A Man Called Horse (1970)

Director:

Elliot Silverstein

Writers:

Jack DeWitt (screenplay)
Dorothy M. Johnson (story)

Release Date:

May 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Western

Tagline:

A man called "Horse" becomes an Indian warrior in the most electrifying ritual ever seen!

Plot:

In 1825 an English aristocrat is captured by Indians. He lives with them and begins to understand/accept their lifestyles...

Plot Keywords:

Aristocrat | Rites Of Passage | Sioux Tribe | Ritual | Torture

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Richard Harris	...	John Morgan
Judith Anderson	...	Buffalo Cow Head (as Dame Judith Anderson)
Jean Gascon	...	Batise
Manu Tupou	...	Yellow Hand
Corinna Tsopei	...	Running Deer
Dub Taylor	...	Joe
James Gammon	...	Ed
William Jordan	...	Bent
Eddie Little Sky	...	Black Eagle
Michael Baseleon	...	Longfoot
Lina Marín	...	Thorn Rose (as Lina Marin)
Tamara Garina	...	Elk Woman
Terry Leonard	...	Striking Bear
Iron Eyes Cody	...	Medicine Man
Tom Tyon	...	Medicine Man
Jackson Tail	...	Medicine Man
Manuel Padilla Jr.	...	Leaping Buck
Lloyd One Star	...	Warrior
James Never Miss a Shot	...	Warrior
Frank Rabbit Jr.	...	Warrior
Samuel White Horse	...	Warrior
Justin Thin Elk	...	Warrior
Lawrence Old Cross	...	Warrior
Ardene Turning Bear	...	Warrior
Aloysius Eagleman	...	Warrior
Ross Kills Enemy	...	Warrior
Ben Black Bear	...	Warrior
Richard Fool Bull	...	Warrior
Bruce Pretty Bird	...	Warrior
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Phillip Clark	...	(uncredited)
Ben Eagleman	...	(uncredited)
Lee Schaff Guardino	...	Sioux Woman (voice) (uncredited)
Edward Little	...	(uncredited)
Sonny Skyhawk	...	Member of the Yellow Hand Band (uncredited)
Vince St. Cyr	...	Warrior (uncredited)

Directed by
Elliot Silverstein

Writing credits
Jack DeWitt		(screenplay) (as Jack De Witt)
Dorothy M. Johnson		(story)

Produced by
Frank Brill	....	associate producer
Sandy Howard	....	producer

Original Music by
Leonard Rosenman		(music score)

Cinematography by
Robert B. Hauser		(director of photography) (as Robert Hauser)

Film Editing by
Philip W. Anderson
Gene Fowler Jr.

Art Direction by
Philip Barber		(as Phil Barber)

Set Decoration by
Raúl Serrano		(as Raul Serrano)

Costume Design by
Dennis Lynton Clark

Makeup Department
Richard Cobos	....	makeup artist
Frank Griffin	....	make-up: Richard Harris
George Lane	....	makeup supervisor
Keester Sweeney	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robert M. Beche	....	unit production manager
Gilbert Kurland	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director
Mario Cisneros	....	assistant director
Terry Morse Jr.	....	assistant director
Lynn Guthrie	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)
Ted Swanson	....	second second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Bill Dietz	....	property master (as William Dietz)
Tom Jung	....	poster designer (uncredited)
Jeremy Kay	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jack A. Finlay	....	supervising sound editor (as Jack Finlay)
Peter Maxwell	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Rafael Ruiz Esparza	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Federico Farfán	....	special effects (as Federico Farfan)
Jerome Rosenfeld	....	optical production design and titles (as Jerome Rosenfeld of The Helix Group)
Tim Smyth	....	special effects

Stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Dittman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom L. Dittman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Rafael Delong	....	head grip (as Rafael DeLong)
Don Johnson	....	head electrician
Gabriel Torres	....	second unit cameraman
Roberto Biciocchi	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Frank Delmar	....	costume supervisor
Eddie Marks	....	costumer (as Edward Marx)
Jack Martell	....	costumer
Theodore R. Parvin	....	costumer (as Ted Parvin)

