White Feather (1955 film)
Encyclopedia
White Feather is a 1955
Technicolor
western
film directed by Robert D. Webb
and starring Robert Wagner
. The movie was filmed in Durango, Mexico
. The story is based in fact, however, great artistic license is used and none of the characters are real.
Indians in Wyoming
during the 1870s. The Cheyenne agree to leave their hunting grounds so that white settlers can move in to search for gold. Colonel Lindsay (John Lund
) and land surveyor Josh Tanner (Wagner) are in charge of the resettlement, but the mission is threatened when Appearing Day (Debra Paget
), the sister of Little Dog (Jeffrey Hunter
) and fiancé of Cheyenne tribesman American Horse (Hugh O'Brian
), falls for Tanner. When Appearing Day runs away to join Tanner at the fort, American Horse follows and while he is captured, he is later freed by Little Dog and the two ride off to the hills. Tanner, Col. Lindsay and a troop of soldiers go to the Cheyenne camp where Chief Broken Hand (Eduard Franz
) has agreed to sign a peace treaty. After the signing, a warrior rides up and throws down a knife with a white feather attached, a declaration of war by American Horse and Little Dog against all the soldiers. Tanner convinces the Chief to allow the matter to be resolved between themselves.
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film directed by Robert D. Webb
Robert D. Webb
Robert D. Webb was an American film director. He directed 16 films between 1945 and 1968.-Selected filmography:* Beneath the 12-Mile Reef * Seven Cities of Gold * White Feather...
and starring Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
. The movie was filmed in Durango, Mexico
Durango, Mexico
Durango, Mexico, may refer to:*The state of Durango, one of the 32 component federal entities of the United Mexican States*Durango, Durango, capital city of the State of Durango...
. The story is based in fact, however, great artistic license is used and none of the characters are real.
Plot synopsis
The story of the peace mission from the US cavalry to the CheyenneCheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
Indians in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
during the 1870s. The Cheyenne agree to leave their hunting grounds so that white settlers can move in to search for gold. Colonel Lindsay (John Lund
John Lund
John Lund was an American film actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair , directed by Billy Wilder.-Background:...
) and land surveyor Josh Tanner (Wagner) are in charge of the resettlement, but the mission is threatened when Appearing Day (Debra Paget
Debra Paget
Debra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
), the sister of Little Dog (Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
) and fiancé of Cheyenne tribesman American Horse (Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
), falls for Tanner. When Appearing Day runs away to join Tanner at the fort, American Horse follows and while he is captured, he is later freed by Little Dog and the two ride off to the hills. Tanner, Col. Lindsay and a troop of soldiers go to the Cheyenne camp where Chief Broken Hand (Eduard Franz
Eduard Franz
Eduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
) has agreed to sign a peace treaty. After the signing, a warrior rides up and throws down a knife with a white feather attached, a declaration of war by American Horse and Little Dog against all the soldiers. Tanner convinces the Chief to allow the matter to be resolved between themselves.
Cast
- Robert WagnerRobert WagnerRobert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
- Josh Tanner - Debra PagetDebra PagetDebra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
- Appearing Day - John LundJohn LundJohn Lund was an American film actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair , directed by Billy Wilder.-Background:...
- Col. Lindsay - Jeffrey HunterJeffrey HunterJeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
- Little Dog - Eduard FranzEduard FranzEduard Franz , born Eduard Franz Schmidt, was an American actor of theater, film, and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film Sins of Jezebel, Jethro in Cecil B...
- Chief Broken Hand - Noah Beery, Jr.Noah Beery, Jr.Noah Lindsey Beery , known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting...
- Lt. Ferguson - Virginia LeithVirginia LeithVirginia Leith is an American film and television actress.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she starred in a few films, with her most productive period coming in the 1950s....
- Ann Magruder - Emile MeyerEmile MeyerEmile Meyer was an American actor usually known for tough, aggressive, authoritative characters in Hollywood films from the 1950s era, mostly in westerns or thrillers...
- Magruder - Hugh O'BrianHugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
- American Horse - Milburn StoneMilburn StoneMilburn Stone was an American television actor, a nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone and the son of a shopkeeper, best known for his role as "Doc" on the CBS western series Gunsmoke. He also played a doctor, CDR Blake, in the 1943 film Gung Ho!.Stone was born in Burrton in Harvey County in...
- Commissioner Trenton - Iron Eyes CodyIron Eyes CodyIron Eyes Cody was an American actor. He frequently portrayed American Indians in Hollywood films. In 1995, Cody was honored by the American Indian community for his work publicizing the plight of Native Americans, including his acting in films...
- Indian Chief