Run of the Arrow (1957)

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller

Release Date:

5 September 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A Rebel vet, O'Meara has refused to surrender when Lee does at Appomatox. O'Meara travels west and after escaping from...

Plot Keywords:

Shot In The Forehead | American Civil War | Violence | Blood Spatter | Confederate

Cast

Rod Steiger	...	Pvt. O'Meara
Sara Montiel	...	Yellow Moccasin (as Sarita Montiel)
Brian Keith	...	Capt. Clark
Ralph Meeker	...	Lt. Driscoll
Jay C. Flippen	...	Walking Coyote
Charles Bronson	...	Blue Buffalo
Olive Carey	...	Mrs. O'Meara
H.M. Wynant	...	Crazy Wolf
Neyle Morrow	...	Lt. Stockwell
Frank DeKova	...	Red Cloud
Tim McCoy	...	Gen. Allen (as Colonel Tim McCoy)
Stuart Randall	...	Col. Taylor
Frank Warner	...	Banjo Playing Singer
Billy Miller	...	Silent Tongue
Chuck Hayward	...	Corporal with Saddle
Chuck Roberson	...	Sergeant who drowned in quicksand
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roscoe Ates	...	Man on Pier (uncredited)
Emile Avery	...	Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (uncredited)
Frank Baker	...	Gen. Robert E. Lee (uncredited)
Angie Dickinson	...	Yellow Moccasin (voice) (uncredited)
Tex Holden	...	Peg Leg Man (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Man on Dock (uncredited)
Don Orlando	...	Pvt. Vinci (uncredited)
George Ross	...	Archer (uncredited)
Ray Stevens	...	Indian in Canoe (uncredited)
Bill White Jr.	...	Sgt. Moore (uncredited)
Carleton Young	...	6th Virginia Surgeon (uncredited)

Directed by
Samuel Fuller

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Samuel Fuller

Produced by
Samuel Fuller	....	producer

Original Music by
Victor Young

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Gene Fowler Jr.

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Jack Okey

Set Decoration by
Bertram C. Granger		(as Bert Granger)

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist
Harry Maret	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Gene Bryant	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ben Chapman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Audrey Granville	....	sound editor
Terry Kellum	....	sound
Bert Schoenfeld	....	sound effects editor
Virgil Smith	....	sound
James Nelson	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Norman Breedlove	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Ross	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Victor Young	....	conductor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Globe Enterprises

Distributors

• RKO Teleradio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Schröder Media (2009) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Hot Lead" - USA (video title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

St. George, Utah, USA

Company:

Globe Enterprises

Trivia:

At the time of its release, many critics commented favorably on director Samuel Fuller's "artistic" decision to concentrate on the feet of the participants in the actual "run of the arrow" rather than showing them in their entirety. In an interview, Fuller said there was a very simple reason for his decision: star Rod Steiger had badly sprained his ankle just before the scene was to be shot and wasn't able to walk, let alone run, so Fuller got one of the Indian extras who was built somewhat like Steiger to run in his place, which is why he shot only feet instead of close-ups or medium shots.

Quotes:

Walking Coyote:I coulda been a chief.
Pvt. O'Meara, 6th Virginia Volunteers Sharpshooter:Oh yeah? How come you're not a chief now?
Walking Coyote:Eh, I got no stomach for politics.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Dances with Wolves (1990)

Solid Sam Fuller entry

No one ever accused Sam Fuller of being a run-of-the-mill Hollywood dream merchant. Run of the Arrow is fairly typical of the noted director-writer's work, applying his thinking man's approach to a well-established genre; in this case, the western. Touching on the moral conflicts of the Civil War as well as the uneasy truce between the white man and the Native American, the movie centers on a disillusioned Confederate (Rod Steiger)trying to find his place in a world in which he has cast himself as an outsider.

Fuller handles the visuals and the action sequences with as much confidence as the more intimate sequences of Steiger trying to immerse himself into the culture of the Sioux after what he feels is the humiliating defeat of the Confederate forces to the Union. While he lacks is the poetic sweep of a John Ford, Fuller is refreshingly unsentimental and takes pains to establish the subtlety of the characters and their conflicts.

Still, it is by no means a perfect movie, undermined by the dreadful miscasting of Rod Steiger in the starring role. Although a highly skilled actor who has often excelled at portraying multi-dimensional, morally ambiguous characters, Steiger seems out-of-place as a Confederate renegade and his Irish brogue only calls attention to his uneasiness. Fuller barely shows any interest in fleshing out the relationship between Steiger and the Indian squaw he marries, casting a nondescript and unappealing actress for the love interest. But Brian Keith and Ralph Meeker are excellent as the Union officers, one kindly, the other oozing villainy from every pore.

The movie is a natural for fans of adult, upper-scale westerns (a la The Gunfighter, Shane, etc.) while the more action-oriented buffs won't feel entirely left out either.