Buffalo Bill (1944)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Æneas MacKenzie (screenplay) &
Clements Ripley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

April 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Western

Plot:

The story of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, legendary westerner, from his days as an army scout to his later activities as owner of a Wild West show.

Plot Keywords:

Scout | Wild West | Sideshow | Fight | Banquet

Cast

Joel McCrea	...	William Frederick 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
Maureen O'Hara	...	Louisa Frederici Cody
Linda Darnell	...	Dawn Starlight
Thomas Mitchell	...	Ned Buntline
Edgar Buchanan	...	Sergeant Chips McGraw
Anthony Quinn	...	Chief Yellow Hand
Moroni Olsen	...	Senator Frederici
Frank Fenton	...	Murdo Carvell
Matt Briggs	...	General Blazier
George Lessey	...	Mr. Schyler Vandervere
Frank Orth	...	Sherman - Shooting Gallery Owner

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Norway:A | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #9533)

Filming Locations:

Crow Indian Reservation, Montana, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Early production charts had Vincent Price in the role of "Murdo Carvell," but he was replaced by Frank Fenton when the role was severely cut. Many of the uncredited cast had more lines and screen time than Fenton, who was credited on screen.

Quotes:

Louisa Frederici Cody: What is she doing here all alone?
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: She's just old. When Indians get too old to travel, why they're left behind with a little food and fuel.
Louisa Frederici Cody: To die?
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: Yeah.
Louisa Frederici Cody: That's terrible! Can't we do something for her?
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: It's the way of the people. There's nothing we can do.
Louisa Frederici Cody: Here am I, going to bring a new life into the world, and leaving an old woman to die.
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: That's nature's way, Louisa. When anything becomes too old to be useful, it's just pushed aside.
Louisa Frederici Cody: But it shouldn't be! That's why we have civilization!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

The dark side of civilization.

When this film was made, people were still in love with cars, freeways and bringing progress to the west. So it was quite an achievement to bring to the screen a divided hero, who from one side admired the Indian way of life, and who understood that the killing of the buffaloes would bring misery to the natives, but at the same time arranged buffalo hunts for people of the east, and as a scout helped the army fight the Indians. When he goes east and see stories written about him by Ned Buntline we know that it is impossible for him (as for any human being) to live up to them, and he is bound to end up in ridicule. People nowadays are more ecology conscious and that makes this film more meaningful than in 1944. The first part of the film shows the west and the war with the Indians with excellent battle scenes and great color. Maureen O'Hara is more beautiful than in any other film I've seen her and so is Linda Darnell. The second part is when Buffalo Bill goes east, and that is when the film is at its best.