Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

. . . America's first National Park, the sickly Cheyenne clan had an unsustainable ANNUAL mortality rate of about 75%, according this Docudrama CHEYENNE AUTUMN. No doubt President U.S. Grant feared that if these natives were dropping like flies from smallpox, measles, and malaria all over the Park, then the geysers and hot ponds would become contaminated, perhaps along with the buffalo and other wildlife. This could have not only a negative effect on the tourist trade, but also possibly shoot down the whole idea of the world's first national park before it had a fair chance to even get off the ground.Today, polygamist Middle Easterners are breaking up 5,000-year-old statues with sledgehammers, and killing anyone who visits a museum. In the 1870s, polygamist Cheyennes were trying to keep anyone else from seeing Old Faithful. The lesson from CHEYENNE AUTUMN is clear: Natives of an area seldom can see the forest for the trees. They tend to be xenophobic. Like the American Taliban, John Walker Lindh, Yankee turncoats are represented here by the character of Cheyenne Insurrection enabler "Deborah Wright" (Carroll Baker). Though Ben Franklin had carved the American Motto, "A place for everything, and everything in its place" into our Constitution a century before these events took place, as a Quaker Ms. Wright felt free to ignore that document. She probably didn't care whether you or I saw Old Faithful.This is NOT one of director John Ford's better westerns. The whole Dodge City diversion in the middle of CHEYENNE AUTUMN (with James Stewart pretending to be a thoroughly clownish Wyatt Earp) is totally pointless. The Dodge City sequence is simply included to pad out this flick so it would be long enough to feature an intermission, and potentially qualify as "Oscar bait." America wouldn't be a Free Country today if every Tom, Dick, and Harry could band together for a 1,500-mile killing spree whenever they got the urge. But after the Native Americans saw Wyatt Earp gambling in this movie, most of them took the hint, and opened very lucrative casinos.

I think of this film, primarily, as Ford's last and best cavalry film, which happens to center on the historical escape of the northern Cheyenne from their hated lethal Oklahoma reservation, and attempt to make their way back to their homeland in the Yellowstone region. It rather follows the formula established in "Fort Apache", where we have a new commanding officer of a fort(played by Fonda), who sees it as his main responsibility to keep the local 'Indians' under control. He regards 'Indians' as inferior beings, and underestimates their military prowess, resulting in his Custer-like demise. In this film, we actually have two such officers in Major Braden and Captain Wessels, in different time frames. They lack Fonda's arrogance, but nonetheless are determined to follow their superior's harsh orders in dealing with the renegade Cheyenne. In contrast, Richard Widmark takes on John Wayne's role in "Fort Apache", as a very conflicted second(often first) in command, trying to give the Cheyenne a break, while maintaining his status as a cavalry officer. His Quaker girlfriend, played by striking blond Carol Baker, has run off with the Cheyenne. Being an Irish Catholic, Ford identified with certain other often persecuted Christian sects, such as the Mormons, in "Wagon Masters", and the Quakers, who had tried to get food for the Irish during their famine years.Many of the details of this historical incident are fictionalized. For example, it's implied that the Cheyenne felt compelled to give themselves up at Ft. Robinson to avoid certain death from winter exposure and starvation. In fact, one group successfully overwintered in the sparsely populated infertile Sand Hills region of Nebraska, which had abundant game, if not bison. It's not acknowledged that the Cheyenne did sometimes raid, kill and rape settlers when they felt it necessary for their survival, or as revenge for past massacres. Thus, there was some justification for the panic among Europeans. It bothers me that filming obviously was done in Ford's favorite places on the Colorado Plateau, which looks nothing like the prairie country that most of this historical trek took place in. On the other hand, the Ft. Robinson massacre was relatively accurately portrayed. Of course, Widmark's journey to Washington, and the journey of the Secretary of Interior out to Montana, are pure fiction, if providing a promising resolution to the Cheyenne's problems.(It's not made clear, but these Cheyenne were eventually given a reservation in their preferred habitat, minus the bison). The characterization of Secretary Schurz(not Shultz), well played by Eddie Robinson, as a 'good guy' has some historical support, but is overblown. Robinson asks his portrait of Lincoln, one of Ford's heros, for guidance. Although we follow only one cavalry group, in fact, many thousands of soldiers from several forts, as well as many civilians, were involved in trying to recapture these couple hundred Cheyenne.Famous Mexican actress Dolores Del Rio, at age 60, has a fairly prominent role, as a Spanish woman who has joined the Cheyenne: the only such woman who speaks English. Her most remembered line, repeated, is the defiant "They will not go back", in response to the fort commander's received order that the Cheyenne must return to their Oklahoma reservation, even in the dead of winter.Now, as to the much maligned Dodge City slapstick farce episode, which superficially seems little related to the rest of the film. At one level, try thinking of this as the bonus comedy short, which happens to be inserted within the main feature film as part of the intermission, instead of its usual place. Ford knew that occasional humor, sometimes involving slapstick, was an important ingredient in his successful films. In this case, the laughs are nearly all concentrated in this bizarre segment. But, it's also clear that Ford meant this episode to have serious relevance to the main point of the film. In part, it's meant to burlesque the striking contrast between the white man's often out of touch corrupt urban world with that of the Native American's viewpoint of themselves as merely one part of a complex web of the natural world. In the last portion, most of the town, including a wagon load of prostitutes and an open bar wagon, go galloping out of town with guns blazing and a wagon of explosives and ammunition, to counter a reported nearby party of rampaging Cheyenne. But, this hysterical mob goes in the opposite direction from the reported location of the Cheyenne! They encounter one lone Cheyenne on a distant hill, who causes further panic with one bullet, which blows up the munitions wagon. This segment, no doubt, is meant as a satire on the huge number of soldiers and civilians(and their general incompetence) deemed necessary to track down and tame or kill a few hundred fleeing starving Cheyenne. Jimmy Stewart, as Wyatt Earp, plays his dominating role in this farce to the hilt: quite possibly his best, if least understood, film performance! Actually, his character is a carbon copy of his character in the beginning of Ford's previous "Two Rode Together". Watch also for Ken Curtis, who wants to pick a fight with Stewart, while the latter is card gambling. Stewart shoots him, under the table, in the foot, discombobulating him. Then, Stewart supposedly extracts the bullet from his foot. Curtis is most remembered for his role as Festus, in the TV "Gunsmoke" series. However, believe it or not, he was Frank Sinatra's replacement as Tommy Dorsey's lead male singer in 1941! He was also director Ford's son-in law, and had been included in minor roles in many of Ford's previous films. Elizabeth Allen, a tall striking brunet, plays the pushy lead prostitute, ending up upside down, bloomers showing, in a fast-moving carriage, in the laps of Stewart and Arthur Kennedy(as Doc Holiday)!

