Historical and overlong movie recounting the legendary Cheyenne trek led by the Indian chiefs , Little Wolf and Dull Knife . The picture is an epic portrait of the historic story about celebrated Cheyenne (they are actually Navajo , telling dirty jokes in their native tongue) and their legendary feat leading the tribe on a journey to freedom , uprooting them from the Yellowstone and resettling them in distant Oklahoma . This majestic flick illustrates the callous disregard with which the government treated the Cheyenne in the 1880s as the US agency fails to deliver even the meager provisions due by peace treaty to the stubborn tribe in their stark desert reserve without proper supplies for survival ; then the starving Indians have taken more abuse than it's worth and break it too by embarking on a 1,500 miles trek back to their ancestral hunting grounds , being led by Little Wolf and Dull Knife (Ford was urged by producers to cast first stars as Richard Boone and Anthony Quinn , as both had Native American blood ; however , Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland, who were of Mexican descent , were cast instead) . Meanwhile , proud Cheyenne tribe square off US cavalry commanded by Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark) who leads his army on a wild chase across the barren plains in this saga of the old west . Red Shirt (played by Sal Mineo , though John Ford would not allow him to speak any English dialog in the picture due to the actor's Bronx accent) , a rebel Indian does the first shot against cavalry . Captain Thomas Archer goes to deal with Secretary of Interior Schulz about the unfortunate Indians (Spencer Tracy was first cast , but had a stroke and was replaced by Edward G. Robinson, , including the background had to be done with screen process and whose scenes were entirely photographed in studios) , taking place a climatic meeting scene between Shultz and the Cheyenne chiefs . The tribe refuses to surrender in this chronicle of a bitter fight between the tribe and the US cavalry in the struggle for the west . Now the mightiest true adventure of all! Filmed by 6-time Academy Award winner John Ford...with a massive all-star cast! .1,500 miles of heroism and incredible adventure!
This sprawling epic film displays Western action , shootouts , drama and spectacular battles . It's a thoughtful piece for its time that had an original tragic ending and imbued with moments of sensitive poetry . This nice Western contains interesting characters , full of wide open space and dramatic moments . This classic , sturdy picture ranks as one of the most sentimental of John Ford's work . Thought-provoking , enjoyable screenplay portraying in depth characters and brooding events with interesting issues running beneath script surface and suggested by Mari Sandoz in "Cheyenne Autumn¨ with screenplay by James R. Webb and based on a novel titled Last Frontier by Howard Fast who also wrote Spartacus . This excellent film featuring a magnificent performance by the whole main cast , including a top-notch supporting cast . Awesome Richard Widmark in a larger-than-life character along with a gorgeous Carrol Baker and a magnificent Karl Malden as deranged captain Wessels . In the film appears , as usual , Ford's favourite actors such as : Ben Johnson , Harry Carey Jr. , Mike Mazurki , George O'Brien , Mae Marsh , Patrick Wayne , Dolores Del Rio , Ken Curtis , Elizabeh Allen , Willis Bouchey , and , of course , James Stewart as obstinate sheriff Earp . Ford added the segment with Stewart in place of an intermission , in spite of the film was overlong , and so he came up with the Wyatt Earp segment , giving Stewart an awesome interpretation , as usual . Outdoors are pretty gorgeous and well photographed in Super Panavision 70mm by William H. Clothier , Ford's regular , and filmed on location in Moab, Utah ,Fort Laramie, Wyoming, Monument Valley, Utah , Gunnison Canyon , Colorado . Rousing and an impressive musical score by Alex North who composed other masterpieces as Spartacus and Cleopatra.
This may not be Ford's best Western , as many would claim , but it's still head ad shoulders above most big-scale movies . You'll find the ending over-dramatic according to your tastes , though it's lovingly composed by John Ford who really picks up battle , drama and sensibility towards the ending . Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching . The motion picture well produced by Bernard Smith was brilliantly directed by John Ford at his last film . This powerful movie will appeal to Indian Western fans .
