Customer Reviews

Buffalo Bill [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well,so this Western biopic is wildly off from an historical point of view, but, nevermind, as entertainment it fills the bill and more. BUFFALO BILL is the kind of wholesome, patriotic film that fifty years ago provided solid good entertainment with good production values--and we kinda miss its kind today. McCrea never did a bad job of acting in any of his films, and here he keeps the action going, even when it becomes a bit desultory during the second half of the movie. He really is a pleasure to watch and hear...so easy in the saddle and with his lines. So, lay back and enjoy this film, and with family.

Rule #1 - If you want history, read a book.
William Wellman's BUFFALO BILL (1944) stars Joel McCrea as the western army scout Buffalo Bill Cody, hero of dime novels and owner and star of a legendary Wild West show. Two-thirds Hollywood hokum and one-third kind of accurate, it's nonetheless entertaining. What more can we ask from a movie?
The movie opens in an US army outpost somewhere on the western edge of the great plains. Cody acts as scout for the army, as well as liaison with a local Cheyenne tribe. Cody has been a friend of one of the tribes chiefs, Yellow Hand (Anthony Quinn), since they were children. In fact, the movie tells us, Cody saved his life and, as such things go in westerns, incurs a lifelong debt from the grateful Yellow Hand. (NB - The Yellow Hand character is based on a Cheyenne chief named Yellow Hair, who, after Custer's fateful trip up the Little Big Horn, Cody "shot, stabbed, and scalped in about five seconds." Yellow Hair (Hand) is a real character in the Buffalo Bill myth only because he was immortalized in an act in the Wild West show. The act was titled `Buffalo Bill's First Scalp for Custer.' Hardly a way to treat a childhood friend, even in the wild and wooly west.) Buffalo Bill and Yellow Hand do have a showdown scene in the movie, although it's rather honorable and, thankfully, scalping-free.
While an outpost scout Cody meets and marries Louisa Frederici (Maureen O'Hara), with whom he has a son. (The movie omits the fact that the real Buffalo Bill sued his wife for divorce in 1905... okay, I'll quit now. You get the idea.) While there he also meets the mellifluous pulp author Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell.) With newborn in tow and Buntline presumably back east creating a legend, Buffalo Bill is presented with his first great decision - the outpost is being abandoned and the soldiers are going to link up with a force in the Sioux Territory: Does Buffalo Bill leave the soldiers to grope their way north through hostile territory and probable slaughter, or does he abandon his wife and child to return east to civilization and safety alone?
If BUFFALO BILL plays a little fast and loose with the facts, its heart is in the right place. Its sympathetic to Yellow Hand's Cheyennes, presenting them as a people who are starved to violence by the wholesale slaughter of the buffalo. "The Cheyenne had no choice," Buffalo Bill says at one point. "It's a bad thing for a man to starve." It's not a sentiment you normally see in a western from 1944. Buffalo Bill does finally make it to the east, and we track his progress from the Astor House to command performances before the crowned heads of Europe.
Although it fails as history BUFFALO BILL is pretty entertaining. Joel McCrea had an easy-going screen persona that works well here, and the beautiful Maureen O'Hara is always a pleasure. Quinn does well (this was well before he began to seriously over-act), and Edgar Buchanan delivers as a crusty old calvary sergeant. The only anchor in the cast is poor, beautiful Linda Darnell as schoolmarm/Indian princess Dawn Starlight. Darnell was not a very strong actress, and her character is a bit of a mystery. She seems to bear an unrequited lover for Buffalo Bill, but it doesn't read right. All the dots don't connect with her character and it looks like some of her scenes, scenes which might have made sense of things, were left on the cutting room floor.
The print was in very good condition, and the colors were quite vibrant. High recommendation for this one, especially for fans of traditional westerns.

This is a good film for all ages indeed. Growing up in Stonewall, Texas (birthplace of Lyndon Baines Johnson), I remember seeing this film with my parents in the theatres when I was 15. The cast is perfect with heavy supporting players such as Anthony Quinn and Linda Darnell. So what lowers my rating by one star you ask? Well, the length. Although it couldn't be more that 100 minutes, there is slightly a tad less action than there is verbal communication and the picture sticks to the same theme too long (i.e. Buffalo Bill's friendship with the Cheyenne Indians). If only the dialouge was a little more fast paced, this film would be of more entertainment.

Yet as my headline reads, if you have not too much to do on a Saturday evening and feel like passing the time with a historic movie, watch this then.

