Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

The Cheyenne, tired of broken U.S. government promises, head for their ancestral lands but a sympathetic cavalry officer is tasked to bring them back to their reservation.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Mari Sandoz (suggested by "Cheyenne Autumn"), James R. Webb (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Widmark	...	Capt. Thomas Archer
Carroll Baker	...	Deborah Wright
Karl Malden	...	Capt. Wessels
Sal Mineo	...	Red Shirt
Dolores del Rio	...	Spanish Woman (as Dolores Del Rio)
Ricardo Montalban	...	Little Wolf
Gilbert Roland	...	Dull Knife
Arthur Kennedy	...	Doc Holliday
James Stewart	...	Wyatt Earp
Edward G. Robinson	...	Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz
Patrick Wayne	...	2nd Lt. Scott
Elizabeth Allen	...	Guinevere Plantagenet
John Carradine	...	Major Jeff Blair
Victor Jory	...	Tall Tree
Mike Mazurki	...	Senior First Sergeant

Storyline

When the government agency fails to deliver even the meager supplies due by treaty to the proud Cheyenne tribe in their barren desert reserve, the starving Indians have taken more abuse than it's worth and break it too by embarking on a 1,500 miles journey back to their ancestral hunting grounds. US Cavalry Capt. Thomas Archer is charged with their retrieval, but during the hunt grows to respect their noble courage, and decides to help them.

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Plot Keywords:

cavalry | noble savage | poker game | cigar | whiskey | 

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Taglines:

Now the mightiest true adventure of all! Filmed by 6-time Academy Award winner John Ford...with a massive all-star cast!

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Genres:

Drama | History | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1964 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Long Flight

Filming Locations:

Janss Conejo Ranch, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Ford-Smith Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Joseph McBride's "Searching for John John", John Ford was urged to cast Richard Boone and Anthony Quinn as the Little Wolf and Dull Knife characters, as both had Native American blood. Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland, who were of Mexican descent, were cast instead.

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Goofs

The language used by the Cheyenne in this movie is not Cheyenne. It is Navajo. Cheyenne is an Algonquian language, whereas Navajo is Athabaskan (Na Dene), and they do not sound even remotely similar. This is explainable, however, by the fact that this film was shot on the Navajo Nation.

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Quotes

Secretary of the Interior: I can say that it amounts to the same thing. The smaller the reservations, the easier they are to guard. You let the Army have its way, and it
[the Indian reservations]
Secretary of the Interior: will end up the size of postage stamps. Exactly what the land grabbers want.

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Alternate Versions

The original premiere, in Cinerama, ran a full 170 minutes. The film was cut by fifteen minutes following this premiere. The missing 15 minutes is presumed lost forever (check your attics). The only version now available is a VHS that runs around 155 minutes.

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Connections

Edited into Film socialisme (2010)

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Soundtracks

The Yellow Rose of Texas
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played on the banjo during the saloon

User Reviews

A Liberal Film - But That's Not The Problem

This is probably the wrong place to discuss the plight of the indigenous population of North America but there's no denying the Native American has got a raw deal over the last couple of hundred years and watching CHEYENNE AUTUMN you're left in no doubt whose side John Ford is taking . Wouldn't it have been so much better then if Ford had actually cast Native Americans to play the Cheyenne characters in the movie instead of latino actors ? Of course you can't say Ford was guilty of hypocrisy in doing this , in 1972 Marlon Brando sent an Indian women to collect his best actor Oscar in protest at the plight of the native population of North America . Only thing is that she wasn't an Indian at all she was of Italian descent . Same as the tear stained Indian chief in the legendary advert from the 1970s who weeps when he sees the litter the white man has left in his country - He wasn't an Indian at all he was an Italian American . Say what you like about Kevin Costner but at least he had the decency to cast red Indians in his liberal study of American tribes in DANCES WITH WOLVES

I shouldn't be too hard on Ford since this was typical of film makers at the time , it didn't matter if you were Hispanic , Jewish or black you could still pass as a redskin . Hell if you were a white European by ethnicity you could still play an Indian , you'd just have to put on some brown make up and viola you're Chief Running Horse . No my criticism of this movie isn't to do with the portrayal of American tribes , it's all to do with a totally unfocused screenplay . There we are watching the white man stabbing the noble Indian population in the back once again , the Cheyenne have to trek across the desert plains then for some reason which is unknown to anyone except the producers the story cuts to Dodge City with the hopelessly miscast James Stewart and Arthur Kennedy playing Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday . Serious historical academics will also have a problem recognising these real life characters while the rest of the audience will wonder if this th same movie they were watching 20 minutes ago . Then we cut back to the Cheyenne trek again as we're left to wonder what the heck the Dodge City segment had to do with this aspect of the story

CHEYENNE AUTUMN isn't a total loss . I'll repeat it does take the side of the Indians and refreshingly humanizes them and Ford deserves some credit in not casting John Wayne in Richard Widmark's role and like most of Ford's films the cinematography is breath taking but the movie comes crashing down due to the screenplay that seems to have two entirely different stories within its pages