weezeralfalfa Out of the ordinary western in that Native American-European conflicts are told mostly from the former's point of view. However, there is a fictional European narrator who steps in periodically. He is former Major Twist(John Lund), who spends considerable time with the Lakota Sioux after they nurse him back to health after being nearly fatally wounded by a Shoshone arrow in the back. As you would expect from such a film that borders on a documentary treatment, humor is virtually non-existent, and the dialogue and acting tend to be a bit stiff. This is all about the doomed desperate struggle for survival of the northern plains Native American's free roaming way of life. We only have the striking-looking Suzan Ball as Little Fawn/Black Shawl: Crazy Horse's girlfriend, then wife, to provide a bit of respite from the serious goings on.Although the story sticks to the facts much more so than most Hollywood films of this era with purported biographies to tell, inevitably, some aspects are fictionalized. For example, the Fetterman massacre is portrayed as a conflict resulting from the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. Historically, it was actually related to a prior gold rush in the Virginia City, MT area, back during the late Civil War and early post-war period, about a decade before the Black Hills gold rush. The subsequent important dramatized treaty of Fort Laramie was the culmination of this war period, when Red Cloud was the top Lakota chief. Also, the skirmish at Rosebud, which occurred only a week before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, was more of a stand off than depicted. As in most western films, the important role of cooperating Native Americans in many of the cavalry victories goes unsung. In this engagement, numerous Crow and Shoshoni: traditional enemies of the Lakota, were included in Crook's force, and are said to have been critical in averting a massacre similar to that suffered by Fetterman's patrol. In the final scene, where C.H. is trying to escape, after learning that he has been deceived, rival Little Big Man is shown bayoneting him in the kidney, thus concluding a long-standing animosity which the film dramatizes. Historically, this rival actually grabbed C.H., who was then bayoneted by a soldier.Some may be disappointed that the Battle of the Little Big Horn is glossed over with just a shot of charging 'Indians', then of the foreboding sky overhead, then the strewn-about cavalry bodies. Of course, other films had or would concentrated on this incident in detail. Thus, it was better to spend time on less well known aspects of C.H.'s life.It's apparently true that, like Wyatt Earp and George Washington, C.H. seemed to defy the odds of being killed or even wounded in battle, in an era when the enemy usually focused on killing the lead chief, knowing that this usually caused the whole war party to soon disintegrate.The film fails to make the point that, as a child, C.H. stood out physically: being unusually light skinned and with brown curly hair. This probably was significant in fostering the notion that he would become someone special....C.H. was named after his father and grandfather(not as told in the film). But, in the film, his father is given the name meaning 'worm'! That's true! When his father decided his son had earned the right to be called by an adult name, he transferred his name to him, adopting this seemingly self-deprecating name for himself.Victor Mature was a good choice to play C.H., with his swarthy Mediterranean looks, gift for profound speeches, and proved track record as a leading man in a variety of roles. The other key Lakota leaders were also played by Europeans, as was typical of this era....Interestingly, Mature starred in another film that same year : "The Last Frontier", which also included the Fetterman massacre, although it wasn't acknowledged as such. Mature was on the European side in that one. The beautiful Suzan Ball, cousin of Lucie Ball, was OK as Little Fawn/Black Shawl, which was the real name of C.H.'s main wife. This was her last film of about half a dozen, before dying from cancer at the advanced age of 21. One leg had been amputated in an unsuccessful effort to stem the cancer spread. Thus, a double was used when necessary to hide the fact that she had only one leg. With her darkish looks, she mostly played ethnics, including several 'Indian' maidens.The background music is often rousing, and the cinematography is great, mostly shot appropriately in the Black Hills, with its occasional bison herd. Directed by the veteran specialist in second feature and low budget films: George Sherman. All in all, a decent tribute to a courageous man clearly doomed in his lifelong quest to preserve his people's traditional free-ranging way of life.Little Big Man, who was a real Lakota adversary of C.H., should not be confused with the fictional person of the same name, featured in the film "Little Big Man", which is strongly based on the book of the same title.Presently viewable at YouTube

