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9/10
Excellent Television Remake
gordonl5630 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The 20th Century-Fox Hour - BROKEN ARROW – 1956

The 20th Century-Fox Hour was an anthology series that ran for 37 episodes between 1955 and 1957. For the most part the series featured cut down rehashes of the series producer's more successful feature films.

This version has John Lupton instead of Jimmy Stewart as the former soldier and Army scout, Tom Jeffords. In the role of Cochise, which was played by Jeff Chandler in the film, we have Ricardo Montalban. Playing the role of the Apache maiden, we have Rita Moreno replacing Debra Paget from the film version.

This one starts out just like the 1950 feature film it is based on. It is the early 1870 in the Arizona Territory, there has been a bloody and vicious war going on for a number of years. The settlers and the Apache tribe under the command of Cochise, have being having a no holds barred fight with various atrocities being traded back and forth.

The same series of events happens here with Lupton finding a wounded Apache boy and saving his life. This gives him an insight into the Apache mindset. There are the negotiations between Lupton and Cochise (Montalban) to set up a peace treaty etc.

The various other sub plots from the film are also worked into the episode, the Pony Express riders, the U.S. Army the angry town folk and the renegade Indians. We also have the rancher who ambushes Lupton, Montalban and Moreno killing Moreno. In the film the part was played by Will Geer. In this TV version the role is played by Robert F Simon.

All in all, it is a quite well done bit of television. The episode seamlessly blends the new television parts with scenes lifted out of the big screen print. The effort was so well received by television audiences, that 20 Century Fox decided to make a television series of the same name. The series retained John Lupton but replaced Ricardo Montalban with Michael Ansara. The series ran for 72 episodes during 1956 to 1958.
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The Pilot for the series
bux25 July 2002
This FOX movie served as the pilot for the series that ran several years concerning the shaky peace between Cochise's Apaches and white settlers. Although Michael Ansara gained high praise in the series as Cochise, it is quite interesting to see Ricardo Montalban in that role here, and one has to ponder if the series would have been enhanced had he accepted the role permanently. I, for one, would have loved to hear Ricardo say "Mr. Jeffords, your saddle is made of FINE CORINTHIAN LEATHER!!"
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