Tonka (1958)

In Dakota territory in the 1870s, White Bull, a young Sioux, proves his manhood by catching and training a wild colt he names Tonka. When a cruel cousin claims the horse as the privilege of... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis R. Foster

Writers:

Lewis R. Foster (screenplay), Lillie Hayward (screenplay),

Stars:

Sal Mineo, Philip Carey, Jerome Courtland

Cast

Cast overview:
Sal Mineo	...	White Bull
Philip Carey	...	Capt. Miles Keogh
Jerome Courtland	...	Lt. Henry Nowlan
H.M. Wynant	...	Yellow Bull
Joy Page	...	Prairie Flower
Britt Lomond	...	Gen. George Armstrong Custer
Rafael Campos	...	Strong Bear
Herbert Rudley	...	Capt. Benteen
Sydney Smith	...	Gen. Alfred Howe Terry
John War Eagle	...	Chief Sitting Bull
Gregg Martell	...	Cpl. Korn
Slim Pickens	...	Ace
Robert 'Buzz' Henry	...	Lt. Crittenden (as Robert Buzz Henry)

Storyline

In Dakota territory in the 1870s, White Bull, a young Sioux, proves his manhood by catching and training a wild colt he names Tonka. When a cruel cousin claims the horse as the privilege of rank, White Bull lets Tonka go. The horse ends up in the hands of a captain in the US cavalry about the time that Sitting Bull gathers the tribes to confront the growing US presence, epitomized by the bigoted General Custer. All paths, including those of White Bull and Tonka, lead to the confluence of the Little and Big Horn rivers.

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Plot Keywords:

horse | colt | native american | horse riding | animal in title | 

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Taglines:

The Untold Story behind the West's Strangest Legend!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Horse Named Comanche

Filming Locations:

Bend, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color: Comanche: The Captive Stallion (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Tonka"
Music by George Bruns
Lyrics by Hazel George (as Gil George)

User Reviews

The only survivor on the cavalry side

Sal Mineo eschewed the urban areas which most of his films had him in for the Old West as he plays a young Sioux brave who captures and tames a wild horse he names Tonka. This is a fine film that still holds up well today and gave Mineo one of the best parts he ever had.

Sal and his peer Rafael Campos are warriors in training and Sal after trying to capture a brown stallion he admires loses the rope and a bow and quiver of arrows and gets the riot act read him by Sitting Bull. Still he goes out and actually finds and tames Tonka. But a warrior cousin H.M. Wynant claims the horse by seniority. Mineo would rather see the horse anywhere else but with Wynant and he frees him.

Through a chain of circumstances the horse gets captured and sold to the cavalry where he's renamed Comanche and he becomes the property of Captain Myles Keogh played by Philip Carey. And that is the background of the story of Mineo and the horse, the Battle of the Little Big Horn where the only survivor on the cavalry side was the horse Comanche.

All the players including Custer and Keogh are real people and the Battle of the Little Big Horn is well staged by Disney Studios. And next to Mineo the most notable performance in the film is that of Britt Lomond as General George Armstrong Custer.

If you are used to the image of Custer as portrayed by Errol Flynn in They Died With Their Boots On then what Britt Lomond did with the role will be a revelation. For those of you who think that Custer was glory hunting Indian hating fanatic than you will love to hate Britt Lomond. Lomond is best known as Captain Monasterio in the first episode of the Disney Zorro TV series. He was pretty hateful as Monasterio and just as hateful as Custer.

Tonka is a nice coming age story told from the American Indian point of view. Kids will universally identify with both Mineo and Campos. Tonka is also one of Disney Studios best films of the Fifties and one of its best ever.