Spikeopath Buffalo Bill is directed by William A. Wellman and collectively written by Aeneas MacKenzie, Clements Ripley, Cecile Kramer and Frank Winch. It stars Joel McCrea, Maureen O'Hara, Linda Darnell, Anthony Quinn, Thomas Mitchell and Edgar Buchanan. A Technicolor production out of 20th Century Fox, with music by David Buttolph and cinematography by Leon Shamroy. The Sioux and the Cheyenne must strike together. No history lessons to be learned here, just the core essence of one William F. Cody and his life trajectory is used for entertainment purpose. Which if history is not what you are after, makes this a grandish production worth spending time with. 99% of the pic is given to his time out on the ranges as a pioneer, his romance with Louisa Frederici, and his political movements. His move into the Wild West showmanship that he would become famous for, is sadly dealt with in what is little more than a coda at story's end. Damn the East! As the story arc moves into the Indian War territory, this lets Wellman show his skills as a constructor of action sequences. The Sioux and the Cheyenne have joined forces and in spite of the arrogant claims by the army suits that the War will be over in a week, it proves to be anything but that. The battle here is that of Warbonnet Creek (AKA: Hat Creek), and it's brilliantly crafted by Wellman and his team, the highlight of the pic for sure, and a merciful change in direction after previously we had witnessed some on screen Buffalo killings, which while not shying from the reality of that moment in history, is still upsetting and tough to watch. I don't hold with General Sherman that a good Indian is a dead Indian. Other notable tech accomplishments are attained by Buttolph and Shamroy's respective work, while Wellman continues his fine direction with some nifty locomotive sequences. Acting wise the performances are just about good enough. McCrea and Quinn as Buffalo Bill and Yellow Hand (AKA: Yellow Hair) respectively, have the required amount of machismo and emotional fortitude to make the roles work, and crucially they convince in action scenes. O'Hara and Darnell get poorly written roles, but both are radiantly beautiful and costumed up to the nines, whilst Mitchell and Buchanan are solid as usual. Lively, colourful, emotional and fanciful, good entertainment for the Western movie lover, but maybe not the Western purists. 7/10

oldblackandwhite Buffalo Bill Cody was portrayed in many movies by many actors, but none has ever captured the look and character as well as Joel McCrea in 20th Century Fox's 1944 Technicolor spectacle Buffalo Bill. Tall, arrow-straight, broad-shouldered, soft-spoken McCrea is simply the embodiment of the famous Indian scout and world renowned showman. Along with the under-rated actor, himself, credit Fox's casting department, tough action director William Wellman, and perhaps most to costumer Rene Hubert. There a many photos of Bill Cody, including a couple from when he was still an unknown Army scout, and Hubert's outfits match them right down to the Indian leggings. But most of all credit whomever -- Wellman, Hubert, or McCrea, himself, decided he had to have a large mustache, goatee and long hair, like the real-life character. This was a harder decision at the time than it may seem to the modern generation. The 1940's was a closely barbered, clean-shaved generation of men. To them, and their women, having a beard or even a mustache bigger than an eyebrow, made a man look like his grandpa. Anathema to a leading man, surely! But there was McCrea with the realistic Cody facial hair. No doubt the decision was heavily influenced by the fact that so many people living in the 1940's had actually seen the real Buffalo Bill, who lived until 1917.This is a lively and well-produced western with a top cast, including McCrea, gorgeous Maureen O'Hara as Mrs. Cody, Linda Darnell as the prettiest Indian squaw who ever existed, Thomas Mitchell as Ned Buntline, Anthony Quinn as Yellowhand, backed up by Edgar Buchanan, Moroni Olsen, and a gang of other solid character actors, such as seemed to grow on trees in that golden era of Old Hollywood. Sumptuous three-strip Technicolor photographed by Leon Shamroy under the sure guidance of Technicolor Corporation's Czarina Natalie Kalmus, exciting battle scenes, rousing David Buttolph score, rich characterization, intelligent if at times heavy-handed script. Cody is idealized, but then so are the Indians, who were in reality not nearly so noble as the present politically correct generation would like to think. Nevertheless, the basics and the spirit of the story are there, and presented in a highly entertaining manner. That's all that counts in a movie.Buffalo Bill is a good show, and that, no doubt, would have been good enough for the real-life Buffalo Bill Cody!

JoeytheBrit The most noticeable thing about this fairly routine Western is its sympathetic portrayal of the native American – something of a rarity for a Hollywood film of the 40s. The white man is the villain here – or, more specifically, the white man from the East who is unfamiliar with both the culture of the Indians and their needs. Coming from New York in their droves, they decimate the buffalo population as part of a fashion fad and uncaringly leave the starving Indian nation with no option but to go to war. Despite this sympathetic portrayal, stereotypes still abound. Anthony Quinn plays the legendary Yellow Hand, one-time friend of Cody, who has been educated by the White Man but still talks in that curious pigeon-English so beloved of Hollywood film-makers. And for all the Indian's nobility, whiteness is still something to which Indian squaw Linda Darnell still aspires. It's difficult to understand why she is included in the plot because she has little to do other than gaze longingly at an oblivious Cody. Even the writers don't seem to know what to do with her and end up having her bizarrely taking part in a pitched battle between Indians and cavalry.Joel McCrea plays Buffalo Bill and he is as reliable and unspectacular as you would expect McCrea to be. Cody himself is something of a paradox. Initially friendly with the Indian he sacrifices his position in order to save the father of the Eastern lass he has his eye on (a radiant Maureen O'Hara) and then helps organise guided hunting trips to give witless city types the opportunity to take part in the orchestrated massacre of the buffalo (perhaps, then, a better title for him would have been Buffalo-killer Bill?). Having helped drive his old friend Yellow Hand's tribe to the edge of extinction he then deliberately baits the Indian chief into a battle to the death to buy himself some time when out-numbered by the combined forces of the Sioux and Cheyenne. Despite later railing against the 'civilisation' that has claimed the life of his son, Cody then embraces that culture and finds a niche within it as an entertainer, recreating his exploits in a travelling sideshow before the titled heads of the world. When you think about it, this isn't exactly the most admirable of people we're learning about here, and you're left feeling that the writers really hadn't given much thought to the overall impression they were trying to give of the man.Although the film overall is something of a dull affair it's lifted by some good action sequences and early use of technicolor.

taklasek I enjoyed watching the film "Buffalo Bill." Unfortunately close blood relations of Buffalo Bill were still living at that time, and they should have made an effort not to make errors.Louisa Frederici met Cody in Saint Louis, and served out the end of the war there planning on making her his bride. They were married in her father's home (John Frederici) on South 8th Street in Saint Louis. They left right away for a steamboat to Kansas. Her father did not go along, and was NOT a Senator.It is a fine film, and entertaining. When Bill Cody returned to the West in 1866 he was married! There was no Linda Darnell's character. Just once I would like for Hollywood to do an exact biography without changing the facts!I am a Frederici descendant. Terry Alan Klasek Saint Louis, Missouri