War Arrow

Plot synopsis:
Major Howell Brady (Jeff Chandler), a cavalry officer, is sent from Washington D.C. to Fort Clark, Texas, to subdue a Kiowa uprising that has been raiding both white settlements and villages on Seminole reservations. Brady requests that the post commander Colonel Meade (John McIntire) send his troops out in fast moving small units to engage the Kiowa but the Colonel fears his men would be slaughtered in piece meal actions and only feels the Kiowa are impressed by large numbers of troops.
Together with his two sergeants, Brady enlists the help of the Seminole chief, Maygro (Henry Brandon}, by giving him $500 and promising his people food and land. The three of them arm 25 Seminoles with state of the art Henry repeating rifles and train them as counter guerillas; luring the Kiowa in then ambushing them. Col. Meade and his officers resent Brady’s interference and mistrust the Seminoles.
At Fort Clark, Brady meets and falls in love with Elaine Corwin (Maureen O'Hara), the widow of a cavalry officer. However, when "Brady's Bunch" of Seminoles successfully repel a Kiowa attack, Brady spots a white man with the Kiowa. Although he does not get a good look at him, he recovers his sabre. The engraved sabre turns out to belong to Captain R. G. Corwin, the supposedly deceased husband of Elaine. The Seminoles confirm Corwin is still alive through torturing a Kiowa prisoner.
Meanwhile, Meade fails to deliver promised food to the Seminole so Maygro leads his people from the fort. Brady steals the food from the fort and delivers it himself to Maygro, for which Meade jails Brady. Brady is freed by Elaine and some of the Seminoles.
Brady discovers the Kiowa are preparing to attack the fort that is defended by only 20 men due to Meade's forces being away pursuing the elusive Kiowa. He returns to warn Meade, but he ignores him. He is about to throw Brady back in jail when a cavalry patrol returns with the same news that the Kiowa are preparing to attack. A fierce battle ensues and the Kiowa are defeated. Amongst the dead is the traitor R. G. Corwin, whom it turns out has been collaborating with a group of Mexicans to incite war.

Tags: violence

Review:
Maureen O' Hara & Jeff Chandler are the stars here, in this otherwise average western.
He's a cavalry major who over- rides the opposition of fort commander John McIntire and recruits friendly native American Seminoles to help defeat hostile Kiowas.O'Hara plays a fiery wife of a captain who's gone missing and she's a hot shot with a rifle and doesn't mind laying a charge of dynamite, if need be.
She's radiant as ever but Chandler looks a bit wooden (generally for me as an actor).The end shoot out against the Indians is a spirited and action-packed one and nearly makes up for an otherwise rather disappointing, slightly boring film.
The direction, by George Sherman, is adequate but little more and whilst it's in Technicolor, it doesn't look as glorious as it should.One for serious fans of westerns, otherwise, probably not..
It's just a regular, everyday western, but with good acting, Technicolor, the solid direction of George Sherman, and a fine screenplay by the effective John Michael Hayes (of Hitchcock fame), it delivers enjoyable entertainment for the length of its running time, and should keep you hooked until the action-packed ending.The premise is an interesting one, and the relationships of the characters - especially Chandler's with his commanding officer, John MacIntyre, and his sweetheart, Maureen O'Hara, are more interesting than in the usual standard western.
I thought Chandler and O'Hara were excellent leads, with good chemistry - with MacIntyre, Charles Drake, Noah Beery, Jr., and (cast as Indians) Suzan Ball, Henry Brandon, and Dennis Weaver extremely effective, as well.A drawback was that some of the dialogue was difficult to pick up (though that could have to do with the DVD transfer, not the film itself), and the denouement was kind of sudden and the ending rushed.And, as usual with some of these films, the whole thing seems a little bit modern, with well-lit (supposedly by candlelight and oil lamps), perfectly decorated rooms at the fort (plenty of fresh flowers everywhere) - and Miss Ball in a dress she supposedly constructed herself - her first try at dressmaking - which fits her as if it was executed by Universal's dressmakers (it was).
In War Arrow, Major Jeff Chandler is sent west with two trusty sergeant sidekicks, Charles Drake and Noah Beery, Jr., to implement some ideas of his own about fighting the Kiowas.
Seems as though the Kiowas like to raid their villages as a warm up before attacking whites and the Seminoles have no weapons to resist.These Kiowas led by Henry Brandon are devilishly tricky lot, almost as if they are led by someone who studied army military tactics.
