I'm sure I've run across the name of John Clum before in any number of Western film and TV series treatments, but it never made an impression. Researching the real John Clum's life reveals a fascinating career; besides being an Indian Agent as portrayed in this story, he was also the founder of the Tombstone Epitaph and first mayor of Tombstone, Arizona under a new city charter in 1881. I love it when a movie compels me to learn something new, this one obviously did the trick.
This isn't your typical shoot 'em up Western, in fact Clum (Audie Murphy) does as much as he can to banish the military from interfering in his ideas about Apache self governance. Winning over the respect and admiration of the San Carlos Reservation Apaches, he establishes a local police force and tribal court to deal directly with violations occurring within his jurisdiction. Even so, Clum seems to walk a tightrope between Indians and the white man, evidenced by the ubiquitous 'maybe' he contends with whenever dealing with situations that affect both sides.
The incident with Geronimo rather surprised me, a clever maneuver that tricked the Apache warrior into submission without a shot being fired. I always enjoy seeing Jay Silverheels turn up in a Western; he also appeared as Geronimo in a couple other films - 1950's "Broken Arrow" and 1952's "The Battle at Apache Pass". I haven't seen the latter film, but he was exceptionally convincing in "Broken Arrow" defying Apache Chief Cochise while favoring renewed hostilities against the Army.
Adding a personal dimension to the story here was the relationship Clum had with the Apache widow Tianay (Anne Bancroft) and his fiancé Mary Dennison (Pat Crowley). That dynamic held almost a certain prescription for disaster but the script handled it well, allowing for Clum's dedication and responsibility to the Apaches to win over his new wife's admiration. For Audie Murphy, I'd have to say this was one of his better performances, though I would have liked to see him put a little more emotion into it. As with most of his films, he seems to be holding back just enough that we don't get to see everything he's made of as an actor.
This isn't your typical shoot 'em up Western, in fact Clum (Audie Murphy) does as much as he can to banish the military from interfering in his ideas about Apache self governance. Winning over the respect and admiration of the San Carlos Reservation Apaches, he establishes a local police force and tribal court to deal directly with violations occurring within his jurisdiction. Even so, Clum seems to walk a tightrope between Indians and the white man, evidenced by the ubiquitous 'maybe' he contends with whenever dealing with situations that affect both sides.
The incident with Geronimo rather surprised me, a clever maneuver that tricked the Apache warrior into submission without a shot being fired. I always enjoy seeing Jay Silverheels turn up in a Western; he also appeared as Geronimo in a couple other films - 1950's "Broken Arrow" and 1952's "The Battle at Apache Pass". I haven't seen the latter film, but he was exceptionally convincing in "Broken Arrow" defying Apache Chief Cochise while favoring renewed hostilities against the Army.
Adding a personal dimension to the story here was the relationship Clum had with the Apache widow Tianay (Anne Bancroft) and his fiancé Mary Dennison (Pat Crowley). That dynamic held almost a certain prescription for disaster but the script handled it well, allowing for Clum's dedication and responsibility to the Apaches to win over his new wife's admiration. For Audie Murphy, I'd have to say this was one of his better performances, though I would have liked to see him put a little more emotion into it. As with most of his films, he seems to be holding back just enough that we don't get to see everything he's made of as an actor.