Talk:Broken Arrow (1950 film)

Tom Jeffords fictional?
I notice the article refers to "a fictionalized Cochise and a fictional Tom Jeffords". This quote fromChronicle of the Cinema (cite below) would tend to refute that:

"Based on verifiable fact, it faithfully explores the historical relationship between Cochise and Jefford (sic), marking an historical rehabilitation of Indians in the cinema."

Karney, Robyn (ed.), Chronicle of the Cinema; London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995; ISBN 0-7894-0123-1, p. 400 --Chris 04:04, 4 July 2006 (UTC)


 * The film was an adaptation of the historical novel Blood Brother, which out of creative necessity had to create events and dialogue of dramatic interest.--Reedmalloy (talk) 00:39, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Sonseeahray
There was a real Sonseeahray as well. She appears as a character in George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Redskins. (Ron 21:10, 1 July 2007 (UTC))
 * just because the character is in another work of fiction, doesn't make her real. 67.176.160.47 (talk) 04:35, 26 March 2010 (UTC)


 * The article on the wedding prayer, includes - https://books.google.com/books?id=HZwBDetIsrIC&pg=PP11&q=%22Apache%20wedding%22 introduction : “There is no record of (Jeffords and an Apache girl) ever marrying, but… knowing the basically simple process of an Apache wedding, I have taken a writer’s liberty and imagined that such a wedding took place. The entire story of Jeffords and ... Sonseeahray is pure fiction and every detail of it was invented, against a known historical background." -- Beardo (talk) 01:45, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

Was there no comment about the age difference - or the girl's young age ? -- Beardo (talk) 01:46, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
 * This says the marriage never happened: https://truewestmagazine.com/article/from-blood-brother-to-broken-arrow/ 70.161.8.90 (talk)

Portrayal of indians
the article says this was the first major film to side with the Indians since WWII, this implies that there were other films before wwII that sided with some indians, does anyone know of any? 67.176.160.47 (talk) 04:38, 26 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree with you that there is a problem with that statement, but, contrary to you, I think there were too many westerns made from 2 September 1945 (WW2 end) until 21 July 1950 (Broken Arrow release) to portray the Indians in a positive light to say that Broken Arrow was the first. Those listed below are just a small, but representative, example:


 * Romance of the West (1946) – starring Eddie Dean and directed by Robert Emmett Tansey
 * Black Gold (1947) - the main character is Indian, played by Mexican Anthony Quinn
 * Oregon Trail Scouts (1947) – starring Allan Lane as Red Ryder
 * Fort Apache (1948) - one of the greatest westerns of all time, directed by John Ford, and falsly portrayed on Wiki as "one of the first [note - not only after WW2!!!] to present an authentic and sympathetic view of the Native Americans"
 * Indian Agent (1948) - with Tim Holt, directed by Lesley Selander; has some plot similarities with Broken Arrow
 * Ranger of Cherokee Strip (1949) – starring Monte Hale
 * The Cowboy and the Indians (1949) - with Gene Autry, directed by John English
 * There were also some films released in the same year as Broken Arrow, but later than July 21, such as:


 * Devil's Doorway - directed by Anthony Mann and starring Robert Taylor
 * North of the Great Divide – magnificent film starring Roy Rogers and directed by William Witney
 * I understand modern film historians (as well as 40s film critics) hated some of these films (such as those starring Autry or Rogers) and wouldn't label them as "major" (the modern historians would most probably be unfamiliar with them). However, for people actually having their day jobs and children/young adults, they were a major relief from the stress in their lives and were, as such, among the most popular films produced at the time.
 * Considering the question, there were dosens of pre-WW2 (and even some pre-WW1) films that showed Indians in a positive light, such as The Squaw Man from 1914, also the first film ever to be shot in Hollywood. StjepanHR (talk) 02:59, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Indian Wedding Blessing
Could be incorporated as a template, so readers looking for the source of this supposedly Apache "prayer" can see that it was just part of a movie screenplay. --Uncle Ed (talk) 18:23, 26 March 2010 (UTC)