Run of the Arrow (1957)

Rod Steiger is an Irishman named O’Meara who buried a father and two brothers while fighting for the South during the Civil War and carries around the final bullet he fired after it was dug out of a wounded Union officer.

He wants nothing to do with the reunified United States post-war, so he heads West to get away from Yankee blue.

He winds up a captive of the Sioux, along with a cavalry scout named Walking Coyote. The Indians plan to kill both men, until Walking Coyote requests the “run of the arrow.”

Barefoot, the captives are given a head start, then expected to run for their lives. Walking Coyote doesn’t make it; O’Meara does, but only with the help of a pretty Indian squaw named Yellow Moccasin (Sara Montiel).

O’Meara soon joins the tribe and takes Yellow Moccasin for his wife. And that makes him a perfect candidate to ride along with and watch over U.S. troops as they prepare to build Fort Lincoln in a location agreed upon by Red Cloud.

But a renegade named Crazy Wolf kills Capt. Clark, the leader of the expedition, a man who truly wants peace with the Indians.

That puts the fort-building detachment under the command of glory-hunting Lt. Driscoll (Ralph Meeker), the very same Union officer O’Meara wounded at the end of the Civil War.

And Driscoll sees absolutely no reason to abide by any agreement made with a savage like Red Cloud.

Rod Steiger as O’Meara, realizing he’ll be scouting for a man he shot during the Civil War in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Ralph Meeker as Lt. Driscoll, eager for glory any way he can achieve it in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Review:

Well done film with the run of the arrow and the climatic battle scene — with the cavalry trying desperately to defend a partially built fort — likely to be the ones that viewers remember.

Steiger is convincing in the lead role, even if there’s a bit too much philosophical talk of national allegiance between he and his fellow Sioux.

Charles Bronson is cast as an Indian again. Jay Flippen provides a fine performance as Walking Coyote. The film also features a cameo by Tim McCoy of 1930s series Western fame as the officer who reaches a treaty with Red Cloud.

All that said, it is a little strange to hear Angie Dickinson’s voice coming out of Montiel. Dickinson dubbed the celebrated Spanish actress, who also appeared in “Vera Cruz” with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster.

Sara Montiel as Yellow Moccasin, struggling to understand her man’s rejection of his country in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Jay C. Flippen as Walking Coyote, falling into the hands of Crazy Wolf in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Directed by:
Samuel Fuller

Cast:
Rod Steiger … O’Meara
Sara Montiel … Yellow Moccasin
Charles Bronson … Blue Buffalo
Brian Keith … Capt. Clark
Ralph Meeker … Lt. Driscoll
Jay C. Flippen … Walking Coyote
H.M. Wynant … Crazy Wolf
Olive Carey … Mrs. O’Meara
Neyle Morrow … Lt. Stockwell
Frank DeCova … Red Cloud
Tim McCoy … Gen. Allen
Stuart Randall … Col. Taylor
Billy Miller … Silent Tonque
Frank Warner … Banjo player
Chuck Hayward … Corporal
Chuck Roberson … Sergeant

Runtime: 86 min.

Charles Bronson as Blue Buffalo, determining whether to allow O’Meara to join the Sioux tribe in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Brian Keith as Capt. Clark, commander of the expedition to build a new fort in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Memorable lines:

O’Meara: “I’m a Reb and I’ll die a Reb, even if Lee’s surrender meant the end of the South.”
Capt. Clark: “Lee’s surrender wasn’t the death of the South, it was the start of the United States.”

Mrs. O’Meara: “A man shows respect, even if it’s for a damn dead Yankee president.”
O’Meara: “Have you lost your reason? The baboon was shot too late.”

O’Meara: “You said you could have been a chief. Why didn’t you?”
Walking Coyote: “Ah, I couldn’t stand politics.”

Gen. Allen: “Here we are, breaking our backs, trying to make peace with the Indians, and they send us officers like that, scratching for combat.”
Capt. Clark: “I guess he’s not the only frustrated Custer in the Army.”

Jay C. Flippen as Walking Coyote and Rod Steiger as O’Meara, watching a Sioux attack in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Neyle Morrow as Lt. Stockwell and Ralph Meeker as Lt. Driscoll, discussing the new location for a fort in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Sara Montiel as Yellow Moccasin, the Indian woman who saves and then marries O’Meara in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Billy Miller as Silent Tongue, the mute Indian boy Yellow Moccasin cares for in Run of the Arrow (1957)

H.M. Wynant as the war-loving Crazy Wolf, thrilled his captives have opted for the run in Run of the Arrow (1957)

Rod Steiger as O’Meara, warning Lt. Driscoll to move his troops from Sioux territory in Run of the Arrow (1957)