Cheyenne Autumn
1964  NR  WESTERN  2h 34min
CAST— Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Delores Del Rio, Sal Mineo, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Kennedy, Patrick Wayne, Elizabeth Allen, Victor Jory, John Carradine, Mike Mazurki, John Qualen, George O’Brien
MUSIC— Alex North  DIRECTOR— John Ford

     Director John Ford’s last Western tale is a good one, maintaining the elements of heartfelt drama and rip-roaring action throughout. After the U.S. Armed Forces have taken the Native Americans from their homeland they’ve been confined in reservations— prison-like encampments lorded over by the U.S. Army. With no medicine for their sick, few rations for their bellies, a tribe of Cheyenne Indians feel that enough is enough and simply walk free of their encampment; their goal: their homeland, which had been theirs for generations, until the white man came, that is. The road will not be easy; after crossing the border of the reservation the Cheyenne become fugitives, under no protection from the U.S. government. Throughout their arduous trek through the wilderness they face death at the hands of various regiments of the U.S. Cavalry, murderous thugs, and debilitating starvation. This certainly is not the most chipper of Ford’s films but it certainly leaves an impact. The only flaw is James Stewart (believe it or not) as a gambling couldn’t-care-less Wyatt Earp in a semi-comical scene halfway through the picture. His character and demeanor seem to be from another film entirely. The only time one may wish that Jimmy would have just stayed out of Monument Valley.
OUR RATING— ***