Turns out they are.In her memoirs Maureen O'Hara dismisses both of her films with Jeff Chandler, this film and Flame of Araby which makes this one look good.
Chandler probably was not terribly interested in the project, he was just beginning to fight for better roles than the action programmers he was doing under his Universal contract.Chandler is operating independently out of the fort commanded by John McIntire.
The army chain of command is a sacred thing and any commander worth his salt wouldn't put up with it.Of course why the Seminoles would possibly want to go to war on behalf of the white man against other Indians is not satisfactorily explained, even with the Kiowas.
It certainly would seem far more likely to team up with the Kiowas.On the plus side, War Arrow has some nice battle scenes, especially the climatic battle when the Kiowas come real close to capturing McIntire's fort.
It also has some nice performances by Dennis Weaver and Suzan Ball playing Seminole lovers.But it sure won't be ranked as one of the great cinema westerns..
It stars Jeff Chandler, Maureen O'Hara, Suzan Ball, Noah Beery, Charles Drake, John McIntire and Henry Brandon.
Story is based on real events and sees Chandler as Cavalry officer Major Howell Brady, who is dispatched by Washington to end the Kiowa Indian uprising in Texas.
But his mission is made doubly difficult by the obstinate commander of the post Colonel Meade (McIntire), and his feelings towards Elaine Corwin (O'Hara), whose officer husband disappeared after a scouting mission.Brady's BunchA pleasant surprise, although mired in the formula than ran through many a B Western that featured Cavalry and Indians, War Arrow packs an intelligent punch and features acting to match.
The strength in the narrative comes from Brady's coercing of the peaceful Seminole Indians to fight alongside the white man against the rampaging Kiowa.
With Brady meeting resistance from stuffy Colonel Meade, these promises are on shaky ground, but the training sequences are most interesting for their tactical value and the Seminole are nicely drawn as a race of people.
The latter of which, unsurprisingly, is not afforded the Kiowa who are rank and file blood thirsty marauders, but the balance is right, and with the Henry Repeating Rifle the weapon of choice, the action and stunt work, particularly for the siege on the fort finale, is high on excitement.They say that a wild plant doesn't live too long indoorsInto the mix is a romantic triangle, which isn't overplayed and creates a number of jealousies from both male and female characters.
Chandler offers up a big presence, while turning in one of his more committed Western performances, and O'Hara brings the class while Ball brings the smoulder.
Daniels' (The Far Country/Night Passage) Agoura exteriors are pleasing, though the print of the film isn't doing it justice, and the prolific Gershenson (the go-to guy for Cavalry Vs Indians flavouring) scores it in standard, but easy listening, thematic beats.With Sherman's (Chief Crazy Horse/Big Jake) direction unfussy, War Arrow, in spite of mixed reviews on the internet, is a B Western I personally recommend to like minded Western fans.
Cavalry officer Jeff Chandler trains a peaceful tribe of displaced Seminoles to fight against a warring tribe of Kiowa, while at the same time butting heads with stubborn commanding officer John McIntire and romancing pretty "widow" Maureen O'Hara, who's husband may or may not still be alive as the leader of the renegades.This B-western has some okay, but short and clumsy action scenes.
War Arrow is fast-paced enough, with a compact running time.As the Seminole chief's daughter, Suzan Ball is very beautiful (even more so than Maureen O'Hara!), even if her character is rather unlikable.
Indians Western deals with Major Howell Brady (Jeff Chandler) supported by two colleagues (Charles Drake , Noah Beery Jr.) are sent by Washington to end the Kiowa uprisings in Indian territory .
As they are assigned to go to Texas and recruit peaceful tribes Seminoles relocated from Florida to aid the army in bitter fighting the savage and hated Kiowas .
The picture gets Western action , shootouts , a love story , breathtaking raids on a Yankee fort and results to be quite entertaining .
At the ending , when takes place the Indian assault , possesses all the sweep , grandeur and noisy action of the greatest Westerns of an age long past .
As Jeff Chandler is good as Army Major Brady who attempts to vanquish Kiowas and to keep the peace between US cavalry and Indians .
And other wonderful woman , Suzan Ball as Indian Avis , who also died early at 21 by cancer , being these ¨War arrow¨ and ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ both of them directed by George Sherman , his last films .
, Charles Drake , Henry Brandon , Dennis Weaver , Jay Silverheels , Jim Bannon , Lance Fuller and special mention for the veteran John McIntire .
During the Indian Wars of the late 1800s, the U.S. government hired Seminole Indians from Florida to help fight the Kiowa Indians of the Southwest.
