A mix of reasonably accurate historical details relating to Bill Cody, and pure fiction. He did have a long suffering wife named Louisa, whose often rocky marriage is pictured as better than it actually was. Of course, Maurine O'Hara makes a lovely wife for him. Joel McCrea makes an OK, but not spectacular, Bill. Thomas Mitchell plays the newspaper and dime novel story teller: Ned Buntline: another genuine historical person. Ned is also correctly portrayed as the instigator of the idea of Bill heading a traveling wild west show. Anthony Quinn plays the Cheyenne chief Yellow Hand(incorrectly translated. Should have been Yellow Hair), who interacts with Bill periodically until he is killed by Bill in a grapple in a river, in front of a large number of troupers and braves. Historically, this was known as the Battle of Warbonnet Creek, herein called Warbonnet Gorge. In the film, this is followed by an exciting hand-to-hand battle between the 2 cavalries, largely taking place in a wide shallow river. Historically, this 'battle' didn't happen. After Yellow Hand's death, the Cheyenne dispersed back toward their camp, in view of the large number of cavalry they saw. Historically, Bill killed Yellow Hand with a bullet , not a drowning, and scalped him, shouting "First scalp for Custer", in relation to the recent extermination of Custer's cavalry company.Like many of the other scouts for the armies in the Indian Wars, Bill Cody had an ambiguous relationship with the Native Americans, scouting for the army in pursuing them, and slaughtering the bison they depended on for practically everything. Yet, he was interested in their cultures and often friendly with them, including them in his wild west shows. Whether true or not, in his speech an a banquet honoring him with the Congressional Metal of Honor, he blasted the "the only good Indian is a dead Indian" mentality of too many, suggesting that the only Indian they cared about was the Indian on their pennies.Thus, this film provides a rare, for the times, sympathetic treatment of Native Americans, some years before the overrated, in this respect, "Broken Arrow". It's also a rare, for it's times, Technicolor western.Thomas Mitchell, as Ned Buntline, imparts occasional humor, as does Edgar Buchanan, as an old army sergeant, who gets his walking papers and vanishes. Beautiful Linda Darnell has a strange ill-defined peripheral role as a Cheyenne maiden, who is sometimes the school teacher, but rides off to join the warriors at Warbonnet gorge, where she is killed during the ferocious battle. Bill carries her body, and someone asks if she was a friend "They were all my friends" Bill laments.A particularly clever bit of writing went into the marriage proposal by Bill to Louisa. They are in a shed next to the stable for Bill's horse. The horse rubs its head on Louisa's shoulder and gives her a 'kiss'. Louisa asks about a blanket on the wall. Bill says its a Cheyenne courting blanket for maidens. He shows her how it is worn. She asks how the brave responds. If he accepts, he plays a special tune on a small flute, as Bill demonstrates. How does the maiden then respond? She opens the left side of her blanket, beckoning the brave to enter. Bill does this, and they kiss.

Biopic of legendary frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody, ably played by Joel McCrea. He fights with and for Native Americans. The two women in his life are senator's daughter Maureen O'Hara and Cheyenne schoolteacher Linda Darnell. O'Hara gets the guy but Darnell is radiant in Technicolor. Her character's name is Dawn Starlight, which is possibly my favorite name ever. The rest of the cast is solid, with Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan, and Anthony Quinn offering fine support. There's more fiction than fact here, as is usually the case with Hollywood biopics. It's pleasant, straightforward storytelling. Good but never quite as good as you hoped it would be.

This is one of the most underrated films of all time. It excels in every area - cinematography, acting, writing, direction, editing and production values. Yet, New York Times Critic Bosley Crowthers dismissed it as just a "colorful film" when it opened in 1944.Yet, scene after scene is brilliant, the comedy works, the romance works, the action works, and the political/philosophical points about the American West work. For example take the comic second scene of the film where Bill Cody has to wait for a letter, while the postman delivers the mail according to rank. "There are many ranker than you," he says. Delicious. There is hardly any romantic scene in a movie that matches Maureen O'Hara being taught Native American mating customs by Joel McCrea. The Battle scenes between the soldiers and Native Americans are as good as anything until "the Magnificent Seven." Politically, it intelligently denounces racism and shows that the Native Americans fought largely in self-defense. At the same time, it shows Native Americans as both fierce in battle and dignified. It makes the point that the only Indian that the Euro-American ever cared about was the Indian inscribed on their money.The movie has great writing and great lines. For example, after the army massacres a group of Native-Americans, Joel McCrea finds the dead body of Linda Darnell. She was his Native-American schoolteacher. He picks up the woman and carries her body in his arms. "A friend of yours?" quips a soldier. "They were all friends of mine," answers Bill.McCrea and O'Hara are flawless in the leads, but the acting is great down the line. Anthony Quinn and Linda Darnell as native Americans have some great scenes. Before he is about to go into battle, Quinn tells himself, the grass will still grow, the sun will still shine and the river will still flow. It eloquently shows the way Native Americans see themselves as part of nature. Darnell is wonderful as she tries to fit in with Euro-American Society only to realize that they will only always see her as an "Indian." This is the perfect Western, both exciting and intelligent. It beats out "Stagecoach," "Cimmaron," "Once Upon a Time in the West," "the Magnificent Seven" and "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" as my favorite Western only because it seems so effortless and modest.

This film is a hidden gem in western film lore and has fine work by Joel McCrea in the title role. The movie has great color and scenery, a fine cast, a great battle scene, and genuinely poignant moments. The random slaughter of buffalo is the spark that sets off a powder keg that explodes with Indians going on the warpath to drive the white invaders from their hunting grounds. The thrilling clash of red and blue at War Bonnet Gorge is perhaps the best ever filmed by any major studio on any level. The fight symbolized the struggle of two cultures and a way of life that the Indians fought desperately to preserve. The soldiers and Indians are a blur in a savage mixture of military conflict that forever broke the resistance of the Plains Indians to westward expansion. Maureen O'Hara is pretty as Mrs. Cody and Thomas Mitchell does well in his role as Ned Buntline.