John Ford who was Irish to the core was also the greatest director of American Western movies.Warner Bros gave John Ford a big budget and released this film in the Roadshow format such were the promises and expectations for this film.Ford collected part of the John Ford stock company such as James Steart and Patrick Wayne ( son of John Wayne) along with beautiful Dolores Del Rio, and rugged Richard Widmark in a rousing western. Carroll Baker an excellent actress is the female star. As with all John Ford western's the cinematography is brilliant and kudos to John Ford and William Clothier for the sweeping shots of the West.This is an exciting film beautifully filmed by a man called The Rembrandt of the Western

Unfortunately, given the subject matter and the director, "Cheyenne Autumn" fails to achieve the greatness of its aspirations. Injustice to Native Americans has along tragic history, and the topic deserved a soaring film that brought those crimes to a broad audience. After years of depicting Native Americans as the villains, John Ford was certainly the right director to cast a sympathetic eye on their plight, and the film has many grand sequences that are reminiscent of Ford's finest westerns. The brilliant camera work of William Clothier captures the majesty of Monument Valley and often bathes the mountains and characters in the warm glow of sunsets.For some reason, Ford felt that Latino actors were appropriate for the roles of Native Americans, and Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, and Dolores del Rio do achieve a measure of dignity as members of the long-suffering Cheyenne tribe. While Carroll Baker tries hard as a Quaker woman who accompanies the Cheyenne on an arduous trek back to their homeland, her bleached blonde hair, immaculate make-up, and voice undercut her efforts. The work of composer, Alex North, also sounds out of place. Best known for his scores for "Spartacus" and "Cleopatra," North's music here evokes Roman legions rather than the U.S. cavalry.However, the biggest flaw in the film is a misconceived episode in the middle that features James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, and John Carradine. As Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, Stewart and Kennedy perform a comedy routine that jars with the solemnity of the previous scenes. Indeed, the entire Dodge City sequence is a western comedy, and viewers would be justified in thinking that some film reels were mislabeled and an entire sequence from another film had been inserted accidentally. Whatever dignity and concern was established in the film's first hour are destroyed when the action moves from the Cheyenne to Earp and Dodge City."Cheyenne Autumn" was likely conceived as a follow-up to the successful "How the West Was Won." John Ford was one of the directors of that Cinerama film; Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, James Stewart, and Richard Widmark are featured in both films; and the ads for the two westerns are strikingly similar. Widmark anchors "Cheyenne Autumn" and provides a narration much as Spencer Tracey did for "How the West Was Won." However, the earlier movie was a rousing adventure with a great score and an uplifting theme of westward expansion. Despite an overture and intermission, "Cheyenne Autumn" is a small, sober tale of racial injustice that has been stretched out and embellished with a jarring music score and a schizophrenic mix of comedy and tragedy that lays waste to some fine epic moments.