''The Great Sioux Massacre'' is a 1965 American Western

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Sidney Salkow Sidney Salkow (June 16, 1911 – October 18, 2000) was an American film director (more than 50 motion pictures), screenwriter, and television director. Salkow was educated at the City College of New York, Columbia University and Harvard Law Sch ...

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

using extensive action sequences from Salkow's 1954 ''

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock ...

''. In a fictionalized form, it depicts Custer's descent from a defender of the Indians from Federal interference to an incompetent warmonger, and the Indians as his victims, and covers events leading up to the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, No ...

and Custer's Last Stand. It stars

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and ''Sab ...

, Darren McGavin and Philip Carey.

Plot

The film begins at a Board of Inquiry over the

Battle of the Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nort ...

; specifically examining the conduct of Major

Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer who served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in a number of major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Gr ...

. Captain Bill Benton (perhaps inspired by Frederick Benteen) is called to the stand, and rather than merely answer questions from the board states that he will tell his version of the "true story" that the audience sees through flashback. Benton relates his first arrival in the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

in 1875, where his detachment is escorting the wife of the local

Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

Mr. Turner. The Indians attack the party and abduct Mrs Turner away from Benton's command. Benton's

army scout In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers ...

"Dakota" advises against tracking the Indians until the next day due to their laying of false trails that lead into

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

es. Dakota and Benton come across a wounded Indian whom Dakota shoots, saying sarcastically he would now not have to starve on an

Indian Reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which i ...

. Received by his commanding officer Lt. Col.

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

, Benton is gently told his first encounter with the enemy has been disastrous but Custer confirms that he did the right thing by following Dakota's advice not to pursue the hostile party. Custer invites Benton to a

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers ...

dance held at the fort that evening and dismisses the distraught Mr. Turner by telling him that he will visit the hostile Indians who abducted his wife in the morning. Benton's fiancee Caroline Reno is at the fort, but their relationship has grown cold due to Caroline's father Major Marcus Reno holding a grudge against Benton. At the dress ball, where Custer wears a major general's tunic with Colonel's insignia, Major Reno drunkenly comes in and demands everyone address and salute him as "Major General Reno" due to his former rank in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. Custer replies with good nature, attempting to reconcile the former warriors of the North and South, but Reno is in a bad mood. He physically attacks Benton but only hits the floor, prompting Benton to inform Caroline that her "family tree has fallen". The next day Benton and Custer go to meet

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by w ...

and

to negotiate Mrs. Turner's release. The Indians propose that Custer release all his Indian prisoners in exchange for Mrs. Turner. Custer decides on a compromise: he will hang the Indian leaders if Mrs. Turner is not released. The Indians reluctantly agree and Mrs. Turner is released. Custer gains Benton's respect by Custer's disgust at the incompetent Indian agents who he feels have been put in place by a corrupt Federal administration that Custer and his wife Libby will confront in Washington. Before their departure the captive Indians unsuccessfully attempt to escape and are slaughtered. In Washington, D.C., Colonel Custer destroys his military career by formally accusing many Federal politicians with corruption, including Orvil Grant, the brother of President Ulysses S. Grant. When the President refuses to meet with Custer, he begins to realize his military career may have come to a premature end. Meanwhile, back in the West the Army's commander General Alfred Howe Terry visits the fort and summons Major Reno and Captain Benton to inform them that Custer is going to be

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

ed. Major Reno is deflated when the General offers Captain Benton command of the

7th Cavalry Regiment The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

and a promotion to brevet colonel. Captain Benton refuses and considers resigning his commission out of loyalty to his commander. When Terry also offers the same command to Reno, Caroline browbeats her father, which leads him to also rejecting the offer, gives his blessing to Caroline and Benton's marriage and gives up his drinking. In Washington, Senator

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representativ ...

visits the humbled Custer and tempts him with an offer to be his party's candidate for President of the United States. The Senator informs Custer this can be accomplished through obtaining a reputation through his military exploits in a war with the Indians. The Senator assigns a newspaper journalist (likely based on Mark Kellogg) to Custer, who is sent back without court martial to his regiment. Benton notices that Custer's empathetic feelings for the Native Americans have vanished and he is pushing his regiment into a war where he can claim glory. Custer motivates his command by personally shooting

