War Arrow (1954)

PURE ENTERTAINMENT--NO MESSAGE AT ALL. ENJOY.

If you grew up in the 1950s as I did you will know that a movie such as WAR ARROW was made strickly for entertainment and garnering money for the studio. Don't look for a message, and that trite phrase "political correctness" did not exist back then.

This is a low budget movie with several stars of box office draw showing the "west" as Hollywood saw it. Yes, it is western history according to Hollywood and that 'west' was never the actual west. Don't attempt to make more of this DVD or less than it was and is: it was and is pure entertainment and that is it. If you don't like B-westerns then watch something else, however, if like me you grew up with these movies and enjoy revisiting old films you saw as a kid, then watch on. Many reviewers were not alive in the 1950s and have no idea whatever concerning the times or the movies that played at the local Bijou, and trust me, in the 1950s era westerns ruled. And WAR ARROW is no better, no worse, than most. And it was shot in good color, which many were not.

Semper Fi. June 12, 2008

Maureen O'Hara movies

This is a good movie for those out there putting a Maureen O'Hara movie collection together. The story moves along well and you might even recognize some other upcoming stars in supporting actor roles. The bottom line ? Maureen O'Hara looks great and has that "spark" that set her well ahead of the pack. March 19, 2007

All right! But not very imaginative...

"War Arrow" opens with major Jeff Chandler arriving at Fort Clark, Texas, and discovering that Colonel John McIntire openly opposes the government endorsed plan to make use of displaced Seminole Indians to stop the bloody Kiowa uprising on soldiers and settlers...

In fact, the only person at the fort who is friendly to Chandler is Maureen O'Hara, the attractive widow of Captain James Bannon...

All the action leads to a tidy end: Chandler discovers Bannon is very much alive (at least at the climax of the movie) and is really the renegade white chief of the Kiowas...

In the small assigned action-packed moments in this slight entrance, the pillaging Kiowas are totally controlled... For a rare change Maureen had some harsh competition in the fascinating department, which was supplied by Suzan Ball as the passionately sensual daughter of the Seminole chief...

The film is more of an excuse to show that excellent guys, always end up with excellent girls--even when the best guy resists authority and tries to match one tribe of Indians against another... All right! But not very imaginative... don't you think?

November 8, 2006

Entertaining Chandler/O'Hara Western

War Arrow is one of those Westerns that has fallen through the cracks over time. One reason is that there were so many of them. Another reason is that its male star, Jeff Chandler, was still in the early stages of superstardom before his untimely death in 1962. Another reason may be that War Arrow would never be considered one of the all-time great Westerns.

But War Arrow is also a very fun, entertaining Western with a great cast and top-notch execution. Chandler plays a cavalry officer sent to an outpost surrounded by besieging Kiowa Indians. Joined by fellow soldiers Charles Drake and Noah Beery, Chandler immediately annoys the fort's superior officer (played by John McIntire with his usual solid but natural acting style). Chandler accomplishes this by suggested that neighboring Seminole Indians would make a perfect weapon against the warring Kiowas.

Chandler also immediately becomes smitten with O'Hara, a widow of a recently killed cavalry soldier. O'Hara veers wildly from being madly in love with Chandler to being confused about being a widow in love so soon after her husband's death.

Chandler begins to train the Seminoles to fight, all the while realizing that McIntire is a rival for O'Hara's affections. Meanwhile, the Kiowas are working toward an attack on the fort.

The plot moves along crisply, with a number of nicely staged action pieces. Everyone does their job well and War Arrow is more than worth a Western-lover's time. March 2, 2006

Entertaining little oater....

Okay, this vehicle for Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler isn't top drawer; still, it's nicely entertaining and filled with rip-snorting action. Universal-International put a lot of good production values into their '50s Westerns, and their output with Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy, Rock Hudson, and even Rory Calhoun, is admirable. War Arrow has those good values, and some decent acting, as well. Not maybe in the league with NO NAME ON THE BULLET or CANYON PASSAGE or some of the other Universals of the period, but still worth the relatively inexpensive price charged. June 8, 2004

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