Editorial Department
Robert Briggs	....	assistant film editor
Tom Patchett	....	assistant film editor (as Thomas M. Patchett)

Music Department
Gene Feldman	....	supervising music editor
Morton Stevens	....	music supervisor
Ralph Ferraro	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Robert Takagi	....	music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Bodmer	....	the rituals dramatized have been documented from the letters and paintings of, and other eye witnesses of the period
Charlsie Bryant	....	script supervisor
George Catlin	....	the rituals dramatized have been documented from the letters and paintings of, and other eye witnesses of the period
Lynn E. D'Amato	....	production assistant
Clyde Dollar	....	historian and technical edvisor
Julián Benito Navarro	....	equine consultant
'Chema' Hernandez	....	livestock coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cinema Center Films (presents)

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1970) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Abril Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Finnkino (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Nelonen (1999) (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Showtime (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1982) (2009) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Library of Congress  the makers of this film express their gratitude to (as the Library of Congress)
• Marion Dougherty Associates  casting
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the museums and libraries  the producers wish to express their appreciation to: without whose help this film could not have been made (as the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the museums and libraries)
• Smithsonian Institution  the makers of this film express their gratitude to (as the Smithsonian Institute)
• The American Museum of Natural History  the makers of this film express their gratitude to (as the American Museum of Natural History)
• United States Government  the actual practice of the Vow of the Sun was forbidden by, in the latter part of the 1800's (as the United States Government)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and nudity (re-rating) (2003)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Sioux | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:M (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | USA:R (re-rating) (2003) | Australia:PG | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating: 109m) (1987) (2004) | West Germany:12 (f) | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Custer State Park - 13329 U.S. Highway 16A, Custer, South Dakota, USA

Company:

Cinema Center Films

Trivia:

Based on a 1958 segment of the TV series "Wagon Train" (1957), bearing the same title.

Goofs:

Continuity: Before John Morgan is captured in the lake, an Indian runs into the camp wearing Morgan's robe around his middle. When the Indians capture Morgan and drag him from the lake, his robe can be seen on the shoreline.

Quotes:

Batise:Lucky for you, chief like angry. You yell, make strong. Until winter comes!
[evil laugh, walking away]
Batise:Until winter comes!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Nearest and Dearest: X Marks the Spot (#5.6)" (1971)

I'm not a bloody horse!

This is the story of Lord John Morgan, an honest earthy person who is captured by the Sioux in 1825. Abused and treated as an animal he comes to adapt to his life in order to survive. Enduring torture and oppression he must earn their respect in order to be accepted as part of their tribe.

The white man as part of a Sioux tribe story was given a major shot in the arm with Kevin Costner's Oscar bagger, Dances With Wolves in 1990. This picture came out some twenty years before Costner's stylish picture but the two films couldn't be further apart in terms of story telling. Here in Elliot Silverstein's picture, the scenery and scope is certainly lush, but the niceties stop there for this is a harsh, at times painful, story with realism dripping from each frame. Silverstein wanted to get as close as he could to the facts of the Sioux way of life, even bringing in a Sioux historian to oversee the production.

The Sioux are painted on both sides of the canvas, on one side we are shown them to be violent, even sadistic, but Silverstein also portrays them as an intelligent race driven on by intense loyalty to their ways and culture. Richard Harris plays our main protagonist and has a clear license to act with immense verve and vigour, it's a memorable turn that lingers long after the credits roll. Hurting the film is a twee romance between Morgan and the Chiefs daughter (Judith Anderson) and Jean Gascon's fluctuating accents start to grate entering the film's last quarter. But really the plus points far outweigh the little irritants in the piece. The editing from Philip W. Anderson & Michael Kahn is like a whirling paean to hallucinations, and some scenes are from the top draw, most notably the Vow To The Sun ritual that literally is painful to watch. A Man Called Horse may well be of its time, but it's certainly a very interesting and highly intelligent film. 7/10