Of this motion picture the screen can be proud... Today... Tomorrow... A generation from now.

Starring: James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget, Basil Ruysdael, Will Geer, Joyce Mackenzie, Arthur Hunnicutt, Iron Eyes Cody, J.W. Cody

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"It is not easy to change, but sometimes it is required. The Americans grow stronger while we grow weaker. If a big wind comes, a tree must bend... or be lifted out by the roots." - Cochise

Why watch this? This was one of the first Westerns to show Native Americans in a positive light.

Plot Summary: In the American West, two men, one white and one Apache, choose to broker a fragile peace. The white man, Tom, is almost hanged for being a traitor, and the Chiricahua Apache Chief, Cochise, loses the allegiance of many warriors who opt to follow the angry Geronimo.

Dad's Preview: In most older Western films, Native Americans were portrayed as savage, evil, sub-human and a constant threat to any Caucasian who encountered them. This was by design because that is exactly how the great Western expansion (called Manifest Destiny) treated real Native populations. The performance that stands out is Jeff Chandler as Cochise. He was a Brooklyn-born, Jewish actor who garnered the Best Supporting Actor nomination. My Mom loved the handsome, sharp-featured hunk, who died at age 42 after complications from injuries sustained on a movie set.

20th Century Fox