Using one group of Indians to fight another wasn't new even back then--it was, after all, how the Army finally managed to subdue the Apaches--and it would make a good film, but this one isn't it.
Director George Sherman was an old hand at making westerns, having churned out dozens of them during his days at Republic, and Jeff Chandler and Maureen O'Hara had done more than their share of them.
There are a few action scenes spread throughout the picture, and a fairly big one--an attack on a fort--at the end, but they are for the most part pretty listless affairs, lacking the energy that Sherman usually brought to them.
On the other hand, Suzan Ball is smokin' as a sexy Indian girl, so maybe that's why O'Hara looks uncomfortable.
This picture has the novel approach of the U.S. cavalry enlisting peaceful Seminoles to help them fight warring Kiowas on the southern plains.
The Seminoles, now farmers instead of fierce warriors, are trained by Jeff Chandler's troopers in military tactics to stand up to the Kiowa raiders.
Chandler is solid throughout the picture and is well paired with Maureen O'Hara as he romances the pretty widow.
Surely the best line of the film is when Jeff Chandler "forcibly" kisses Maureen O' Hara (after she tells him she doesn't love him) and she responds by telling him: "I'm genuinely impressed."Very interesting Western, possibly overstating the lead character's sympathy for the native American, but this is ahead of its time for a 1953 movie.
Jeff Chandler plays a major in the U.S. Calvary who wants to train the peaceful Seminoles to help the Army fight the savage, marauding Kiowas; Maureen O'Hara is a flirtatious widow whose captain-husband (found burned beyond recognition, yet still possessing his identification papers!) may be alive, having defected to fight alongside the Indians.
Her main acting skills involve a mane of red hair and large bosoms.In this movie, O'Hara, once again, plays a fiery redhead who likes to tell the man she loves that she wants nothing to do with him.
He gets more screen time and all the action, but he is sadly lacking in the mammary department.They have plenty of Indians in this movie.
And then there is a big battle where everybody forgets their roles and just attacks everybody else en masse.And finally Maureen O'Hara gets to model a cool outfit.The end.This movie gets two stars: One for Ms. O'Hara's physical qualities, and one for her lack of screen time.I almost deducted a star for Dennis Weaver's portrayal of an Indian, but it was a relief to see the man walk around without a stick tied to his leg..
Jeff Chandler plays an army major who heads west in order to help an obstinate colonel quell a local Kiowa uprising.
He has the idea to train some uprooted Seminoles to help the army defeat the Kiowa using some of the same hit-and-run tactics the Kiowa use to attack white settlers.
The Kiowa are also helped by an army deserter who also happens to be Maureen O'Hara's ex.
Dennis Weaver as a Seminole indian looks unconvincing and John McIntire as the stubborn colonel can be a little too hard to believe at times.
It's only when the Kiowa attack the fort and he gets shot that he comes around and believes Chandler's tactics were right, all along.The full-screen Universal DVD is pretty clean with little, if any film damage but the only extra is a trailer.
Stereotypical (white) Natives, but Chandler, O'Hara and Ball make it worthwhile.
Major Brady (Jeff Chandler) arrives from D.C. to utilize a small band of transplanted Seminoles to aid the US Army against the marauding Kiowas.
Brady conflicts with the Colonel of the fort (John McIntire) and romances a redheaded widow (Maureen O'Hara) while a Seminole woman takes interest in him (Suzan Ball).Chandler was 33 during filming and is great as the masculine protagonist with Hollywood looks, but his greying hair makes him look at least a decade older.
In any event, the film has a great Western "look." Unfortunately, the film loses points due to using white actors in the main Native roles, like Dennis Weaver as the Seminole brave who loves Avis and Henry Brandon as Avis' father, Maygro, not to mention Ball as Avis.
Determined to correct this situation, an Army major named "Howell Brady" (Jeff Chandler) is sent to the fort in an effort to rearm the Seminoles to augment the troops at the fort.
Major Brady also meets an attractive widow named "Elaine Corwin" (Maureen O'Hara) who welcomes a new face in the middle of nowhere.
"War Arrow" opens with major Jeff Chandler arriving at Fort Clark, Texas, and discovering that Colonel John McIntire openly opposes the government endorsed plan to make use of displaced Seminole Indians to stop the bloody Kiowa uprising on soldiers and settlers...In fact, the only person at the fort who is friendly to Chandler is Maureen O'Hara, the attractive widow of Captain James Bannon...All the action leads to a tidy end: Chandler discovers Bannon is very much alive (at least at the climax of the movie) and is really the renegade white chief of the Kiowas...In the small assigned action-packed moments in this slight entrance, the pillaging Kiowas are totally controlled...
