Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

ShangLuda Admirable film.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

classicsoncall The real life Bill Cody must have been quite the conflicted character. While revering the Indian way of life, he took part in the Indian Wars and led buffalo hunts that wound up decimating the country's massive herds of the animal, helping destroy the lives of many tribes. The dichotomy in Cody's (Joel McCrae) character is given resonance following the Battle of War Bonnet Gorge, when he comments on the terrible loss of life - "They were all my friends".For a while, I thought the introduction of Linda Darnell's character was intended as a romantic tease vying for Cody's affection for Miss Frederici (Maureen O'Hara), but that plot line wound up going nowhere. If Darnell's character name was mentioned in the story I had to have missed it, she's called Dawn Starlight on the credits page here.Same thing with Edgar Buchanan's character, the Cavalry Sergeant Chips McGraw. He wound up not really having a lot to do in the story, eventually learning he was dismissed from the Army after serving for thirty years. Talk about your slow postal service. One thing you'll only catch in this picture though, it's the only time I've ever seen Buchanan with a white handlebar mustache! As with most of these Western films of the era, there's not much to go by that's historically accurate, so the best thing to do is just settle back and enjoy it for what it is. McCrea seems to be unusually laid back in his role as the frontier hero, his best moments perhaps while dealing with Cheyenne war chief Yellow Hand (Anthony Quinn). But once again, any story that introduces Ned Buntline (Thomas Mitchell) as a character has to be taken with a grain of salt. He always did his best to sell newspapers and magazines, even if it meant streeeeetching the truth.

FightingWesterner William Cody finds himself caught between angry Indians and a stubborn US government, while finding time to romance Senator's daughter Maureen O'Hara. Meanwhile, old friend Anthony Quinn and sister Joan Blondell prepare for war with the white man and the inevitable confrontation with Bill Himself.While never boring, this is a fairly shallow biopic, with a dignified, laid back title performance by Joel McCrea. It benefits greatly by being filmed in blazing Technicolor, on some excellent, picturesque locations and by an animated performance by Anthony Quinn, though Blondell and her character are terribly wasted.The exciting, well-staged action scenes fare better than story scenes. Unfortunately, the action ends about thirty-minutes before the picture does, leading to some meandering near the end.

Tim Kidner This bright and cheery western has a great sense of the outdoors, helped by good colour cinematography and locations.William F Cody "Buffalo Bill" (Joel McCrea) as the legend tells us was an army scout who then later rescues a Senator and his beautiful daughter, who he marries. He also came to be firm friends with Yellow Hand, who later became chief of the Cheyenne. Cody takes the side of the Indians when modern 'civilisation' moves in over the plains where the buffalo grazed, wiping out both the beasts and the habitat. He later took his Spirit of the Wild West worldwide with his Show, for which he gained international notoriety.McCrea is OK as Cody and as others have said, Anthony Quinn, now, looks faintly ridiculous as Chief Yellow Hand. Then, as a relative unknown, I suppose this gross miscasting wouldn't have mattered as much. However, it is the beautiful Maureen O' Hara as Cody's wife who holds the interest for many, as her loveliness radiates through from the screen.It's also been said that this William A Wellman directed biopic is fictionalised and cannot be considered accurate. That aside, there's plenty of good fighting action, battles on horseback and plains where real buffalo roam. All in all, a modest little western that's quite watchable, if you take it for what it is.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) When this film was made, people were still in love with cars, freeways and bringing progress to the west. So it was quite an achievement to bring to the screen a divided hero, who from one side admired the Indian way of life, and who understood that the killing of the buffaloes would bring misery to the natives, but at the same time arranged buffalo hunts for people of the east, and as a scout helped the army fight the Indians. When he goes east and see stories written about him by Ned Buntline we know that it is impossible for him (as for any human being) to live up to them, and he is bound to end up in ridicule. People nowadays are more ecology conscious and that makes this film more meaningful than in 1944. The first part of the film shows the west and the war with the Indians with excellent battle scenes and great color. Maureen O'Hara is more beautiful than in any other film I've seen her and so is Linda Darnell. The second part is when Buffalo Bill goes east, and that is when the film is at its best.