Although "Brave Warrior " is sometimes described as a Western, it is set several decades earlier and a long way further east than most films in the genre. It may seem obvious that first the East and then the Midwest had to be won before Americans could make a start on winning the West, but in fact there are relatively few films about frontier life in the early nineteenth century compared with the thousands set in the West during the second half of that century. ("The Kentuckian", Burt Lancaster's first film as director, is another example of a "Mid-Western" from the fifties). The explanation I have heard is that the Hollywood studios had on their doorstep the California deserts which could easily represent Texas, or Nevada, or any one of several other Western states without too many people noticing, but nowhere that could convincingly stand in for the deciduous forests of the eastern USA in the same way.
"Brave Warrior" is set in Indiana during the War of 1812. Or, should I say, it is ostensibly so set. The film, to judge by the arid landscapes, was obviously set somewhere in the West, and the costumes, with the exception of the military uniforms, are all those of the second half of the century rather than the first. The historical inaccuracies do not end with the costumes; one of the main characters is the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, here shown siding with the Americans whereas in reality he sided with the British. The main white character is Steve Ruddell, an old friend of he chief, who has been asked by Governor William Henry Harrison, the future President, to win over the Shawnee to the American side. There are, however, two further complications. One is that both Steve and Tecumseh are love with the same woman, Laura MacGregor. The other is that Laura's Irish-born father Shayne is (unknown to her) a spy for the British.
Fifties Westerns differed in their treatment of Native Americans. Some, such as "Only the Valiant", portrayed them as bloodthirsty villains, the bad old view which had prevailed in many films from the thirties and forties. Some, such as "Apache" went to the opposite extreme and portrayed them as innocent victims of white greed. Some, notably "Broken Arrow", took the middle ground and tried to show good and bad on both sides. And some, of which "Brave Warrior" is a prime example, divided them sharply into Good Indians and Bad Indians. The Bad Indians are those who try to resist conquest by the whites. The Good Indians are those who not only refuse to resist this process but actively collaborate with it.
In this film, the main Good Indian is Tecumseh, the main Bad Indian being his brother, known as 'The Prophet' (not a historical character). Tecumseh is shown here as being not only a convert to Christianity but an uncritical admirer of white Americans and their civilisation; he has built the town of Tippecanoe where his people can live the same life as that enjoyed by their white neighbours. Because the Prophet is unwilling to go along with this programme of cultural assimilation he is painted as the villain of the piece. The prevailing racial attitudes of the 1950s, however, meant that Tecumseh's loyalty to the American cause could not be rewarded with marriage to a white woman; the love-triangle theme is quietly dropped in the second half of the film, and Laura ends up with Steve.
"Brave Warrior" seems to have been a low-budget B-movie, which explains why the film-makers couldn't afford either a trip to shoot on location in Indiana itself or more accurate costumes. (They probably re-used costumes from an earlier film). The low budget would also explain a few other things about the film; the stunt scenes, for example, are unconvincing, with punches all too obviously being pulled in the badly choreographed fight scenes. The cast are also mostly unconvincing, with Christine Larson making a bland heroine and Jon Hall a wooden hero. Jay Silverheels as Tecumseh is unconvincing for different reasons; he takes the view that because he is playing the film's noble hero everything he says, no matter how commonplace, has to be delivered in an exaggerated, portentous tone of voice which makes him sound as though he were delivering a mighty oration on a particularly elevated theme.
With its confusing and historically inaccurate plot and its weak acting, "Brave Warrior" is one of the poorer Westerns of the fifties. It is, however, worth watching for the unintended insights it can provide into the social attitudes of the period. 4/10
"Brave Warrior" is set in Indiana during the War of 1812. Or, should I say, it is ostensibly so set. The film, to judge by the arid landscapes, was obviously set somewhere in the West, and the costumes, with the exception of the military uniforms, are all those of the second half of the century rather than the first. The historical inaccuracies do not end with the costumes; one of the main characters is the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, here shown siding with the Americans whereas in reality he sided with the British. The main white character is Steve Ruddell, an old friend of he chief, who has been asked by Governor William Henry Harrison, the future President, to win over the Shawnee to the American side. There are, however, two further complications. One is that both Steve and Tecumseh are love with the same woman, Laura MacGregor. The other is that Laura's Irish-born father Shayne is (unknown to her) a spy for the British.
Fifties Westerns differed in their treatment of Native Americans. Some, such as "Only the Valiant", portrayed them as bloodthirsty villains, the bad old view which had prevailed in many films from the thirties and forties. Some, such as "Apache" went to the opposite extreme and portrayed them as innocent victims of white greed. Some, notably "Broken Arrow", took the middle ground and tried to show good and bad on both sides. And some, of which "Brave Warrior" is a prime example, divided them sharply into Good Indians and Bad Indians. The Bad Indians are those who try to resist conquest by the whites. The Good Indians are those who not only refuse to resist this process but actively collaborate with it.
In this film, the main Good Indian is Tecumseh, the main Bad Indian being his brother, known as 'The Prophet' (not a historical character). Tecumseh is shown here as being not only a convert to Christianity but an uncritical admirer of white Americans and their civilisation; he has built the town of Tippecanoe where his people can live the same life as that enjoyed by their white neighbours. Because the Prophet is unwilling to go along with this programme of cultural assimilation he is painted as the villain of the piece. The prevailing racial attitudes of the 1950s, however, meant that Tecumseh's loyalty to the American cause could not be rewarded with marriage to a white woman; the love-triangle theme is quietly dropped in the second half of the film, and Laura ends up with Steve.
"Brave Warrior" seems to have been a low-budget B-movie, which explains why the film-makers couldn't afford either a trip to shoot on location in Indiana itself or more accurate costumes. (They probably re-used costumes from an earlier film). The low budget would also explain a few other things about the film; the stunt scenes, for example, are unconvincing, with punches all too obviously being pulled in the badly choreographed fight scenes. The cast are also mostly unconvincing, with Christine Larson making a bland heroine and Jon Hall a wooden hero. Jay Silverheels as Tecumseh is unconvincing for different reasons; he takes the view that because he is playing the film's noble hero everything he says, no matter how commonplace, has to be delivered in an exaggerated, portentous tone of voice which makes him sound as though he were delivering a mighty oration on a particularly elevated theme.
With its confusing and historically inaccurate plot and its weak acting, "Brave Warrior" is one of the poorer Westerns of the fifties. It is, however, worth watching for the unintended insights it can provide into the social attitudes of the period. 4/10
