Chief Crazy Horse

Very good account about the life of Chief Crazy Horse. Interesting that it was filmed on location with the cooperation of the Oglala Sioux people, many of whom were extras. Victor Mature gave a strong performance as Crazy Horse, conveying the man's strength and leadership. Ray Danton in his screen debut was convincingly sinister in his portrayal of the traitor, Little Big Man. One wonders why Danton did not have a successful career as an A List leading man onscreen. He certainly had the looks and acting skills. His starring role in "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond" in 1960 was masterful. Yet his acting career was mainly relegated to guest roles on dozens of tv shows. Suzan Ball, in her final performance, was captivating as the wife of Crazy Horse. She died the year the film was released, of cancer at the age of 21. She was very glamorous and a wonderful actress, who, like James Dean, no doubt would have had a long and distinguished career had she not been taken from us. It is interesting that details of Custer's Last Stand included Crazy Horse's plan for an ambush. Most historical accounts of the Battle at the Little Big Horn do not credit this and say it was a surprise attack. Also, Crazy Horse's death was realistically portrayed, showing the treachery of Little Big Man. Most historical writings leave details of the murder rather sketchy. I believe the film's account, as with their version of Little Bighorn, came from the Sioux, which would be a reliable source.

This movie is based on some historical facts about Crazy Horse, who is played as an adult by Victor Mature. I first saw this movie as a kid in the 60's and fell in love with it. However, seeing it years later as an adult, I noticed certain discrepancies, like none of the main characters were portrayed by Native people. My family is of Cherokee descent, so this was important to me. I also wondered why Susan Ball, although beautiful, looked so stiff. Victor Mature wasn't old when this was made, but he looked too old to play this character who was in his 30's when he died. Honestly, the two things that captured my attention as a kid were the fight scenes and the music. The music was heavenly when parts of the prophecy came to pass. It creeped me out as a child, but I can really appreciate the score now. The movie is not boring. Not in the least. I still watch it from time to time and it's still one of my favorites. But now, I understand that the Hollywood prejudice that laced its creation can't be compared with the reality of the Native person who inspired the story.

Victor Mature is Crazy Horse in this potted version of the Lakota Sioux and the war over the Black Hills, told from a viewpoint entirely on the side of the Indians. Originally planned as a vehicle for Jeff Chandler, but that didn't happen. Mature was quite capable of giving a strong performance, but required a good script and strong direction, which were not available here. Leading lady Suzanne Ball had lost a leg to cancer five months before filming began, and so her movement was limited; she would die four months after this was released. DP Harold Lipstein gives some nice, woodcut-like images, particularly in the long shots, resulting in a watchable but undistinguished Universal Shaky A production. With John Lund, Ray Danton, and David Janssen.