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

s in the back—including his scout Dakota, who had defected to the Indian side. This prompts Benton to strike his commanding officer, resulting in his arrest. He is later freed by Indians who know of his attempts to help their people at the aborted escape attempt. His Indian friends are later ambushed by a cavalry patrol while Benton attempts to warn Colonel Custer of a massed Indian army made up of forces from several tribes. Custer fails to take sufficient heed of the warnings, and divides his forces, weakening them. Thereafter, events unfold similarly to the historical Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Cast

as Major

* Darren McGavin as Captain Bill Benton * Philip Carey as Colonel

Julie Sommars Julie Sergie Sommars is an American actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her role in '' The Governor & J.J.'' in 1970, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

as Caroline Reno *

Nancy Kovack Nancy Kovack (born March 11, 1935) is a retired American film and television actress. Early years Kovack is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Kovack of Flint, Michigan. Her father was the manager of a General Motors plant. She enrolled a ...

as Libbie Custer * John Matthews as Dakota *

Michael Pate Michael Pate OAM (born Edward John Pate; 26 February 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who also worked in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early life Pate was born in Drum ...

Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University athlete and served in the United States Army f ...

as Senator

James Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representativ ...

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1906 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was the younger of two children of W. Thomas Ferguson, a native Scottis ...

as Gen. Alfred Howe Terry *

Stacy Harris Stacy Harris (July 26, 1918 – March 13, 1973) was an American actor with hundreds of film and television appearances. His name is sometimes found misspelled Stacey Harris. Early years Harris was an Army pilot whose leg was injured in a ...

as Mr. Turner *

Iron Eyes Cody Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an American actor of Italian descent who portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as ''Chief Iron Eyes'' in Bob Hope's '' The Paleface'' (1948) ...

* House Peters Jr. as Reporter * John Napier as Tom Custer *

William Tannen William Tannen (November 17, 1911 – December 2, 1976) was an American actor originally from New York City, who was best known for his role of Deputy Hal Norton in fifty-six episodes from 1956 to 1958 of the ABC/Desilu western television se ...

as Miner * Blair Davies as Presiding officer * Louise Serpa as Mrs. Turner

Production

''The Great Sioux Massacre'' was one of a series of films released by Columbia Pictures in the early to mid-1960s that were built around the

reuse Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose (conventional reuse) or to fulfill a different function ( creative reuse or repurposing). It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of ...

of large-scale action footage from other films, such as

Nathan Juran Naftuli Hertz "Nathan" Juran (September 1, 1907 – October 23, 2002) was a Romanian film art director, and later film and television director. As an art director, he won the Oscar for Best Art Direction in 1942 for ''How Green Was My Valley'', ...

's '' Siege of the Saxons'' (1963) and ''

East of Sudan ''East of Sudan'' is a 1964 British adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and featuring Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms and Derek Fowlds. The storyline is spliced with various sections of African wildlife. Much of this stock footage makes no se ...

'' (1964) and John Gilling's ''

The Brigand of Kandahar ''The Brigand of Kandahar'' is a 1965 British adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Ronald Lewis, Oliver Reed and Duncan Lamont. Case, a British Indian Army officer, is discharged from his regiment after being accused of cowar ...

'' (1965). Filmed near Old Tucson, west of

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, the action scenes in flat desert do not coincide with the hilly wooded Mexican landscapes of Salkow's ''

'' (1954). The screenplay by Salkow and Marvin Gluck was credited as "Fred C. Dobbs", the name of

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

's character in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'' (1948) and then the name of a nightclub on

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

. Italian American and faux Native American actor

, who also played Crazy Horse in Salkow's ''Sitting Bull'', had appeared in the 1936 ''

Custer's Last Stand The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nort ...

''. Iron Eyes also acted as

technical adviser In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a ...

on the film. Louise Serpa, who played Mrs Turner, was a renowned rodeo photographer.

Notes

External links

* * tcm http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/212718%7C0/The-Great-Sioux-Massacre.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Sioux Massacre 1965 films 1965 Western (genre) films 1960s American films American Indian Wars films American war films American Western (genre) films Western (genre) cavalry films Films about the United States Army Films set in Montana Cultural depictions of George Armstrong Custer Cultural depictions of Sitting Bull Cultural depictions of Crazy Horse Columbia Pictures films CinemaScope films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Sidney Salkow Films scored by Emil Newman Films set in 1875 Films set in 1876

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

Notes

External links