Buffalo Bill (1944)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Æneas MacKenzie (screenplay) &
Clements Ripley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

April 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Western

Plot:

The story of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, legendary westerner, from his days as an army scout to his later activities as owner of a Wild West show.

Plot Keywords:

Scout | Wild West | Sideshow | Fight | Banquet

Cast

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
Moroni Olsen	...	Senator Frederici
Frank Fenton	...	Murdo Carvell
Matt Briggs	...	General Blazier
George Lessey	...	Mr. Schyler Vandervere
Frank Orth	...	Sherman - Shooting Gallery Owner

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Norway:A | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #9533)

Filming Locations:

Crow Indian Reservation, Montana, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Much of Cody's life as depicted in the film was true: He did fight to the death with Chief Yellow Hand and he did receive the Congressional Medal of Honor (although it was rescinded in 1917 because he was not in the army); his son, Kit Carson Cody, did die (but of scarlet fever, not diphtheria); his wife (not the daughter of a senator) had three other children.

Quotes:

Sgt. Chips: I've been waiting for you. Somebody has written you a letter.
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: Who, me?
Sgt. Chips: That's right, my boy. Who in the world would be writing to you?
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: I don't know, but if you give me the letter, I'll find out.
Sgt. Chips: You'll get yours in your proper turn. The mail is delivered according to rank. And there's plenty ranker than you!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Hail to the Chief

Cavalry-Indian battle at War Bonnet Gorge

This film is a hidden gem in western film lore and has fine work by Joel McCrea in the title role. The movie has great color and scenery, a fine cast, a great battle scene, and genuinely poignant moments. The random slaughter of buffalo is the spark that sets off a powder keg that explodes with Indians going on the warpath to drive the white invaders from their hunting grounds. The thrilling clash of red and blue at War Bonnet Gorge is perhaps the best ever filmed by any major studio on any level. The fight symbolized the struggle of two cultures and a way of life that the Indians fought desperately to preserve. The soldiers and Indians are a blur in a savage mixture of military conflict that forever broke the resistance of the Plains Indians to westward expansion. Maureen O'Hara is pretty as Mrs. Cody and Thomas Mitchell does well in his role as Ned Buntline.