If you buy this film expecting to see the pretty Linda Darnell in a worthy role, watch out! Though she's billed third, she's in, perhaps, 15 minutes tops as a sulking, jealous rival for Buffalo Bill's love interest (played by Maureen O'Hara). All I can say is that Linda must have been on someone's "you know what" list to have been demoted from headliner to such a small (and unnecessary) role. I love Maureen O'Hara and bought this DVD mainly due to reading about the film in her autobiography, "'Tis Herself". Joel McCrea is believable as Buffalo Bill and must have been on "loan" for the part (I can't imagine any of Fox's players at the time in this role). Not the best story line, still enjoyable. I would recommend this only if you are a fan of McCrea or O'Hara.

its a well done movie, good entertainment,Joel McCrea's a good actor, and I can't think of him doing a bad movie

How can you go wrong with a cast that includes Thomas Mitchell, Maureen O'Hara, Joel McCrea, Linda Darnell, Edgar Buchanan, and Anthony Quinn? Just Thomas Mitchell and Maureen O'Hara alone produced such great films as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939) "Black Swan" (1942), and "Immortal Sergeant" (1943)". But here in 1944 this talented group of actors made a B western that, over time, is more of a joke than a film. Imagine a stone faced Joel McCrea standing at attention while Anthony Quinn walks in, nearly naked as an Indian "prince" and McCrea raises his arm and says "How." How indeed. How did you great actors get yourselves into this mess is the real question!

Now imagine the two principal Indians as Linda Darnell (1923-65) and Anthony Quinn (1915-2001). Quinn, of course, was part Mexican (part Irish), and the truth is that at the start of his career he did indeed play an Indian in films like "Plainsman" (1936) and "They Died with Their Boots On" (1941). The beautiful Linda Darnell convincingly played a fiery latina in films like "The Mark of Zorro" (1940) and "Blood and Sand" (1941), but she is unconvincing as an Indian. Bosley Crowther remarked that Quinn was "mighty funny if you watch him too closely". Funny indeed!

Of course, in defense of "Buffalo Bill", the old Hollywood was a place where 40 year old women played teenagers, white people painted their faces black, and just about anyone could end up playing an Indian, a Mexican (Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston) or an Asian (Paul Muni, Boris Karloff, Warren Oland, Peter Lorre).

So "Buffalo Bill" probably didn't appear as silly in its time as it does today. The closing scene, where a boy rises on his crutches to say "God bless you Buffalo Bill" (or did he say "God bless you one and all") probably didn't appear as corny then as it does now.

Buffalo Bill has been portrayed several times in film, beginning in the silent era and there is even a filmed appearance of Bill himself in 1917, the year he died. Among the notable performances - James Ellison in "The Plainsman" (1936), Charlton Heston in "Pony Express" (1953), Paul Newman in "Buffalo Bill and the Indians" (1976), Brian Keith in "Wind Walker" (1993), and Keith Carradine in "Wild Bill" (1995). Clayton Moore played him twice - in 1938 and again in 1952.

Bosley Crowther called it "a colorful film" but said it contained "oddly inconsequential stuff". Maureen O'Hara herself said "Critics mostly panned the film" and "I don't feel Joel McCrea was tough enough..."

The film is not without merit. The early Technicolor is beautiful. William Wellman's handling of the action scenes is exciting. And Buffalo Bill has lots of good things to say about the Indians and their mistreatment along with the economic incentives at work to undermine their culture. Coming in 1944, this is certainly exceptional at a time when most westerns still portrayed the Indian as a savage.

(PS - there are several clips in the middle of the film that look as if they were taken from another film. It shows a northeast landscape and the color is not coordinated with the rest of the film. I have no verification of this fact, but it looks copied from elsewhere, which was not uncommon in those days)

20th Century Fox presents "BUFFALO BILL" (1944) (90 min/Color) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Well played by Joel McCrea, Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody is first seen as an army Indian scout, pursuing peaceful coexistence despite the animosity of Chief Yellow Hand (Anthony Quinn) and the obstruction of anti-Indian politicians --- He also takes time out to court the lovely Louisa (Maureen O'Hara), the well-bred Eastern girl who will become his wife despite her initial distaste for the West --- Under the tutelage of impresario Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell), Cody follows up his military career with a more spectacular one as a larger-than-life showman, touring throughout the world with his spectacular Wild West show.

As director John Ford put it: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

Under the production staff of:
William A. Wellman [Director]
Æneas MacKenzie (screenplay)
Clements Ripley (screenplay) and
Cecile Kramer [Screenwriter]
Frank Winch [Story]
John Larkin [Screenwriter]
Harry Sherman [Producer]
Darryl F. Zanuck [Exectuvie Producer]
David Buttolph [Original Film Music]
Leon Shamroy [Cinematographer]
James B. Clark [Film Editor]

BIOS:
1. William A. Wellman [Director]
Date of Birth: 29 February 1896 - Brookline, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 9 December 1975 - Los Angeles, California

2. Joel McCrea
Date of Birth: 5 November 1905 - South Pasadena, California
Date of Death: 20 October 1990 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

3. Maureen O'Hara [aka: Maureen FitzSimons]
Date of Birth: 17 August 1920 - Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland (now Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland)
Date of Death: Still Living

the cast includes:
Joel McCrea - William Frederick 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
Maureen O'Hara - Louisa Frederici Cody
Linda Darnell - Dawn Starlight
Thomas Mitchell - Ned Buntline
Edgar Buchanan - Sergeant Chips McGraw
Anthony Quinn - Chief Yellow Hand

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 90 min on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox ~ (05/24/2005)

Please note that I saw this movie on HBO so I can't comment on the video transfer or its features.

