Broken Arrow (TV series)

Broken Arrow is a Western television series that ran on ABC-TV in prime time from September 25, 1956, through September 18, 1960. .The show was based on the 1947 novel Blood Brothers, by Elliott Arnold, which had been made into a film in 1950, starring James Stewart as Tom Jeffords and Jeff Chandler playing as Cochise.

Synopsis


Broken Arrow was set in the 1870s. The main characters were Tom Jeffords, an Indian agent, and Cochise, an Apache Chief.

The program differed from other Westerns because Jeffords and Cochise were equal in stature and respected each other. They practiced tolerance of each other.

Cast

 * Tom Jeffords - John Lupton
 * Cochise - Michael Ansara
 * Duffield - Tom Fadden
 * Nukaya - Steven Ritch
 * Geronimo - Charles Horvath

Production
Mel Epstein was the producer; directors included Alvin Ganzer, and writers included Clark E. Reynolds. The show was filmed at 20th Century Fox Studios. The sponsor was General Electric's Appliance and Television Receiver Division. Broken Arrow initially was on Tuesdays from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern time. From April 1960 through the end of its run it was on Sundays from 7 to 7:30 p.m. E. T Reruns were shown on Sunday afternoons during the 1959-60 TV season. Its competition included To Tell the Truth on CBS and Dotto on NBC.

The pilot for Broken Arrow was broadcast on May 2, 1956, as an episode of The 20th Century Fox Hour. Lupton portrayed Jeffords, with Ricardo Montalban as Cochise and Anthony Caruso as Geronimo. The pilot included some stock footage that was used in the Broken Arrow film, and Lupton wore the costume that Stewart wored in that film. Use of the costume continued in the series.

Lupton said, "We've tried to stay as close to the book as possible." He added that at one point episodes began concentrating on Jeffords, but the original format was restored after the audience began to diminish.

Cochise was the name used for the series in syndication.

Critical response
Donald Kirkley wrote in The Baltimore Sun, "Broken Arrow is hitting the bulls-eye and setting a good example." Kirkley noted that "some soft-pedalling" occurred in adapting content from the book to the TV show, but he concluded, "It's a good story, and if it helps to give some viewers a new perspective on the Indian's version of our history, it will be doing an excellent service."

A review in the trade publication Broadcasting noted "obvious handicaps (and a too obvious plot)" and called Broken Arrow "a passable show". It said that Lupton's "appearance does not convey the rugged impression the job demands."