''Broken Arrow'' is a
Western series which ran on
ABC-TV in
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1959-60 TV season and in an early evening timeslot Sunday evenings from April to September 1960.
Synopsis
The cowboys and Indians got together to battle injustice in this Western, which starred
John Lupton as Indian agent
Tom Jeffords and
Michael Ansara as
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...
Chief
Cochise.
Jeffords was originally an army officer given the assignment of getting the
U.S. Mail
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
safely through Apache territory in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Adopting the novel approach of making friends with the Indians instead of shooting at them, Jeffords soon became
blood brother
Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...
to Cochise. Together they fought both renegades from the
Chiricahua Reservation and dishonest "white eyes" who preyed upon the Indians.
The show was based on the 1947 novel ''Blood Brother'', by
Elliott Arnold
Elliott Arnold (September 13, 1912 – May 13, 1980) was an American newspaper feature writer, novelist, and screenwriter. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he became a feature writer with the ''New York World-Telegram'' and authored dozens of novels ...
, which had been
made into a film in 1950, starring
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...
as Tom Jeffords and
Jeff Chandler playing as Cochise.
Episodes
Season 1 (1956–57)
Season 2 (1957–58)
References
Sources
*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows''
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broken Arrow
1950s Western (genre) television series
1956 American television series debuts
1958 American television series endings
American Broadcasting Company original programming
Black-and-white American television shows
Television shows based on American novels
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television shows set in Arizona
Television shows set in Tucson, Arizona
Television shows about Native Americans