Pawnee (film)

Last updated

Pawnee
Pawnee poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by George Waggner
Screenplay byGeorge Waggner
Louis Vittes
Endre Bohem
Produced by Jack J. Gross
Philip N. Krasne
Starring George Montgomery
Bill Williams
Lola Albright
Francis McDonald
Robert Griffin
Dabbs Greer
CinematographyHal McAlpin
Edited byKenneth G. Crane
Music by Paul Sawtell
Production
companies
Gross-Krasne Productions
Hilber Productions
Distributed by Republic Pictures
Release date
  • September 7, 1957 (1957-09-07)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Pawnee is a 1957 American Western film directed by George Waggner and written by George Waggner, Louis Vittes and Endre Bohem. The Trucolor film stars George Montgomery, Bill Williams, Lola Albright, Francis McDonald, Robert Griffin and Dabbs Greer. The film was released on September 7, 1957, by Republic Pictures. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

Pale Arrow was orphaned as a boy and raised as the son of the Pawnee Chief, Wise Eagle. Now an adult, Pale Arrow witnesses his fellow braves attack a wagon driven by two people who are trying to rejoin the rest of a wagon train passing through Pawnee land. Pale Arrow rescues the two individuals and returns them safely to their comrades. Subsequently, he and Wise Eagle come to an agreement whereby Pale Arrow will see if he is able to return to his roots as a white settler. He takes the name Paul Fletcher and becomes a scout for the wagon train. Wise Eagle wants to live in peace with white people but, upon his death, Crazy Fox becomes Chief and stirs up a desire for war in the Pawnee. Paul Fletcher/Pale Arrow is caught between these two worlds and must choose one when it becomes clear the wagon train is about to be attacked.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pawnee people</span> Indigenous people of the Great Plains

The Pawnee are a Central Plains Indian tribe that historically lived in Nebraska and northern Kansas but today are based in Oklahoma. They are the federally recognized Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, who are headquartered in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Their Pawnee language belongs to the Caddoan language family, and their name for themselves is Chatiks si chatiks or "Men of Men".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powder River Expedition (1865)</span>

The Powder River Expedition of 1865 also known as the Powder River War or Powder River Invasion, was a large and far-flung military operation of the United States Army against the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians in Montana Territory and Dakota Territory. Although soldiers destroyed one Arapaho village and established Fort Connor to protect gold miners on the Bozeman Trail, the expedition is considered a failure because it failed to defeat or intimidate the Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Montgomery (actor)</span> American actor (1916–2000)

George Montgomery was an American actor, best known for his work in Western films and television. He was also a painter, director, producer, writer, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman. He was married to Dinah Shore and was engaged to Hedy Lamarr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dabbs Greer</span> American actor (1917–2007)

Robert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American character actor in film and television for over 60 years. With nearly 100 film roles and appearances in nearly 600 television episodes of various series, Greer may be best remembered as series regular Mr. Jonas in Gunsmoke, as Coach Ossie Weiss in the sitcom Hank, and as series regular Reverend Robert Alden in Little House on the Prairie. Greer is probably better known to later audiences for his final film role as the 108-year-old Paul Edgecomb, the character played by Tom Hanks in 1999's The Green Mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted Tail</span> Sichangu ("Brulé") Sioux chief (1823–1881)

Spotted Tail was a Sichangu Lakota tribal chief. Famed as a great warrior since his youth, warring on Ute, Pawnee and Absaroke (“Crow”), and having taken a leading part in the Grattan Massacre, he led his warriors in the Colorado and Platte River uprising after the massacre performed by John M. Chivington's Colorado Volunteers on the peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho camping on Sand Creek, but declined to participate in Red Cloud's War.

<i>Rawhide</i> (TV series) American Western television series

Rawhide is an American Western television series starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood. The show aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965 before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until December 7, 1965, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes. The series was produced and sometimes directed by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of Gunsmoke. The show is remembered by many for its theme song, "Rawhide".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Brewster</span> American actress (1931–1991)

Diane Brewster was an American television actress most noted for playing three distinctively different roles in television series of the 1950s and 1960s: confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in the Western Maverick with James Garner; pretty young second-grade teacher Miss Canfield in Leave It to Beaver; and doomed wife Helen Kimble in The Fugitive. Brewster was a direct descendant of William Brewster, a Pilgrim and Governor of the Plymouth Colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Reed (actor)</span> American actor (1916–2001)

Walter Reed was an American stage, film and television actor.

