Broken Arrow (1950 film)
Encyclopedia
Broken Arrow is a western
Technicolor
film released in 1950. It was directed by Delmer Daves
and starred James Stewart
and Jeff Chandler
. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards
, and won a Golden Globe award
for Best Film Promoting International Understanding. It made history as the first major Western since the Second World War to portray the Indians
sympathetically.
(Jeff Chandler
) and Tom Jeffords
(James Stewart
). The film is based on the actions of these historical figures, but tells their story in dramatized form. As the movie begins, Jeffords comes upon a wounded Indian, a 14-year-old Apache boy dying from buckshot wounds in his back. Jeffords gives the boy water, heals his wounds and in an astounding act of "fair play" is released unharmed after being captured briefly by the boy's tribesmen. In town, he describes his encounter to incredulous, suspicious men who question his loyalty in as demeaning a way as the Apache who called him "a woman" for not murdering the boy. Tired of being in the middle, and perhaps even more tired of all the killing, Jeffords capitalizes on his knowledge of Apache language by taking advanced lessons in Apache language and culture to prepare for a meeting with Cochise
.
Jeffords meets a man responsible for mail delivery in the Arizona Territory in 1862. When Apache raiding parties shoot up some of the mail couriers, he rides alone to the camp of Cochise to parley for their safe passage. This act of bravery so impresses the chief that he becomes friend and blood brother to Jeffords. Their friendship is instrumental in ending the decade-long Apache war.
Apache chief Geronimo
, a major figure in the historical events but a minor character in this film, was played by Jay Silverheels
, an actual Native American best known for his television role as Tonto
, "faithful Indian companion" to Clayton Moore
's Lone Ranger
. In the film, he refuses to make peace, so Cochise banishes him and the chiefs who follow him. Later, some of Cochise's warriors rescue Jeffords and a wagon from Geronimo's renegades, which strengthens the cause of peace.
General Oliver Howard (Basil Ruysdael
) in the movie has a role like his real life one in signing the treaty. He is accurately played with his right arm missing, and as "the Christian General". This Howard character says that his troops call him "Bible-reading Howard". On questioning by Jeffords about the biblical implications for the Indians, Howard condemns racism, saying that the Bible "says nothing about pigmentation of the skin." Jeffords tells him to read the Bible for him, "because I like the way you read it."
A fictional character Sonseeahray (Debra Paget
) (who was 16 years old at the time of filming) was added as a love interest for Jeffords. They marry for love, but she is killed when some whites who don't want peace treacherously try to ambush Cochise and Jeffords. Jeffords is wounded, but Cochise escapes, killing several of his attackers. Howard and the army pay their respects at the Apache camp, and assure Jeffords that Sonseeahray's death will not be in vain.
In 2008, Broken Arrow was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Western Films list.
and Debra Paget
. It was also presented as a half-hour broadcast of Screen Director's Playhouse
on September 7, 1951 with James Stewart and Jeff Chandler in their original film roles. The film and novel also provided the basis for a television series of the same name that ran from 1956 through 1960, starring Michael Ansara
as Cochise and John Lupton
as Jeffords.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
film released in 1950. It was directed by Delmer Daves
Delmer Daves
Delmer Daves was an American screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Born in San Francisco, Delmer Daves first pursued a career as a lawyer...
and starred James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and Jeff Chandler
Jeff Chandler (actor)
Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, and won a Golden Globe award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Film Promoting International Understanding. It made history as the first major Western since the Second World War to portray the Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
sympathetically.
Plot
The main characters are CochiseCochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...
(Jeff Chandler
Jeff Chandler (actor)
Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
) and Tom Jeffords
Tom Jeffords
Thomas Jonathan Jeffords was a U.S. Army scout, Indian agent, and later a stagecoach driver in the Arizona Territory. His friendship with Apache leader Cochise was instrumental in ending the Indian wars in that region....
(James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
). The film is based on the actions of these historical figures, but tells their story in dramatized form. As the movie begins, Jeffords comes upon a wounded Indian, a 14-year-old Apache boy dying from buckshot wounds in his back. Jeffords gives the boy water, heals his wounds and in an astounding act of "fair play" is released unharmed after being captured briefly by the boy's tribesmen. In town, he describes his encounter to incredulous, suspicious men who question his loyalty in as demeaning a way as the Apache who called him "a woman" for not murdering the boy. Tired of being in the middle, and perhaps even more tired of all the killing, Jeffords capitalizes on his knowledge of Apache language by taking advanced lessons in Apache language and culture to prepare for a meeting with Cochise
Cochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...
.
Jeffords meets a man responsible for mail delivery in the Arizona Territory in 1862. When Apache raiding parties shoot up some of the mail couriers, he rides alone to the camp of Cochise to parley for their safe passage. This act of bravery so impresses the chief that he becomes friend and blood brother to Jeffords. Their friendship is instrumental in ending the decade-long Apache war.
Apache chief Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
, a major figure in the historical events but a minor character in this film, was played by Jay Silverheels
Jay Silverheels
Jay Silverheels was a Canadian Mohawk First Nations actor. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful American Indian companion of the Lone Ranger in a long-running American television series. -Early life:...
, an actual Native American best known for his television role as Tonto
Tonto (Lone Ranger character)
Tonto is a fictional character, the Native American companion of The Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker...