This western tells the story of the eponymous Chief Crazy Horse from his childhood, to his leadership of the Lakota Sioux and finally on to his death. When we first see him he is a child watching on as a dying chief prophesies that one day a Lakota will unite the tribes and defeat the invading white men; he also says that ultimately that man will die at the hands of a fellow Lakota. The boy walks off and has a vision that leads him to believe that he may be the one the chief spoke of. The next time we see him he is an adult being attacked but three men from an enemy tribe; he kills all three of them and notices that the feathers on one of their lances are those from his vision. A short while later a woman in the tribe brings an injured white man, by the name of Twist, into their village; he recovers and becomes friends with Crazy Horse. Some time later Crazy Horse marries the woman which leads to his rival Little Big Man being expelled from the village and heading to the Army camp at Ft Laramie. Here traders see that Little Big Man possesses some gold; he says it came from their sacred burial grounds in the Black Hills. A treaty with the Lakota promised that no white men would attempt to enter their territory but the discovery of gold soon proved the value of that treaty. As prospectors entered the territory the army followed. They did not expect the Lakota to fight back effectively but under Crazy Horse's leadership they had several notable victories leading up to the famous rout where Custer's forces were annihilated at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Unfortunately the other chiefs assumed that this victory was the end of the war and headed off to hunt to fill their winter larders; inevitably they were picked off and either died or ended up in the reservations. Crazy Horse continued alone until his wife became ill then he too surrendered, not because he was defeated but because he knew that only the medicine at the fort could save her. This is an interesting film with many pros and cons; the most obvious con is the fact that all the key Lakota characters are played by white actors in make up; something that would almost certainly not happen today; however it is to the maker's credit that they told the story from the side of the Lakota at a time when most westerns depicted the Native population as antagonists holding up the 'progress of civilisation'. Once you get over the fact that the actors weren't Indian their performances are pretty good and the story was well told; when the battles occur they are low scale but fairly exciting... except for the Battle of Little Bighorn... here the camera just points away and shows us some ominous clouds for a while... I guess the producers couldn't afford to film such a big battle! No doubt a few liberties were taken with the facts but at least it was filmed in the Black Hills of South Dakota where the events portrayed took place eighty years before not in California like so many westerns. The photography looked great; it is just a pity that when it was on television it wasn't shown in its original Cinemascope format; I'm sure that would have looked even more impressive. While this isn't the best western I've seen I'd certainly recommend it to fans of the genre; it made such a refreshing change to see these events for the side of the Indians.

I really like western movies but always wonder why directors don't try to be a little more realistic. I was very much surprised that some Indians had bright purple and day-glow feathers in their headwear. Now that seemed a little unnatural. And then there was the guy who got shot in the back with an arrow. Fortunately, for him, he had a big block of wood under his shirt. Unfortunately, it showed up really well in the film. Another interesting item is that when a group of riders are galloping along somewhere in the West and the lead rider decides to stop, he holds his right hand up in the air. This is to signal the riders behind him to stop too. Apparently without doing this hand gesture, all the riders would crash into him. And in classic 1950s cowboy Hollywood fashion, getting hit by one bullet will kill you, and often causes no bleeding. Of course there's the always popular one shot that takes down two or three riders. I could go on but you get the idea. If film makers would just try a little harder, their movies would be easier to enjoy and more difficult to pick apart. I'm not even mentioning the obvious since all the other reviewers have: all the lead rolls were played by white actors, not native Americans, ie Indians.

Typical for its time, this is a well-intentioned biography of (as it states) "one of America's greatest generals". Real Indians appear in the background, and, like they were in Ford films, they are great scene-stealers. Victor Mature, Ray Danton, and Suzan Ball are quite good. Better-than-average script, but the action scenes are only fair (it was not an expensive movie, and it seems that the violence, especially in Custer's last stand, is underplayed to accentuate War as a necessity and not a pleasure). Good Remingtonesque photography, filmed in the Black Hills.

Victor Mature playing Chief Crazy Horse gives one of his best performances from the Fifties. Although an Italian/Swiss would never be cast as a Lakota Sioux today, American Indians have no reason to criticize or be concerned with what Mature did with the role of one of their greatest heroes. Curiously enough the Battle Of The Little Big Horn is given a short shrift by the film. Which in a way is good because Crazy Horse had been plaguing the white man for well over a decade when he emerged as a warrior chief of the Lakota with as much natural military ability as Cochise of the Apaches to the south. The action of the film is over a ten year period in terms of when Mature takes the role of the adult Crazy Horse. The film is told from the point of view of John Lund who plays a white trader who was ambushed by the Sioux's rivals the Shoshone and is taken in and cared for by the Lakota. When Mature is courting Suzan Ball, Lund does him a solid and he's then got the Lakota welcome mat out for him. Chief Crazy Horse was the farewell performance of Suzan Ball who was Lucille's cousin, also from Jamestown, New York died much too young after this film was completed. She had a bright promise and real beauty to give the big screen and small. There are some fictional subplots working, but in the main the film is a true account. A really good western about a true warrior.

source: Chief Crazy Horse

Trailer—Chief Crazy Horse

Chief Crazy Horse