War Arrow (1953)

An army sergeant comes across an arrow while on his way to a fort within Seminole territory. The sergeant is thrilled by the discovery, but is told by another member of the party that pretty soon, he'd be able to collect them from his back. 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. The script makes it clear that they only laid down their weapons was because of a treaty and promise of protection, although it's obvious how they lost their land. Suzan Ball is unbelievable as a Seminole maiden who is treated with kindness by O'Hara and only looks on her with contempt. O'Hara proves once again her ability to take on any man, here more verbally than physically, and certainly able to survive in the wilderness with the soul of any man without even cringing over the presence of a rattler found in her living room.For the romantic story between Chandler and O'Hara, this is certainly worth watching, and for the beauty of the land, really stunning. It makes an effort, at least half heartedly, to treat the natives with compassion, but reminds me of the wicked past of a part of American history that doesn't put it in the shining light that the history books pretend to proclaim as necessary.

Jeff Chandler and Jay Silverheels, who played Cochise and Geronimo, respectively, in "Broken Arrow" and "Battle at Apache Pass", return for this one. Silverheels is a chief of the rampaging Kiowa, although apparently subservient to the revengeful ex-confederate Captain Corwin! 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. The legendary Indian fighter Ranald Mackenzie took 20 Seminoles with him in his illegal foray across the Rio Grande to bloody the noses of a mixed tribal group, which had been raiding into Texas. It happens that Mackenzie was headquartered at Fort Clark: the fort in the present story, during most of the 1870s, when the present story apparently takes place. Seminoles were moved to near this fort in 1872. 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. Well, we can't really blame him for this reasonable prediction. However, he forgot that the Seminoles were given the powerful Henry repeater rifles, which their opponents lacked. Despite Hollywood films, such as this, Plaines Indians very seldom attacked well built forts, as they typically resulted in too many casualties. Here, the Kiowa were talked into attacking the fort by Corwin, who had an unsound desire to destroy this symbol of Union victory in the late war. What initially appeared to be a Kiowa victory, once they penetrated the fort door(much too easily without dynamite in the wagon!), later turned into a turkey shoot as they tried to escape. As Corwin tussled with Brady, he was shot dead, apparently by Chief Satanta(Silverheels), presumably miffed that Corwin had led his tribe into this disaster. Satanta was then quickly dispatched, symbolizing a probable end to Kiowa raids. There is a bizarre detail to the battle in the fort. Brady decided to shut the women and children in the fort powder magazine room. He then made a snake fuse of black powder leading to the door of this room, and lit the end. The idea was that, if the Kiowa won the battle, the women and children were better off blown to bits than to experience what the Kiowa had in store for them. 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. Nonetheless, she provisionally reciprocates Major Brady's obvious interest in her, hoping that he will eventually provide a ticket out of this desolate fort and landscape, ideally setting her up in some large Eastern city. Suzan Ball, as poor but ambitious Seminole maiden Avis, has similar goals. She has the advantage of having been to school in San Antonio, and in being the Seminole chief's daughter, which gives her temporary access to the soldiers in the fort, whom she can impress with her beauty. However, early on, we are assured by Brady that he has no intention of marrying her(too bossy and demanding?) and only has eyes for Elaine(Maureen's character). After she's given up trying to snare Brady, she completely changes her thinking; using her position in the fort to help in Brady's battles with the fort commander and deserting Seminoles. This change in attitude, culminating in her changed attitude toward the previously derided Pino, just doesn't ring true. Chandler and Ball were the male and female leads in "Yankee Buccaneer". However, Ball didn't end up romantically with Chandler's character in either that film or the present one. She would die of cancer at age 21, but not before playing Chief Crazy Horse's main wife. 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. My favorite of his film roles is the charismatic villainous Gannon, in "The Far Country". 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.

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. The plot is a bit far-fetched and the romance seems a little contrived, with O'Hara and Chandler having very little chemistry.Still, it's not boring. 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. On the other hand, Noah Beery Jr. is an always likable comic foil.

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. That complicates the love interest between Chandler and O'Hara.It's pretty standard stuff. The battle at the end in the fort didn't look too exciting although I've seen worse. 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. No digital artifacts that I could see. In full Technicolor.They're are so many better westerns than this that Universal could have released on DVD. All those Audie Murphy oaters for example, so I hope they get around to doing it.At least at 78 minutes, this one had the benefit of not going on too long.Average.5 out of 10