Tonka

Tonka is a 1958 Walt Disney Western adventure film about the US cavalry horse that survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn; it stars Sal Mineo as a Sioux who fought there. It was filmed in Bend, Oregon and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.
The film was based on the book Comanche: Story of America's Most Heroic Horse by David Appel. It tells an imaginary story of the Indian and US Cavalry owners of the horse of the title. It has also been released under the title A Horse Named Comanche.
==Plot==
In Dakota territory in the 1870s, White Bull, a young Sioux, proves his manhood by catching and training a wild colt he names Tonka. When a cruel cousin claims the horse as the privilege of rank, White Bull lets Tonka go. The horse ends up in the hands of a captain in the US cavalry about the time that Sitting Bull gathers the tribes to confront the growing US presence, epitomized by the bigoted General Custer. All paths, including those of White Bull and Tonka, lead to the confluence of the Little and Big Horn rivers.
==Cast==
*Sal Mineo ... White Bull
*Philip Carey ... Captain Myles Keogh
*Jerome Courtland ... Lieutenant Henry Nowlan
*Rafael Campos ... Strong Bear
*H.M. Wynant ... Yellow Bear
*Joy Page ... Prairie Flower
*Britt Lomond ... General George Custer
*Herbert Rudley ... Captain Frederick Benteen
*Sydney Smith ... General Alfred Terry
*John War Eagle ... Chief Sitting Bull
*Gregg Martell ... Corporal Korn
*Slim Pickens ... Mr. Ace Cook
*Robert 'Buzz' Henry ... Lieutenant Crittenden
*Eddie Little Sky ... Spotted Tail (uncredited)
==Gallery==
Tonkatitlecard.png|Title card
Tonka 01.jpg
Tonka 03.jpg
Tonka 02.jpg
1958-tonka-1.jpg
1958-tonka-4.jpg
Tonka brazilian poster.png|Poster from the release in Brazil on June 22, 1960
Tonka jpn poster.png|Poster from the release in Japan on April 25, 1959, paired with the People & Places short Samoa
Tonka uk poster.jpg|Poster from the release in the United Kingdom on March 26, 1959
==Copyright info==
The film's copyright was renewed on June 12, 1986.Online Copyright Catalog search (form autofilled, pressing "begin search" brings up the entry) The copyright to the story it is based on was also renewed in the U.S.Catalog of Copyright Entries (Source material)
==References==
Category:Disney films
Category:Live-action films
Category:1958 films
Category:Western Films
Category:Films based on books
Category:Tonka
Category:Films about animals