As other reviewers here have noted, this movie plays fast and loose with the facts, but it's entertaining and enjoyable to watch. McCrea was a good choice for the character of Buffalo Bill Cody, a no-nonsense, easy-going but courageous Indian scout and frontiersman whose exploits were much celebrated during his day in dime novels and in the newspapers. Frontiersman like him, and also Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, John Colter, Wild Bill Hickok, and others, became legends in their time as they pushed back the frontiers and fought the Indians.

All the supporting actors did a fine job with their roles, including Edgar Buchanan as an old army sergeant, and Jane Darnell as the Indian schoolteacher who seems to have a thing for Buffalo Bill although this doesn't really get developed.

The movie follows Bill through his various adventures and exploits, the most important being the battle at War Bonnet pass where he killed the Indian chief Yellow Hand. There's a long lead-up to this event, though, as the movie follows Bill's interactions with the local Indians and the townspeople. But after this event, the movie takes a distinctly different turn as Bill travels back to Washington and gets involved in the quagmire of Indian politics in the capital. Bill's life takes a downward turn at this point as he runs out of money and is forced to support himself as a carnival side show act demonstrating his amazing shooting skills. Perhaps from this experience he gets the idea to form his own Wild West Show, which is shown as traveling not only the U.S. but abroad as well and is a huge success.

One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is how it goes to great pains to show the Indians in a positive light, often portraying them as honorable, reasonable, and decent people, compared to the greedy and dishonest white man who simply wants to defraud the Indians of their land. Bill is often seen commenting on how admirable he finds the Indians in many ways and he usually takes their side in their disputes with the white man. If true this is an interesting comment on his character.

Overall a decent movie and unusual in how positively it portrays the Indians and how negatively it portrays the white culture. The color is also still quite vibrant which adds to the visual appeal of the movie.

A wagon, heading towards a fort, attacked by Indians. Riding to the rescue, rifle blazing, is Buffalo Bill Cody (Joel McCrea). Among those saved, Senator Frederici (Moroni Olsen) and his daughter Louisa (Maureen O'Hara). Louisa raves on a bit about the "savages", but Bill corrects her, suggesting that they attack the wagons crazed with whiskey - which the white man provided. This nicely sets the stage for the moral attitude of the film - that Buffalo Bill is a man caught between the worlds of civilization and nature, and that he understands and respects the Indian, is saddened by what has been done to him - even while he knows that his duty is to help further the cause of westward expansion.

This is a pretty well done large-scale, expensive Technicolor western - made at a time when only a couple of westerns per year were in color. There's a lot of location shooting (in Montana and Utah), and several of the sequences involve quite large numbers of extras - the large battle between the cavalray and the Cheyenne at the end is pretty spectacular. But ultimately it's the tale of one man who becomes famous but initially rejects it, whose heart is always being torn - between doing his duty for his country in leading the cavalry to head off the Cheyenne at Powder River, for which he received a Medal of Honor, and between fame and fortune in New York after establishing his Wild West show, and a quieter life at home in the west. The cast is pretty solid, and McCrea brings some real poignancy to his portrayal, even if there's probably not a lot of historical truth to it. Thomas Mitchell is along to play the sardonic newspaperman who helps put Bill into the public spotlight, and Edgar Buchanan is old-timer Sgt "Chips" McGraw, a somewhat more serious role than what he often played

What's probably most memorable and interesting about the film today is the relatively complex portrayal of Bill's - and the nation's - relationships with the Indians. It's not surprising that the two principal native roles are played by whites - Anthony Quinn as Bill's childhood friend and eventual enemy Chief Yellowhand, and Linda Darnell as the rather superfluous and underdeveloped schoolteacher Dawn Starlight, whose loyalties are torn between her people and her obvious (if never stated or explored) attraction to Bill. In the end, certainly stereotypes abound (the raised hand and "How" in greeting, the pidgin English, etc) and we get little sense of the Indians as human beings, of their culture; but the fact that Bill is presented as championing their cause at times - and regretting when he has to fight them, always - and that the film makes no bones about the treaties being broken by the white man while the natives have tried to honor them, certainly gives it a more progressive stance than many westerns of the time.

Most of the action of the film takes place in 1872 or thereabouts, though as I said it plays fast and loose with history; if I'm not mistaken, for example, the film conflates the Powder Creek battle for which Cody received is MOH with the Warbonnet Creek incident from four years later, after Custer's last stand. In any case, it's this "western" part of Cody's career, the beginning of his marriage, and the showdown with the Cheyenne that is the concern here; the formation of the Wild West show and Bill's later career is treated as an afterthought, but it is to the film's considerable credit that we can well imagine what went into those shows, and Cody's moral purpose in showing the public the "real" west - certainly whitewashed in this film, which does tread a little too close to hagiography at times - is clearly evident. Whether it really happened like that or not is beside the point; this is the larger-than-life Bill, and as such it's a solid piece of work.

Although historically inept, the movie has a fine empathetic performance by Joel McCrae, and a surpisingly sympathetic view of Native Americans. Well made, briliant color and epic scope it is a fine addition to anyone's Western collection. Just don't believe anything in it.