An army sergeant comes across an arrow while on his way to a fort within Seminole territory. The sergeant is thrilled by the discovery, but is told by another member of the party that pretty soon, he'd be able to collect them from his back. That sets up the plot for this lighthearted and easy going western that top bills gorgeous redhead Maureen O'Hara over army officer Jeff Chandler, heading to the fort to make sure that the Seminoles and their rivals, the Kiowas, are kept in line. "Conquest in the face of the American army always seemed so civil", I once heard in an analysis of the American takeover of the west, and if the gentility of a birthday party filled with discussions of their determination to keep the natives down seems one sided and a re-write of the truth in history, then this movie gives its viewer to check out what facts exist for themselves.
What is good here is the efforts it shows between the peaceful Seminoles and the brutal Kiowa's. The script makes it clear that they only laid down their weapons was because of a treaty and promise of protection, although it's obvious how they lost their land. Suzan Ball is unbelievable as a Seminole maiden who is treated with kindness by O'Hara and only looks on her with contempt. O'Hara proves once again her ability to take on any man, here more verbally than physically, and certainly able to survive in the wilderness with the soul of any man without even cringing over the presence of a rattler found in her living room.
For the romantic story between Chandler and O'Hara, this is certainly worth watching, and for the beauty of the land, really stunning. It makes an effort, at least half heartedly, to treat the natives with compassion, but reminds me of the wicked past of a part of American history that doesn't put it in the shining light that the history books pretend to proclaim as necessary.
What is good here is the efforts it shows between the peaceful Seminoles and the brutal Kiowa's. The script makes it clear that they only laid down their weapons was because of a treaty and promise of protection, although it's obvious how they lost their land. Suzan Ball is unbelievable as a Seminole maiden who is treated with kindness by O'Hara and only looks on her with contempt. O'Hara proves once again her ability to take on any man, here more verbally than physically, and certainly able to survive in the wilderness with the soul of any man without even cringing over the presence of a rattler found in her living room.
For the romantic story between Chandler and O'Hara, this is certainly worth watching, and for the beauty of the land, really stunning. It makes an effort, at least half heartedly, to treat the natives with compassion, but reminds me of the wicked past of a part of American history that doesn't put it in the shining light that the history books pretend to proclaim as necessary.