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Better Late Then Never

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Jeff Chandler plays a major in the U.S. Calvary who wants to train the peaceful Seminoles to help the Army fight the savage, marauding Kiowas; Maureen O'Hara is a flirtatious widow whose captain-husband (found burned beyond recognition, yet still possessing his identification papers!) may be alive, having defected to fight alongside the Indians. Unconvincing Universal western with fine Technicolor photography but a flimsy, ridiculous script. No attempt is made to show why the Kiowas are so bloodthirsty; by the end, they are also portrayed as mercenary and stupid. Suzan Ball has the silliest role, that of a citified Seminole (and feminist!) whose education has apparently taught her the only way to get what she wants is by using her feminine wiles. There's the strong suggestion that Ball and Chandler have a one-night-stand, which is intriguing in and of itself, though screenwriter John Michael Hayes only utilizes the implication to drive cool-but-quickly-thawing O'Hara into Chandler's arms. A few interesting details, otherwise an assembly-line massacre for non-thinkers. *1/2 from ****

You can always tell a bad Maureen O'Hara movie. If she is top billed, it's P U Stinky. Her main acting skills involve a mane of red hair and large bosoms.In this movie, O'Hara, once again, plays a fiery redhead who likes to tell the man she loves that she wants nothing to do with him. This was her sole role in movies until she got too old. Then she just got cranky with everybody.Jeff Chandler was second billed. The movie revolves around his character. He gets more screen time and all the action, but he is sadly lacking in the mammary department.They have plenty of Indians in this movie. Too many perhaps. It looks like they didn't all get outfitted in the same wardrobe department. Perhaps some of them simply wandered over from another movie.The plot is solid as a rock. There are a bunch of Indians who always attack in small groups. And there is another bunch that are peaceful. So the Army teaches the peaceful bunch how to fight in small groups like the other bunch. And then there is a big battle where everybody forgets their roles and just attacks everybody else en masse.And finally Maureen O'Hara gets to model a cool outfit.The end.This movie gets two stars: One for Ms. O'Hara's physical qualities, and one for her lack of screen time.I almost deducted a star for Dennis Weaver's portrayal of an Indian, but it was a relief to see the man walk around without a stick tied to his leg.

This B-Western follows US Cavalry officer Major Howell Brady who has been sent to Fort Clark in Texas to try a new method of fighting the local Kiowa tribe; he intends to recruit Seminole Indians who had been forcibly relocated to the area after their defeat in Florida. He has two immediate problems; the fort's CO, Col Meade, doesn't believe the Seminoles will be of any use and the Seminole chief, Maygro, has no desire to fight. His people are a little less reticent and when they see how good the latest army rifles are they decide that they will fight on condition that the non-fighting members of the tribe will be supplied with food while they are gone. Brady sets about training the men and soon they out performing the regular army. There is also a romantic subplot involving Brady and the widow of a captain apparently killed by the Kiowa and Maygro's daughter Avis; as the film continues we learn that the captain isn't as dead as was thought and is in fact helping to lead the Kiowa attacks... ultimately there will be a battle between the Army and Brady's Seminoles on one side and the Kiowa on the other which will determine who controls that corner of Texas.The main story was well handled and contained plenty of good action although like many films of its time it used made-up Europeans to play the Native Americans which made them somewhat less believable which was a pity. Jeff Chandler did a decent job as Major Brady however the lack of chemistry between him and leading lady Maureen O'Hara rendered the romantic subplot somewhat of a distraction from the main story. That said the twist of having her husband be a traitor was quite a good surprise that I hadn't seen coming. Some comic relief is provided by Brady's two sergeants and for a change the comic relief did raise a chuckle more than once. Over all this isn't a classic but is well worth watching on television if you are a fan of the genre.

In War Arrow, Major Jeff Chandler is sent west with two trusty sergeant sidekicks, Charles Drake and Noah Beery, Jr., to implement some ideas of his own about fighting the Kiowas. His answer is to recruit some reservation Seminoles as a fighting force against the Kiowa. Seems as though the Kiowas like to raid their villages as a warm up before attacking whites and the Seminoles have no weapons to resist.These Kiowas led by Henry Brandon are devilishly tricky lot, almost as if they are led by someone who studied army military tactics. Turns out they are.In her memoirs Maureen O'Hara dismisses both of her films with Jeff Chandler, this film and Flame of Araby which makes this one look good. She said he was a nice man, but they had no chemistry together at all. Chandler probably was not terribly interested in the project, he was just beginning to fight for better roles than the action programmers he was doing under his Universal contract.Chandler is operating independently out of the fort commanded by John McIntire. Of course McIntire is obtuse and jealous because Chandler is romancing O'Hara who he has eyes for. Forgetting the jealousy angle, McIntire has every right to be put out about Chandler operating independently. The army chain of command is a sacred thing and any commander worth his salt wouldn't put up with it.Of course why the Seminoles would possibly want to go to war on behalf of the white man against other Indians is not satisfactorily explained, even with the Kiowas. It certainly would seem far more likely to team up with the Kiowas.On the plus side, War Arrow has some nice battle scenes, especially the climatic battle when the Kiowas come real close to capturing McIntire's fort. It also has some nice performances by Dennis Weaver and Suzan Ball playing Seminole lovers.But it sure won't be ranked as one of the great cinema westerns.