Broken Arrow

"The most powerful weapon is courage..."

1950 1h 33m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 229

WesternDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Indian scout Tom Jeffords is sent out to stem the war between the American settlers and Apaches in the late 1870s Arizona. He learns that the Indians kill only to protect themselves, or out of retaliation for white atrocities.

“The most powerful weapon is courage...”

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Cast

James Stewart
Tom Jeffords
Jeff Chandler
Cochise
Debra Paget
Sonseeahray
Basil Ruysdael
Gen. Oliver Howard
Will Geer
Ben Slade
Joyce Mackenzie
Terry
Arthur Hunnicutt
Milt Duffield
Robert Adler
Lonergan - Stage Driver (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Delmer Daves
Writers: Albert Maltz
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Cochise Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Delmer Daves, shot by Ernest Palmer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor J. Watson Webb Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Stewart and Jeff Chandler and Debra Paget carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most powerful weapon is courage...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0042286 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Delmer Daves directs. Ernest Palmer behind the camera. Hugo Friedhofer scores. J. Watson Webb Jr. cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

176 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Cochise Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Delmer Daves, shot by Ernest Palmer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor J. Watson Webb Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6James Stewart and Jeff Chandler and Debra Paget carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The most powerful weapon is courage...".
8IMDB entry: tt0042286 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ernest Palmer
Original score: Hugo Friedhofer
Editing: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Costume design: René Hubert
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $3,600,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Broken Arrow (1950)

Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Film Promoting International Understanding

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Cochise Collection

An informal trilogy of films in which Jeff Chandler portrays Cochise, an Apache leader during the 19th century.

Also by

Delmer Daves

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-18
★ 8/10
To talk of peace is not hard. To live it is very hard. As the war rages between the American settlers and the Apache, former soldier Tom Jeffords happens upon a young Indian wounded after an attack. Taking upon himself to aid the boy, it's not long before the Apache show up intent on killing Jeffords by way of the war instincts. Pleading for Jeffords' life, the boy manages to get him spared by the Apache chief, Cochise. It's the start of a friendship that may just bring and end to the war and peace across the west. Tho not the first "social" Western film made, Broken Arrow, it can be argued, is maybe one of the most important and telling genre films of the 50s. Showing humanist portrayals of the Apache and dealing out level headed tellings of the relationships between whites and the Native Americans, Delmer Daves' film is as relevant today as it was back on release. Adapted from Elliott Arnold's novel Blood Brother, the story follows Jeffords (a measured and fine James Stewart) as he attempts to broker peace between the warring factions. Firstly by convincing Cochise (Jeff Chandler bang on form) to allow the mail run thru the pass, something that brings suspicion and calls of Indian lover from Jeffords' own kind, and then to finally set up a peace pact at a time when violence and hatred was rife in the west. As the friendship between the two men grows, Jeffords and an Apache girl fall in love (beautiful Debra Paget as Sonseeahray), thus giving the story a further jolt of momentum. The screenplay then really hits its stride, as Daves and his crew pit peace and inter racial love against a backdrop of bloodshed and savagery. Never glossing over just how hard peace is going to be, Broken Arrow retains intelligence and a sensitivity even as breakaway factions from both sides (for example we see Geronimo split the Apache and form a renegade front) are intent on killing off the peace process. It even has time for deep emotional kickers to reinforce the point of just how tough and unlikely peace and tolerance can be sometimes. Broken Arrow was, and still is, a bold picture. In fact it can be argued that for the likes of Daves and Stewart, it was at the time very bold and risky career moves. But it paid off because the film stands up today as a picture of some distinction. It's themes and approach to its subjects are something that this generation, and all the future ones, will always find to be socially important. Boosted by Hugo Friedhofer's luscious score and taking advantage of the Lone Pine location shoot, Broken Arrow is a fine fine film that even non Western fans should be looking to absorb. 8/10
CinemaSerf2022-12-27
★ 7/10
If you're looking for a traditional cowboys and indians film, then this might not be for you. Sure, there are the odd confrontations between the ever expanding white man and the Apache braves, but this is essentially a more cerebral look at the efforts both sides made to find an enduring peaceful solution. After months of no stagecoach and mail getting through, a pretty lightweight James Stewart ("Tom Jeffords") decides to try to find a better solution to their problems than the stalemate series of skirmishes between the two sides. He learns some basic Apache and goes off in search of their leader Cochise (Oscar nominated Jeff Chandler). After the usual scepticism, the two men agree to let the mail run. From then on, their trust begins to grow and the story follows their determination to cement this arrangement; despite reservations and resistance from vested interests on both sides, whilst "Jeffords" falls hook, line and sinker for "Sonseeahray" (Debra Paget). It's a touch sentimental, and it over-simplifies the problems and the solutions of the factual elements of the history, but it's still an engaging watch with a tragic but fitting conclusion and some epic cinematography along with a decent screenplay from the blacklisted Albert Maltz (who is actually credited in the version I saw).