Sitting Bull ** (1954, Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J Carrol Naish) – Classic Movie Review 12,046

The 1954 Western film Sitting Bull, starring Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy and J Carrol Naish, is the Battle of the Little Bighorn with all the CinemaScope and Eastmancolor trimmings, filmed in Mexico.

Chief Sitting Bull: ‘When the white man wins, you call it a victory. When the Indian wins, you call it a massacre.’

Director Sidney Salkow’s 1954 American-Mexican Western film Sitting Bull, starring Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy and J Carrol Naish as the title character Sitting Bull, is the Battle of the Little Bighorn with all the CinemaScope and Eastmancolor trimmings, filmed in Mexico.

It fictionalises the war between Sitting Bull and the US forces, leading up to Custer’s Last Stand. It is notable as one of the first Westerns made in CinemaScope and the first independent production filmed in CinemaScope, and notable for its sympathetic portrayals of Native Americans, especially Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

The bizarre casting of J Carrol Naish (born in New York City of an Irish immigrant family) as the American Indian chief makes for implausible viewing, and the script often dawdles painfully. But nevertheless Naish is very dignified and effective as Chief Sitting Bull (a part he had previously played in Annie Get Your Gun), and main star Dale Robertson is fine as the face of decency, the US 7th Cavalry officer Major Bob Parrish, who believes in proper dealing with the Native Americans and is court-martialled for his trouble.

Also, some very passable location camerawork and some large-scale action set-pieces manage to distract the attention away from the inaccuracies of history, casting and plotting for minutes at a time.

Iron Eyes Cody plays the role of Crazy Horse, credited as Famous TV Star and technical advisor. But he was an Italian American!

Also on the cast are John Litel, William Hopper, Douglas Kennedy, William Tannen, Joel Fluellen, John Hamilton, and Tom Brown.

Sitting Bull is directed by Sidney Salkow, runs 105 minutes, is made by Televoz of Mexico, is released by United Artists, is written by Jack DeWitt and Sidney Salkow, is shot in CinemaScope and Eastmancolor by Charles Van Enger and Victor Herrara, is produced by Wilfred R Frank and Alfred Strauss, and is scored by Raoul Kraushaar.

Dale Robertson and Mary Murphy married soon after the filming but the marriage was annulled after six months because Robertson did not want children.

Minnesota producer Wilfred R Frank was working hard to be sympathetic to the Native Americans but he still annoyed the Sioux by not filming at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Dakota. To save costs, Frank filmed in Mexico with Mexican extras, but Cody alleged Estudios Churubusco overcharged the production several hundred thousand dollars.

The cast are Dale Robertson as Major Bob Parrish, Mary Murphy as Kathy Howell, J Carrol Naish as Sitting Bull, John Litel as General Wilford Howell, Joel Fluellen as Sam, Iron Eyes Cody as Crazy Horse, John Hamilton as President Ulysses S Grant, Douglas Kennedy as Colonel George Armstrong Custer, William Tannen as O’Connor, and William Hopper as Charles Wentworth, Joel Fluellen, and Tom Brown.

Salkow and Cody reteamed for the 1965 The Great Sioux Massacre, which uses stock footage from Sitting Bull (1954).

Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999)

Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999).

Iron Eyes Cody (April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an American actor of Sicilian descent who played Native Americans in Hollywood films, including Chief Iron Eyes in Bob Hope’s The Paleface (1948).

He was born Espera Oscar de Corti in Kaplan in Vermilion Parish, in South-western Louisiana, the second son of Francesca Salpietra from Sicily and Antonio de Corti from southern Italy.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,046

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