Broken Arrow (1950)
Broken Arrow is an excellent revisionist view of Native Americans. Long before Dances With Wolves, it argues that Indians are people worthy of respect, without engaging in too much preaching on the subject.
Army scout Tom Jeffords (James Stewart) rescues a young Apache wounded by cavalrymen. Though taken hostage, Jeffords is released by Chief Cochise (Jeff Chandler) after witnessing the ambush of white scalphunters. Jeffords is used as a go-between for the whites and Apaches to try and negotiate a peace: he befriends both General Oliver O. Howard (Basil Ruysdael), a deeply-religious military man, and Cochise, as well as falling for Apache girl Sonseeahray (Debra Paget). The two sides negotiate an uneasy peace, but it's interrupted by renegade Apache Geronimo (Jay Silverheels) and a gang of white racists led by rancher Ben Slade (Will Geer).
Along with the Nazis, Native Americans were the go-to villain for Classic Hollywood, faceless monsters to be exterminated by the forces of good. Aside from John Ford's Fort Apache (1948), few films acknowledged that the Indians were human beings, let alone had legitimate grievances against white expansion. Later films would overbalance the ledger, portraying Nazi-like cavalry slaughtering helpless Natives. Finding a middle ground is wrought with incredible difficulty, and bound to piss someone off.
It's to the immense credit of Daves and screenwriters Albert Maltz and Michael Blankfort (working on an Elliott Arnold novel) that they depict Cochise and his tribe as balanced, believable people. Cochise is a wise man but a stern ruler, befriending Jeffords and summarily executing disloyal tribesmen. We see the Apache as a noble and proud people, but also see their war-like side, ambushing mailmen and torturing hostages, and their internal dissent over the truce. The romance between Jeffords and Sonseeahray is sweet and tastefully handled. It's easily the most balanced portrait of Native Americans in Hollywood history.
By the standards of later revisionist Westerns - Cheyenne Autumn, Little Big Man - Broken Arrow is fairly tame. Manifest Destiny is criticized only implicitly. There is ample racism among Jeffords' white colleagues, but the noble General Howard represents the US government. The movie opts for an even-handed "both sides have extremists" view, true in an immediate sense but not indicative of the big picture. Not to sound like a bleeding heart liberal, but one side was actively working to expel a people from their land, and the other wasn't.
Still, enough films have made this point that Daves can be forgiven for foregoing it. Certainly the film's balanced portrayal is preferable is preferable to the preachiness of Cheyenne Autumn, Dances With Wolves, or (God forbid) Avatar. Daves's primary goal isn't to decry white colonialism, but to show Apaches as human beings, and at this he succeeds marvelously.
Daves handles a brilliant production, making full use of Ernest Palmer's striking Technicolor photography and beautiful Arizona and California locations. The movie deftly mixes plot and action, with excellent shootouts and battle scenes, and an epic scope balanced out by intimate character scenes. Maltz and Blankfort's script is mostly good, and Hugo Friedhoffer contributes a fine, sensitive score.
James Stewart gives one of his best performances here, a perfect mixture of tough and thoughtful. Jeff Chandler is equally strong, making Cochise a balanced, believable personage. Debra Paget is beautiful and sweet as Jefford's wife. The supporting cast is full of fine performances: Will Geer (Jeremiah Johnson), Arthur Hunnicut (El Dorado), Basil Ruysdael (Jubal), Jay Silverheels (The Lone Ranger), John War Eagle (The Man From Laramie).
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
In complete contrast to the previous film, 3:10 to Yuma is a claustrophobic psychological Western, modest in scale and dependent on suspense rather than action. Despite a weak ending, it's a wonderfully taut, tense and engrossing Western.
Charming outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) and his gang hold up a stagecoach and travel to Bisbee to cool off. While Ben gets frisky with a saloon girl (Felicia Farr), a posse including rancher Dan Evans (Van Heflin) traps and arrests him. Evans, his ranch suffering from drought, agrees to escort Wade to Contention and guard hum until the titular train to Yuma Prison arrives for $200. Trapped in a hotel room, the two engage in a battle of wits, as Ben tries to bribe, charm and threaten his way to freedom, while his gang lies in wait outside.
3:10 to Yuma is essentially a thriller in cowboy garb. The recent remake wasn't bad, but it substituted plot for rip-roaring action, turning the Dan-Ben showdown into a trite psychodrama. Daves keeps a strict focus: the suspense and drama comes from our two characters. Rather than looking for motivation, the film shows two archetypes: Ben, the masterful tempter, and Dan, the rigidly moral, hard-working rancher. It builds to a thrilling climax, with Dan and Ben navigating a street riddled with concealed gunmen, which is unfortunately damaged by an awkward, cop-out ending.
Daves's direction is much more modest than the previous film, but no less impressive. Outdoor scenes make fine use of crane shots and landscapes, but the real action is in the hotel room. Charles Lawton Jr. contributes excellent black-and-white photography, with brilliant use of lighting, shadows and smoke (particularly in the train-station finale). The movie is remarkably tense, and not one second of its 92-minute run time is wasted. George Duning contributes a quiet but effective score, with a fine title ballad by Frankie Laine.
Glenn Ford (Jubal) dominates the film. Ford puts his charming persona to wonderful effect, making Ben the perfect mixture of creepy and charming. Van Heflin (Shane) is fine, though overshadowed by his co-star. Richard Jaeckal (Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), Robert Emhart, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana and Henry Jones (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) give fine supporting turns.
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