Pawnee (1957)

George Montgomery is Pale Arrow, a Pawnee Indian who swoops down during a wagon train raid to save the life of a white woman (Lola Albright) and her uncle.

Turns out Pale Arrow was adopted by the Pawnee tribe; he’s really white. The Indian chief sends him off to learn how life would be with the whites, and he adopts the name Paul Fletcher and the task of guiding the very same wagon train to Fort Baxter.

The Indian chief’s real son, appropriately named Crazy Fox (Charles Horvath) wants to start war with the whites.

When the chief dies, he gets his chance because Paul “Pale Arrow” Fletcher has decided his future lies in the white man’s world.

But while he’s summoned away by his father’s death, the Pawnee attack the wagon train.

Fifteen people are killed. And most people with the wagon train blame Paul Fletcher.

George Montgomery as Pale Arrow, a white man raised by the Pawnee in Pawnee (1957)

George Montgomery as Paul Fletcher, agreeing to lead the wagon train to Fort Baxter in Pawnee (1957)

Review:

Silliness from the words “roll action.” And the incredibly liberal use of ill-fitting stock footage, for everything from the wagon train’s travels to the final battle — lifted from “Buffalo Bill” — doesn’t help matters.

Of course, one reason Paul Fletcher turns his back on his Indian past is because he’s fallen for Meg Alden, the character played by Lola Albright. She even teaches him how to kiss.

In the process, Paul also turns his back on the pretty Indian maiden Dancing Fawn, though she still rescues him when he’s tied up to the stake so he can be beaten to death by the Indian squaws. A scene of him being flogged by them with sticks is hilarious, unintentionally, of course.

Oh, and if that little love triangle isn’t complicated enough, Paul’s brother Crazy Fox wants Dancing Fawn for his own. And Matt Delaney, leader of the wagon train, has been planning a future with Meg.

Lola Albright as Meg Alden, shocked at having been rescued by an Indian brave in Pawnee (1957)

Charlotte Austin as Dancing Fawn, the Indian girl who hopes to marry Pale Arrow in Pawnee (1957)

Directed by:
George Waggner

Cast:
George Montgomery …. Pale Arrow / Paul Fletcher
Bill Williams … Matt Delaney
Lola Albright … Meg Alden
Francis McDonald … Uncle Tip Alden
Robert Griffin … Doc Morgan
Dabbs Greer … John Brewster
Kathleen Freeman … Mrs. Carter
Charlotte Austin … Dancing Fawn
Ralph Moody … Chief Wise Eagle
Anne Barton … Martha Brewster
Raymond Hatton … Obie Dilks
Charles Horvath … Crazy Fox
Robert Nash … Carter

Runtime: 80 min.

Charles Horvath as Crazy Fox, pushing for war with the whites in Pawnee (1957)

Bill Williams as wagon train boss Matt Delaney and Dabbs Greer as John Brewster, wondering about their new scout in Pawnee (1957)

Memorable lines:

Crazy Fox: “I should grab you by the hair and take you to my tent.”
Dancing Fawn: “Even there I would belong completely to Pale Arrow.”

Meg: “I knew it. I knew it.”
Paul Fletcher: “What?”
Meg: “That you were the Indian that saved Uncle Tip and me.”
Paul: “Of course. Why else should I be here? I remember holding you in my arms as you fought me. I wanted to hold you again.”
Meg: “You’re not an Indian?”
Paul: “Nah. Do you only allow yourself to be held by Indians? I’ll be glad to paint up for you.”

Uncle Tip: “Each time I see a smoke signal, my stomach tells me it spells big trouble.”

Ralph Moody as Chief Wise Eagle, asking Paul Arrow to learn more about the white man’s ways in Pawnee (1957)

Francis McDonald as Uncle Tip Alden, worried about Indian trouble in Pawnee (1957)

Lola Albright as Meg Alden and Dabbs Greer as John Brewster, hoping for a safe trip West in Pawnee (1957)

George Montgomery as Paul Fletcher catches Crazy Fox (Charles Horvath) near the wagon train in Pawnee (1957)