For a rare change Maureen had some harsh competition in the fascinating department, which was supplied by Suzan Ball as the passionately sensual daughter of the Seminole chief...The film is more of an excuse to show that excellent guys, always end up with excellent girlseven when the best guy resists authority and tries to match one tribe of Indians against another...
Good western, containing elements of "Fort Apache" and an imaginative, if far-fetched, screenplay..
Jeff Chandler and Jay Silverheels, who played Cochise and Geronimo, respectively, in "Broken Arrow" and "Battle at Apache Pass", return for this one.
Chandler, as Major Brady, has a role somewhat like that of John Wayne in "Fort Apache", except that here it's the sitting fort commander(Meade), rather than the new guy from the East, who goes strictly by the book and doesn't know how to subdue the Indians.
In this film, the fictional Brady took this a step further, training the Seminoles to be the primary fighters against the raiding Kiowa, rather than just scouts.
Fort commander Meade(John McIntire) sarcastically called them 'Brady's bunch', and wrongly predicted that they would prove no match for the Kiowa.
Fortunately, Maureen's character sensed that the Kiowa would eventually lose, and broke out to destroy a part of the 'snake'.Young Suzan Ball takes on Maureen O'Hara's frequent role as a feisty independent-minded woman, whereas Maureen's character is rather bland, hobbled by uncertainty whether her estranged husband(Corwin) is still alive, and if so, whether she would want to receive him back into her life, given his known collusion with the Mexican government to promote Indian unrest in Texas.
However, Ball didn't end up romantically with Chandler's character in either that film or the present one.
She was much more subdued in that role, perhaps because one leg had been amputated in an effort to halt the cancer spread.John McIntire is OK as the overly pessimistic fort commander, who too often resents the opinions and actions of the upstart Major Brady.
Noah Berry and Charles Drake are OK as Brady's two loyal, somewhat knuckleheaded, sidekicks, reminding me of the pair of sidekicks played by Alan Hale and 'Big Boy' Williams in "Santa Fe Trail"Dennis Weaver hardly looks convincing as a Seminole(Pino).He came across much better as the Navajo chief in "Column South".Look for this film on YouTube..
This B-Western follows US Cavalry officer Major Howell Brady who has been sent to Fort Clark in Texas to try a new method of fighting the local Kiowa tribe; he intends to recruit Seminole Indians who had been forcibly relocated to the area after their defeat in Florida.
There is also a romantic subplot involving Brady and the widow of a captain apparently killed by the Kiowa and Maygro's daughter Avis; as the film continues we learn that the captain isn't as dead as was thought and is in fact helping to lead the Kiowa attacks...
ultimately there will be a battle between the Army and Brady's Seminoles on one side and the Kiowa on the other which will determine who controls that corner of Texas.The main story was well handled and contained plenty of good action although like many films of its time it used made-up Europeans to play the Native Americans which made them somewhat less believable which was a pity.
Jeff Chandler did a decent job as Major Brady however the lack of chemistry between him and leading lady Maureen O'Hara rendered the romantic subplot somewhat of a distraction from the main story.
An army sergeant comes across an arrow while on his way to a fort within Seminole territory.
That sets up the plot for this lighthearted and easy going western that top bills gorgeous redhead Maureen O'Hara over army officer Jeff Chandler, heading to the fort to make sure that the Seminoles and their rivals, the Kiowas, are kept in line.
"Conquest in the face of the American army always seemed so civil", I once heard in an analysis of the American takeover of the west, and if the gentility of a birthday party filled with discussions of their determination to keep the natives down seems one sided and a re-write of the truth in history, then this movie gives its viewer to check out what facts exist for themselves.What is good here is the efforts it shows between the peaceful Seminoles and the brutal Kiowa's.
Suzan Ball is unbelievable as a Seminole maiden who is treated with kindness by O'Hara and only looks on her with contempt.
I was very plesantly surprised.The action scenes are plentiful and brilliant including several ear blasting shootouts and an epic scale battle sequence which makes excellent use of sharps buffalo rifles, springfield rifles and cannons.The plot is nice and simple as it mainly involves a cavalry officer training a group of discraced semihole indians to fight against some other western indians.I really enjoyed this movie and it is one of the best B westerns out there.