Foxfire (1955)

In Arizona, during the 1950s, privileged white girl Amanda Lawrence marries half-Apache mining engineer Jonathan Dartland who dreams of finding gold in an old abandoned Apache mine.

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Anya Seton (based on novel by), Ketti Frings (screenplay)

Stars:

Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, Dan Duryea

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jane Russell	...	Amanda Lawrence
Jeff Chandler	...	Jonathan Dartland
Dan Duryea	...	Hugh Slater
Mara Corday	...	Maria - Hugh's Nurse
Barton MacLane	...	Jim Mablett
Frieda Inescort	...	Mrs. Lawrence
Celia Lovsky	...	Princess Saba
Eddy Waller	...	Old Larky (as Eddy C. Waller)
Robert F. Simon	...	Ernest Tyson
Charlotte Wynters	...	Mrs. Mablett
Robert Bice	...	Walt Whitman
Arthur Space	...	Foley

Storyline

Amanda Dartland accompanies her half-Apache husband Jonathan to a mining community where he will supervise the excavation of an almost mythical Apache treasure. His jealous rages and macho attitude cause her much misery, while the excavation project is threatened by prejudice and fear. Amanda tries to bridge the cultural gap, and Jonathan must do the same, or he will lose her. Mesmerizing brief performance by Celia Lovsky as Princess Saba.

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Plot Keywords:

arizona territory | arizona | mixed marriage | mining town | apache tribe | 

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Taglines:

Jane's got Jeff - The story of an impatient Love! (original poster)

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Leonard Maltin, Jeff Chandler sings the title song for which he also wrote the lyrics.

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Goofs

The arrangement of Amanda's boxes changes drastically on Hugh's lap after the shot changes from location to the studio in front of a rear screen projection.

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Quotes

Saba: [Indicating, to a tour group, a gathering of young Apache boys on the Reservation] A child here has little contact with his father who, in the old days, was usually away hunting. Today, the father is still much away. He works on the Reservation cattle range. As you see, the little boys play, and have few responsibilities. But there comes a day when they are twelve. Here is a little one, ready to leave his mother and go with the men. From now on, he will work and hunt with the men. Eat and live ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Diminishing Returns: Batman (2016)

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Soundtracks

Foxfire
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Jeff Chandler
sung by Jeff Chandler (uncredited)

User Reviews

Foxfire is one of my all time favorites.

Originally I read Foxfire before I saw the movie. When I was sixteen I read Anya Seton's novel Foxfire. I enjoyed it immensely. My mother told me that there was a movie based on the novel & I began watching the listings in the TV Guide, searching for the listing for Foxfire. When I finally got to see the movie I was greatly impressed. I was terribly romantic, this movie's theme was a revelation to me of the pettiness of some people. I always found bigotry & prejudice to be very offensive. The way that this was conveyed in the movie brought sympathy to both lead characters. Dartland, J. Chandler's role,was so over sensitized to prejudice & his wife was so naive as to its existence, that the confrontation between the two, made the audience think. There are many sides to ugliness in society & this story embraced many of the facets of prejudice & bigotry. Perhaps love does concur all, at least that, in my opinion, is the theme of this story. I would rate this story as a two hanky classic. Love this film!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Foxfire

Filming Locations:

Kingman, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1