Broken Arrow (1950)

An ex-U.S. Army scout (James Stewart) familiar with the Apache language and their ways negotiates to have the mail service travel through Apache land without harm. His success with this encourages an Army General (Basil Ruysdael) to have the scout negotiate a peace treaty with the Apache chief Cochise (Jeff Chandler) on behalf of the U.S. government. Based on the novel BLOOD BROTHER by Elliott Arnold and directed by Delmer Daves (A SUMMER PLACE). This is a marvelous western which is unabashedly sympathetic toward Native Americans in its narrative. Delmer Daves directed some of the best westerns of the 1950s (3:10 TO YUMA, JUBAL, THE LAST WAGON) and this ranks with his very best. The Native Americans are portrayed with dignity and Daves eliminates the broken English usually spoken by "Indian" characters in westerns by having the narrator tell us that when characters are speaking Apache in the film, it would be English we hear. Even the make up is subdued. Unlike other westerns, Debra Paget's Apache maiden wears no eye shadow or lipstick for a natural look. A bold movie for its era, it holds up beautifully. The stunning Oscar nominated Technicolor cinematography (it was filmed in Arizona) is by Ernest Palmer (BLOOD AND SAND). With Will Geer, Arthur Hunnicutt, Jay Silverheels and Joyce MacKenzie.