<i>The Way West</i> (film) 1967 film by Andrew V. McLaglen

The Way West is a 1967 American Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark. The supporting cast features Lola Albright, Jack Elam, Sally Field and Stubby Kaye. Ostensibly based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by A. B. Guthrie, Jr., the film is a drama about a band of settlers traveling by covered wagon train to Oregon in 1843. It includes on-location cinematography by William H. Clothier. Sam Elliott made his feature film debut as an uncredited Missouri townsman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Gaye</span> American actress (1935–2016)

Leslie Gaye Griffin, better known as Lisa Gaye, was an American actress and dancer.

<i>Custers Last Stand</i> (serial) 1936 American film

Custer's Last Stand is a 1936 American film serial based on the historical Custer's Last Stand at the Little Bighorn River. It was directed by Elmer Clifton, and starred Rex Lease, William Farnum and Jack Mulhall. It was produced by the Poverty Row studio Stage & Screen Productions, which went bust shortly afterwards as a victim of the Great Depression. This serial stars many famous and popular B-Western actors as well as silent serial star Helen Gibson playing Calamity Jane, Frank McGlynn Jr. as General Custer, and Allen Greer as Wild Bill Hickok.

<i>Westward Ho the Wagons!</i> 1956 film by William Beaudine

Westward Ho the Wagons! is a 1956 American Western film starring Fess Parker and Kathleen Crowley and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Based on Mary Jane Carr's novel Children of the Covered Wagon, the film was produced by Bill Walsh, directed by William Beaudine, and released to theatres on December 20, 1956 by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The supporting cast features Mouseketeer Cubby O'Brien, Jeff York, Sebastian Cabot, David Stollery, and George Reeves.

<i>The Eleventh Hour</i> (1962 TV series) American TV medical drama series (1962–1964)

The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging and Ralph Bellamy, which aired on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.

<i>The Indian Fighter</i> 1955 film by André de Toth

The Indian Fighter is a 1955 American CinemaScope and Technicolor Western film directed by Andre de Toth and based upon an original story by Robert L. Richards. The film was the first of star Kirk Douglas's Bryna Productions that was released through United Artists. The film co-stars Elsa Martinelli, Walter Matthau, Kirk Douglas's ex-wife Diana Douglas and Walter Abel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service</span> Award

The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the United States Secretary of Defense to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department of Defense as a whole, or a DoD Component or function, where recognition at the component level would not be sufficient for the service rendered.

Code 3 is an American crime drama that aired in syndication in 1956 and 1957. The stories were all based on actual files of the Los Angeles sheriff's office.

<i>Davy Crockett, Indian Scout</i> 1950 film by Lew Landers

Davy Crockett, Indian Scout is a 1950 American Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring George Montgomery and Ellen Drew. Wartime hero Johnny McKee had a small role in the film, as did Jim Thorpe. The film was shot at the Motion Picture Centre, with filming commencing June 1948. Much of the footage was taken from the 1940 film Kit Carson, starring Jon Hall, Dana Andrews, and Clayton Moore.

<i>Oregon Passage</i> 1957 film by Paul Landres

Oregon Passage is a 1957 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Paul Landres and starring John Ericson, Lola Albright, Toni Gerry and Edward Platt. Its plot follows a clash between an army lieutenant and Shoshoni natives in the Cascade Mountains region of Oregon in 1871. It is based on the novel by Gordon D. Shirreffs.

The Pawnee capture of the Cheyenne Sacred Arrows occurred around 1830 in central Nebraska, when the Cheyenne attacked a group from the Skidi Pawnee tribe, who were hunting bison. The Cheyenne had with them their sacred bundle of four arrows, called the Mahuts. During the battle, this sacred, ceremonial object was taken by the Pawnee. The Cheyenne initially made replica arrows but also tried to get the originals back. They recovered one from the Pawnee directly, either given to them or taken by them, and a second was captured by the Lakota and returned to the Cheyenne in exchange for horses. The two corresponding replicas were ceremonially returned to the Black Hills, where the arrows were traditionally believed to have originated. Eventually the bundles were re-established and the societies and their ceremonies continue into the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Griffin (actor)</span> American film and television actor

Robert Griffin was an American film and television actor. He appeared in over 100 films and television programs, including Gunsmoke in 1957, and was known for playing the role of Doc Wardrobe in the 1956 film The Brass Legend.

References

  1. "Pawnee (1957) - Overview". TCM.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  2. Hal Erickson (2015). "Pawnee - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  3. "Pawnee". Afi.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.