Josh Tanner, leaves us in a position to extol the civilized behavior encountered multiple times during the intersection of peoples on opposite sides of a contest for land and life. Josh Tanner treats us to a most unusual and unexpectedly original solution to a brush with death, filling us with admiration and regard. It is no wonder that Appearing Day is moved in a magic moment to love and to cherish him. Debra Paget manages to embody these emotions and feelings in the unmistakable language of the heart, with unspoken words expressed so sincerely in her manner of adoration and devotion. Recognizing just how few minutes she had to accomplish this feat of communication is to applaud her performance and purity. Over and over.
Little Dog, son of Chief Broken Hand, is also drawn to Josh Tanner, a reflection of his respect for bravery and courage. He may also like his new comb (smile). It is his invitation to Josh Tanner to come to the Cheyenne village for a welcome feast that permits Josh a brief moment alone with Appearing Day. It is also here where Josh again proffers gifts, unknowingly encouraging Little Dog and American Horse to seek once again to reply in kind. And thus a friendship develops, fragile and delicate under the circumstances, but worthy of some trust. We watch as this trust is tested and find that both sides have their strengths and weaknesses. In this film, an assessment of those characteristics is left to the audience. It is directed with a fair hand and a commendably civil tongue.
Surprisingly, from beginning to end, we are confronted with only five deaths, just three of which are witnessed first hand. The last two signal an end to hostilities and place us on a path towards peace and enlightenment. If only it were true.
White Feather shares some attributes with an earlier film titled Broken Arrow, starring James Stewart and Jeff Chandler. While Debra Paget is the only person to appear in both, the two movies present similar conflicts in similar contexts. In Broken Arrow, Debra Paget is five years younger, approaching seventeen years of age, and equally enchanting. The cinematography of Broken Arrow manages to catch her in the most dazzling light. She fairly glows. Clearly, for me, Debra Paget is the major attraction in both of these films even if the scripts tend to provide little time with her.
Movie Review: 1877 HOLLYWOOD STYLE
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is excellent entertainment for its time and also for today, however, it is not excellent history. But what the movie attempts to show deserves some sympathetic historical consideration.
Robert Wagner mentions the date 1877 at movie's beginning, only a few months after the Custer fight of June, 1876, at the Little Big Horn. After that fight, the Lakota as well as Northern Cheyenne were later tracked and attacked by General Ranald Mackenzie's troops either to die in battle or suffer much in way of starvation and death during the winter of 1876. Were driven after the battle to accept charity from Crazy Horse's Oglala people to live through the winter of '76. The old, normal life of the Northern Cheyenne had ceased to exit.
We are to assume the spring of 1877, for that is when the Northern Cheyenne were compelled to sign a treaty which would take them south away from their traditional home to Oklahoma then known as Indian Territory. The Northern Cheyenne walked every mile, close to 1500 miles, from the Powder River country to their new home near Fort Reno at the Darlington Agency. The journey on foot had taken several months from spring to fall, 1877. From that fall, 1877, until following spring, 1878, they remained in Oklahoma, but found conditions there so impossible they were forced into a choice of facing death at Darlington or death on the trail back to Montana. They chose to return to the Powder River country. That subject too Hollywood also put on film in 1964 as CHEYENNE AUTUMN.
Many may not enjoy this film, taking exception to major or minor elements, but for the attempt made to offer some pictorial history of this 1877 turbulent time, the movie does deserve several stars. The acting is very good, the filming is also good, but the story it attempts to tell is even better. Whether Hollywood or viewers were aware, it was a brave venture, none-the-less even today. The Northern Cheyenne did finally receive some tribute for both their bravery and suffering.
Though I see glaring historical errors in this film, it is still one of the more intelligent films made in the 1950s on the Northern plains Lakota tribes. Many may not feel that way, but then many do not read the real history of those long ago times. And though the movie has its inaccuracies, in the main it is a story well told. The shadows of both Little Wolf (Little Coyote) and Dull Knife (Morning Star) under examination continue to stand tall, though both died pretty much forgotten even to their own people.
Semper Fi.
Movie Review: One of the best movies with Jeffrey Hunter as Little Dog
Summary: 5 Stars
Jeffrey Hunter as the cheyenne warrior "Little Dog" and son of chief "Broken Hand".
World changes for the cheyennes when the white men invades their land, rich of gold.
Proud warriors Little Dog and his best friend American Horse want to fight and not go to the "new land in the South".
In this hard time for their people one white man named "Josh Tanner" enters the cheyennes land and their first encounter is full of danger and distrust.
Little Dog is impressed with the courage of this white man, so they have a sincere friendship and Josh fell in love with Appearing Day, Little Dogs sister.
But she belongs to American Horse, her father arranged that against her will. So she leaves her people and want to live a white mans life, with Josh.
Broken Hand signs the peace treaty (that means to leave the cheyennes land and go to the new land in the South).
Little Dog and his friend American Horse want to fight alone against the soldiers, because they both are not bount to the treaty. They sent the message through the "White
John Lund as American Horse is fabulous, Robert Wagner as Josh Tanner and Debra Paget as Appearing Day.
The very good actors let you forget unreal things in this movie (how could a cheyenne, never in contact with white men,know that he must take the keys to open a door in the arrest area???)
Nice movie with Jeffrey Hunter, one of his best performances in his short life.
Movie Review: White Feather
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this movie three times when it was first released and again about four years after at a tiny movie house reserved for 'quality' films. At long last, it is now available on DVD. Congratulations to the 'powers-that-be' for bringing it to the public at long last! I have had a taped copy of the movie for sometime, which I watched periodically. I am glad to own now it on DVD. Great to see it again in widescreen format. I find the storyline compelling and also find that the actors play their roles with conviction. I especially enjoy Eduard Franz at the Chief. He expresses his pain remarkably well on his face. John Lund is suitably sympathetic as the army officer. The main roles are played well by a cast at the start of their careers. Jeffery Hunter is especially noteworthy as Little Dog. I recommend this movie to everyone - and even to those who do not enjoy westerns. This is not a movie to be dismissed and, again, although it has been a 'long time coming', the wait has been worthwhile. Now, all I need is for 20th Century Fox to make available the DVD of 'The Egyptian' and 'That Lady' and my collection will be complete.Movie Review: A very good old-school western story
Summary: 5 Stars
This sympathetic western was among the best of its type during the 1950s. Although the film falls into the cavalry-Indian category, the theme throughout was a peaceful relocation of the Cheyennes to another territory, presumably the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, thus allowing their homeland to be despoiled by prospectors and gold hunters. Robert Wagner stars as a surveyor who befriends the Cheyennes, which leads to a romantic union with Debra Paget who reenacts her role as an Indian maiden as she did in director Delmer Daves' classic western, "Broken Arrow". Jeffrey Hunter and Hugh O'Brian are good as Cheyenne warriors, as are John Lund and Eduard Franz as army colonel and Cheyenne chief, respectively. This western is always worth a look for its content as well as its entertainment and nostalgic value.