"THE MOTION PICTURE YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE LOCALS WHERE THE ACTUAL EVENTS UPON WHICH IT IS BASED OCCURED. EVENTS THAT GRAVELY THREATENED THE PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN CANADA."
Set in 1877, Canadian Mountie Thomas O'Rourke (Alan Ladd), who was raised by the Cree, is returning home from hunting with his Cree friend Cajou (Jay Silverheels). They come upon Grace Markey (Shelly Winters), the survivor of an Indian attack on a wagon train.
They start to take her back to their fort but she escapes and then Sioux start chasing after her. O'Rourke shoots two of the Sioux, and the rest scatter. O'Rourke finds out from a scout, Batouche, that some of Chief Crazy Horse's have escaped in to Canada after the battle of Little Bighorn.
The new commander at the fort, Benton, just in from England, wants to collect all the Crees weapons. he may drive the Cree to be allies with the Sioux. Cajou refuses to turn in his gun and threatens to join the Sioux. Cajou give O'Rourke his gun, but ends their friendship.
A US Marshall, Carl Smith (Hugh O'Brien) shows up to bring Grace back to Montana where he says she killed his brother.
With the threat of the Cree and Sioux joining up, Benton is ordered to abandon the Fort. Smith and Grace travel with the troops.
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse want to meet with the Cree.
They run in to a Cree hunting party that wants guns to hunt with. Benton refuses and a brave takes a gun. Smith then shoots the brave.
Sioux attack and the troops fight them off. Benton wants to head through the open country for the fort. O'Rourke says they must go through the hills. The men back O'Rourke. Benton threatens everyone with a court martial.
The troops then run in to the Sioux and the Cree who are now together. The Sioux attack but the Mounties fight them off again. O'Rourke goes back to talk to the man who raised him, the Cree chief. The Sioux have given the Cree an ultimatum : join up or become enemies. O'Rourke goes back to the fort and tell the officers to give the Cree back their guns so they won't have to join with the Cree.
In a scene that really hurts the movie O'Rourke and the Cree drive off the Sioux who had been attacking the troops. The Cree chief says: "The great Cree are like children before the two red coats whose wisdom saved the lives of our women and children and brought victory to our warriors. And now I send runners to every Indian village in Canada to tell them of the two fathers who brought peace again to Canada and of your love for my people."
A movie that distorts a real event, the Sioux escape to Canada. It features the good Indian bad Indian theme with the peaceful Cree refusing to join with the war like Sioux. Bad romantic segment that suddenly pops up between O'Rourke and Grace also helps to weaken the movie. One things that shows is that the makers of the movie were pretty proud of the way Canada treated their native Americans.
|
