Pony Soldier
Encyclopedia
Pony Soldier is a 1952
Technicolor
Northern
Western
set in Canada but filmed in Sedona, Arizona
. It is based on a 1951 Saturday Evening Post story Mounted Patrol by Garnett Weston. It was retitled MacDonald of the Canadian Mounties in England and The Last Arrow in France and Spain.
Duncan MacDonald (Tyrone Power
) and a blackmailed Blackfoot
scout (Thomas Gomez
) to get the Cree
to sign Treaty 6
with The Crown
. In addition to negotiating with the Cree, MacDonald of the Mounted rescues white hostages (Robert Horton
and (Penny Edwards) arrests a murderer, and adopts a Cree son (Anthony Earl Numkena
).
to play Cree and used the services of technical advisor
Chief Nipo T. Strongheart
(who also plays a Medicine Man
in the film) to ensure a sympathetic portrayal. Strongheart had appeared in the film Braveheart with Tyrone Power Sr..
Included in the cast were Richard Boone
, Frank deKova
, and in his film debut, Anthony Earl Numkena
.
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
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...
Northern
Northern (genre)
The Northern or Northwestern is an American and Canadian genre in literature and film made popular by the writings of Rex Beach and Zane Grey. It is similar to the Western genre but the action occurs in the Canadian North and typically features Mounties instead of, for example, cowboys or sheriffs...
Western
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...
set in Canada but filmed in Sedona, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona...
. It is based on a 1951 Saturday Evening Post story Mounted Patrol by Garnett Weston. It was retitled MacDonald of the Canadian Mounties in England and The Last Arrow in France and Spain.
Plot
In 1876, the North West Mounted Police send ConstableConstable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
Duncan MacDonald (Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
) and a blackmailed Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
scout (Thomas Gomez
Thomas Gomez
Thomas Gomez was an American actor.Born Sabino Tomas Gomez in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater during the 1920s and was a student of the actor Walter Hampden...
) to get the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
to sign Treaty 6
Treaty 6
Treaty 6 is an agreement between the Canadian monarch and the Plain and Wood Cree Indians and other tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River. The area agreed upon by the Plain and Wood Cree represents most of the central area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan and...
with The Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. In addition to negotiating with the Cree, MacDonald of the Mounted rescues white hostages (Robert Horton
Robert Horton
Sir Robert Horton, FRSA is a British businessman. He is a Director of the European Advisory Council and of Emerson Electric Company. He spent 30 years working for BP, formerly British Petroleum. He became Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of BP in March 1990, but was forced out in 1992...
and (Penny Edwards) arrests a murderer, and adopts a Cree son (Anthony Earl Numkena
Anthony Earl Numkena
Anthony Earl Numkena, formerly known as Keena Nomkeena is a Hopi/Karok Indian who was a child actor from 1949-1958. He is the first of five children born to Anthony and Margaret Numkena...
).
Production
Director Newman originally scouted locations in Montana but finding nothing he thought suitable, the film was made in Sedona, Arizona. During the filming at Sedona, production was interrupted by snowstorms and the flash of a nuclear weapon tested 300 miles away in Nevada. The producers recruited 450 NavajoNavajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
to play Cree and used the services of technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
Chief Nipo T. Strongheart
Nipo T. Strongheart
Chief Nipo T. Strongheart was a Yakima Nation Native American film actor and technical advisor to Hollywood films about Native Americans...
(who also plays a Medicine Man
Medicine man
"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...
in the film) to ensure a sympathetic portrayal. Strongheart had appeared in the film Braveheart with Tyrone Power Sr..
Included in the cast were Richard Boone
Richard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
, Frank deKova
Frank Dekova
Frank Dekova was an Italian-American character actor.-Biography:Dekova was born in New York City and taught at a school in New York before joining a Shakespeare repertory group...
, and in his film debut, Anthony Earl Numkena
Anthony Earl Numkena
Anthony Earl Numkena, formerly known as Keena Nomkeena is a Hopi/Karok Indian who was a child actor from 1949-1958. He is the first of five children born to Anthony and Margaret Numkena...
.
External links
- filming at Sedona http://www.sedonamonthly.com/gonehollywood/soldier.html
- New York Times review http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE5DF1E3AE23BBC4851DFB4678389649EDE