, "faithful Indian companion" to Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore was an American actor best known for playing the fictional western character The Lone Ranger from 1949–1951 and 1954-1957 on the television series of the same name.-Early years:...
's Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
. In the film, he refuses to make peace, so Cochise banishes him and the chiefs who follow him. Later, some of Cochise's warriors rescue Jeffords and a wagon from Geronimo's renegades, which strengthens the cause of peace.
General Oliver Howard (Basil Ruysdael
Basil Ruysdael
Basil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
) in the movie has a role like his real life one in signing the treaty. He is accurately played with his right arm missing, and as "the Christian General". This Howard character says that his troops call him "Bible-reading Howard". On questioning by Jeffords about the biblical implications for the Indians, Howard condemns racism, saying that the Bible "says nothing about pigmentation of the skin." Jeffords tells him to read the Bible for him, "because I like the way you read it."
A fictional character Sonseeahray (Debra Paget
Debra Paget
Debra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
) (who was 16 years old at the time of filming) was added as a love interest for Jeffords. They marry for love, but she is killed when some whites who don't want peace treacherously try to ambush Cochise and Jeffords. Jeffords is wounded, but Cochise escapes, killing several of his attackers. Howard and the army pay their respects at the Apache camp, and assure Jeffords that Sonseeahray's death will not be in vain.
Cast
- James StewartJames Stewart (actor)James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
as Tom Jeffords - Jeff ChandlerJeff Chandler (actor)Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities...
as Cochise - Debra PagetDebra PagetDebra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
as Sonseeahray ('Morningstar') - Basil RuysdaelBasil RuysdaelBasil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
as Gen. Oliver 'The Christian General' Howard - Will GeerWill GeerWill Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
as Ben Slade, Rancher - Joyce MackenzieJoyce MacKenzieJoyce MacKenzie is an American actress who appeared in films and television from 1946 to 1961. She is best remembered for being the eleventh actress to portray Jane. She played the role opposite Lex Barker's Tarzan in 1953's Tarzan and the She-Devil.-External links:...
as Terry, Scatfly Proprietress (as Joyce MacKenzie) - Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
as Milt Duffield, Mail Superintendent - Jay SilverheelsJay SilverheelsJay Silverheels was a Canadian Mohawk First Nations actor. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful American Indian companion of the Lone Ranger in a long-running American television series. -Early life:...
as Geronimo (uncredited) - Argentina BrunettiArgentina Brunetti-Biography:Brunetti was born Argentina Ferrau in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She began her show business career at the age of three with a walk on role in the opera, Cavalleria Rusticana and followed Mimi Aguglia, her famous mother's footsteps in the theater performing supporting roles on stages...
as Nalikadeya, Cochise's Wife (uncredited) - John DoucetteJohn DoucetteJohn Doucette was a film character actor. He was a balding, husky man remembered for playing mob muscle and western bad guys in movies...
as Mule driver (survivor of wagon train ambush) (uncredited)
Portrayal of Indians
Most western films of the period portrayed American Indians as implacably hostile to the white settlers entering their domain, while the settlers were shown as peaceable people forced to defend themselves. Broken Arrow is noteworthy for being one of the first western films to portray Native Americans in a balanced, sympathetic way – although some (including the two main Native American characters) were played by white actors. Chronicle of the Cinema describes it thus: "Based on verifiable fact, it faithfully evokes the historical relationship between Cochise and Jefford (sic), marking an historical rehabilitation of Indians in the cinema."The Apache Wedding Prayer
The Apache Wedding Prayer was written for this movie.Awards and nominations
- Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(nomination) – Jeff ChandlerJeff Chandler (actor)Jeff Chandler was an American film actor and singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Anna and Phillip Grossel. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities... - Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
(nomination) – Albert MaltzAlbert MaltzAlbert Maltz was an American author and screenwriter. He was one of the Hollywood Ten who were later blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses....
(front: Michael BlankfortMichael BlankfortMichael Blankfort was a Jewish-American screenwriter, author and playwright. He served as a front for the blacklisted Albert Maltz on the Academy Award-nominated screenplay of Broken Arrow . Among his own screenplays were The Juggler and The Caine Mutiny...
) from the novel Blood Brother by Elliott ArnoldElliott ArnoldElliott Arnold was an American newspaper feature writer, novelist, and screenwriter.He was born in Brooklyn, New York and became a feature writer with the New York World-Telegram... - Academy Award for Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
, color (nomination) – Ernest Palmer
In 2008, Broken Arrow was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Western Films list.
Adaptations to Other Media
Broken Arrow was dramatized as an hour-long radio play on January 22, 1951 starring Burt LancasterBurt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
and Debra Paget
Debra Paget
Debra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
. It was also presented as a half-hour broadcast of Screen Director's Playhouse
Screen Director's Playhouse
Screen Director's Playhouse is a popular radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949...
on September 7, 1951 with James Stewart and Jeff Chandler in their original film roles. The film and novel also provided the basis for a television series of the same name that ran from 1956 through 1960, starring Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
as Cochise and John Lupton
John Lupton
John Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
as Jeffords.
Cultural references
- The movie's world premiere was at the Nusho Theater in downtown Broken Arrow, OklahomaBroken Arrow, OklahomaBroken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County but also with a small section of the city in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 US Census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents...
. - The BlackfootBlackfootThe Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
Indians would use a broken arrow to signal that they would cease fighting.