Cheyenne Autumn Overview:

Cheyenne Autumn (1964) was a Drama - Historical Film directed by John Ford and produced by John Ford and Bernard Smith.

SYNOPSIS

The last Western from director Ford and a farewell to his familiar Monument Valley locations. After portraying Indians as villains in many of his classic Westerns, Ford cast them in a compassionate light in this rueful, elegiac film. The story follows the Cheyenne Indians as they flee their squalid Oklahoma reservation and return to their traditional homeland along the Yellowstone River in Wyoming. Cavalry officer Widmark gets the call to return the tribe to the reservations, but, after he sees the starvation and sickness endured by his quarry, he questions the government's decision. A cast of great stars (including a brief nod from Stewart as Wyatt Earp), and available in a restored version with additional footage.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Academy Awards 1964 --- Ceremony Number 37 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best CinematographyWilliam H. ClothierNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Cheyenne Autumn (1964): John Ford’s Western Swan Song

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 10, 2021 From 4 Star Films

If we had to provide a broad sense of Cheyenne Autumn, it would be all about the mass Exodus of the Cheyenne in 1878 as they journey from the arid land they’ve been subjugated to back to the land the white man had promised to return to them all along. This is a Hollywood rendition so, obviousl... Read full article


Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

By Beatrice on May 20, 2018 From Flickers in Time

Cheyenne Autumn Directed by John Ford Written by James R. Webb, suggested by “Cheyenne Autumn” by Mari Sandoz 1964/USA Warner Bros./Ford-Smith Productions First viewing/Netflix rental This beautiful movie represents the peak of John Ford’s later career. It is 1878. ?The Cheyenne In... Read full article


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Quotes from

Capt. Thomas Archer: Dull Knife! Little Wolf! What happened today changes nothing. The Indian Bureau is still pledged to provide you with adequate clothing and rations. And you're still pledged to abide by the law. Remember that!
Dull Knife: We are asked to remember much. The white man remembers nothing.


Capt. Thomas Archer: You claim to be a doctor. You gonna let him put those women and children in a warehouse at 10 below zero? What are you gonna do about it?
Dr. O'Carberry: What are you gonna do about it?


Little Wolf: I pray the young one will give me sons. But I want them to be born where I, and all my people before me, were born.
Dull Knife: Even a dog can go where he likes... but not a Cheyenne.


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Facts about

According to Joseph McBride's "Searching for John John", John Ford was urged to cast Richard Boone and Anthony Quinn as the Little Wolf and Dull Knife characters, as both had Native American blood. Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland, who were of Mexican descent, were cast instead.
John Ford would not allow Sal Mineo to speak any English dialog in the movie due to the actor's Bronx accent.
Finnish certificate # 71202 delivered on 12-2-1965.
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Best Cinematography Oscar 1964











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