Tweekums This western tells the story of the eponymous Chief Crazy Horse from his childhood, to his leadership of the Lakota Sioux and finally on to his death. When we first see him he is a child watching on as a dying chief prophesies that one day a Lakota will unite the tribes and defeat the invading white men; he also says that ultimately that man will die at the hands of a fellow Lakota. The boy walks off and has a vision that leads him to believe that he may be the one the chief spoke of. The next time we see him he is an adult being attacked but three men from an enemy tribe; he kills all three of them and notices that the feathers on one of their lances are those from his vision. A short while later a woman in the tribe brings an injured white man, by the name of Twist, into their village; he recovers and becomes friends with Crazy Horse. Some time later Crazy Horse marries the woman which leads to his rival Little Big Man being expelled from the village and heading to the Army camp at Ft Laramie. Here traders see that Little Big Man possesses some gold; he says it came from their sacred burial grounds in the Black Hills. A treaty with the Lakota promised that no white men would attempt to enter their territory but the discovery of gold soon proved the value of that treaty. As prospectors entered the territory the army followed. They did not expect the Lakota to fight back effectively but under Crazy Horse's leadership they had several notable victories leading up to the famous rout where Custer's forces were annihilated at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Unfortunately the other chiefs assumed that this victory was the end of the war and headed off to hunt to fill their winter larders; inevitably they were picked off and either died or ended up in the reservations. Crazy Horse continued alone until his wife became ill then he too surrendered, not because he was defeated but because he knew that only the medicine at the fort could save her.This is an interesting film with many pros and cons; the most obvious con is the fact that all the key Lakota characters are played by white actors in make up; something that would almost certainly not happen today; however it is to the maker's credit that they told the story from the side of the Lakota at a time when most westerns depicted the Native population as antagonists holding up the 'progress of civilisation'. Once you get over the fact that the actors weren't Indian their performances are pretty good and the story was well told; when the battles occur they are low scale but fairly exciting... except for the Battle of Little Bighorn... here the camera just points away and shows us some ominous clouds for a while... I guess the producers couldn't afford to film such a big battle! No doubt a few liberties were taken with the facts but at least it was filmed in the Black Hills of South Dakota where the events portrayed took place eighty years before not in California like so many westerns. The photography looked great; it is just a pity that when it was on television it wasn't shown in its original Cinemascope format; I'm sure that would have looked even more impressive. While this isn't the best western I've seen I'd certainly recommend it to fans of the genre; it made such a refreshing change to see these events for the side of the Indians.

NewEnglandPat This fine western traces the life of the Sioux warrior, from the time when he received his vision as a boy, his battles against red and white enemies, and finishes with his betrayal and murder by a fellow Lakota. Victor Mature is good as the Lakota warrior who is one of the most tragic figures in western history. The film examines the petty disputes among the Indians who could not present a unified front in the face of white westward expansion, especially the rush to the Black Hills in search of gold. The film shows two of Crazy Horse's famous battles, the Fetterman and Rosebud engagements to good effect but the Custer fight gets only a brief mention and is glossed over almost as an afterthought. The widescreen CinemaScope is excellent and bathes the beautiful landscapes of the Black Hills and the Badlands with beautiful color. The music by Frank Skinner is a dramatic and heroic accompaniment to a fine film that pays tribute to a great American.

Sleepy-17 Typical for its time, this is a well-intentioned biography of (as it states) "one of America's greatest generals". Real Indians appear in the background, and, like they were in Ford films, they are great scene-stealers. Victor Mature, Ray Danton, and Suzan Ball are quite good. Better-than-average script, but the action scenes are only fair (it was not an expensive movie, and it seems that the violence, especially in Custer's last stand, is underplayed to accentuate War as a necessity and not a pleasure). Good Remingtonesque photography, filmed in the Black Hills.