A Cheyenne is a soldier from the first slap on his bottom. Cheyenne Autumn is directed by John Ford and is a "Hollywood" telling of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1877/9, where the Northern Cheyenne, fed up with lack of food and poor facilities, tried to return to their one time home in the North after having been located in the Southern Reservation by the United States Army. It stars Richard Widmark, Caroll Baker, Dolores del Rio, Karl Malden, Gilbert Roland, Ricardo Montalban, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart and Arthur Kennedy. Music is scored by Alex North and cinematography by William H. Clothier. It is photographed in Super Panavision 70, in various Utah locations, predominantly Monument Valley. Does it ever matter who fired the first shot? John "Pappy" Ford's penultimate film, and his last Western, is epic in scope and production and seen as an honest attempt to redress the balance for years of misrepresentation of Native Americans in Hollywood, though not necessarily his own since he, I believe, isn't on record as saying that to be the case? Thematically it's important and doesn't back off from being sympathetic to the Cheyenne's plight, we root for them and rightly so. Yet it always feels like a film shot through the vision of a white man's eyes, you find yourself wanting more from the Cheyenne perspective, for them to dominate the narrative. It would have been nice to know some of the big players involved in the heroic and tragic trek back to Wyoming. It's also annoying that Ford or the studio chose to interrupt the flow of the story with the pointless light relief section at Dodge City. Which comes across as just an excuse for James Stewart and Arthur Kennedy to play Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday respectively. And sadly, they are not very successful in doing so either. As has been noted by many critics over the years, the film ultimately rounds out as an honourable misfire from the great John Ford. The cast, away from the loud and brash Dodge City collective, are mostly fine. Widmark proves to be a watchable axis as the reluctant Captain tasked with returning the Cheyenne to the barren reservation. Baker does a nice line in sexy Quaker, Robinson adds a touch of class late in the day, while Montalban & Roland are excellent as Cheyenne chiefs Little Wolf & Dull Knife respectively. But all pale in the shadow of Clothier's magnificent photography, stunning vistas that dominate the screen, the colours so rich and splendid, Monument Valley an iconic character of nature observing the Cheyenne desperately trying to get back to home comforts. It's unmistakably a John Ford picture, with some inspired filming techniques, but the heart of the story is lost due to a too long run time, a daft mid point sequence and much extraneous nonsense. 6/10
A white man trades with the Comanche for the release of a female stranger and the pair cross paths with three outlaws who have their eyes on the handsome reward for bringing her home and Comanche on the warpath.
In Apache territory, a supply Army column heads for the next fort, an ex-scout searches for the killer of his Native wife, and a housewife abandons her husband to rejoin her Apache lover's tribe.
Farsighted Falcon, chief of the Lakota, seeks refuge in the Black Hills with his wife Blue Hair and two warriors, sole survivors of their tribe. When they are attacked by the outlaw Bashan, Falcon strikes out for the town of Tanglewood to take on Bashan's boss, mining magnate Harrington.
Stodge City is in the grip of the Rumpo Kid and his gang. Mistaken identity again takes a hand as a 'sanitary engineer' named Marshal P. Knutt is mistaken for a law marshal. Being the conscientious sort, Marshal tries to help the town get rid of Rumpo, and a showdown is inevitable. Marshal has two aids—revenge-seeking Annie Oakley and his sanitary expertise.
In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.
In the latter half of the 19th century, gold is discovered in the Black Hills, sacred land of the Lakota people. Gold diggers, profiteers and adventurers flock to the region. Among them is the hard-hearted land speculator Bludgeon, who tries to expel the Lakota using brutal methods. Lakota warriors retaliate, and soon the gold diggers' town becomes a battlefield.
The construction of the Great Western Railroad creates heavy conflict between the railway company and neighboring Indian tribes. Worse, criminal gang leader Santer sets his eyes on a gold mine located on holy Indian land and influences the construction supervisor to re-rout the planned railroad straight through Apache land. Old Shatterhand, who works as a measurement technician, discovers the evil plan and searches contact with the Apaches in an effort to avert war.
Forester, a ruthless oil baron, wants to create a war between the native American tribes and the white men. Old Shatterhand, Winnetou and their sidekick Castlepool try to prevent this.
Fred Engel's father is murdered by Colonel Brinkley in order to acquire a treasure map, however the Colonel only acquires half of it, the other half as held by Mrs. Butler. Discovering the scene of the crime, Old Shatterhand and Winnetou help Fred bring his father's murderer to justice and locate the treasure of Silver Lake.
An old geezer recalls some of the antics of the citizens of his Western town, more wild and woolly than Tombstone or Dodge City. In this town, they shoot like Stormtroopers, the women seek new meat, and practical jokers abound.