BROKEN ARROW – Mail Riders - 1956
When 20 Century Fox scored with the 1950 big screen film, BROKEN ARROW, they decided in 1956 to dust off the script for a television remake. This likewise was a winner, so they decided to turn the property into a full-fledged series with the same name. The series starred John Lupton as the former US Army scout who becomes a friend of Apache chief, Cochise. Cochise is played by Michael Ansara. The series ran for a total of 72 episodes during its 1956 to 1958 run.
The story from the film was used as the basis of the first 3 half hour episodes. After that, the series used new story material to continue this saga of the American west.
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. Lupton hires a "tame" town Apache to teach him the ways of the Apache. He then sets out to start negotiations between himself and Cochise (Ansara). Lupton wants to set up a peace treaty to allow the Pony Express riders to cross Apache territory.
This seems to work out for the short term, but there are men in both camps who want the treaty to fail. There is the Indian hating rancher, played by Ted De Corsia, as well as the renegade Apache played by Michael Pate.
20 Century Fox saved a bundle on production costs for the first episodes of the series. They only had to shoot about 5 minutes of new footage to insert into footage from the 1950 film, and the earlier television remake. Having said that, it all goes together rather well and the final product is quite good.
When 20 Century Fox scored with the 1950 big screen film, BROKEN ARROW, they decided in 1956 to dust off the script for a television remake. This likewise was a winner, so they decided to turn the property into a full-fledged series with the same name. The series starred John Lupton as the former US Army scout who becomes a friend of Apache chief, Cochise. Cochise is played by Michael Ansara. The series ran for a total of 72 episodes during its 1956 to 1958 run.
The story from the film was used as the basis of the first 3 half hour episodes. After that, the series used new story material to continue this saga of the American west.
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. Lupton hires a "tame" town Apache to teach him the ways of the Apache. He then sets out to start negotiations between himself and Cochise (Ansara). Lupton wants to set up a peace treaty to allow the Pony Express riders to cross Apache territory.
This seems to work out for the short term, but there are men in both camps who want the treaty to fail. There is the Indian hating rancher, played by Ted De Corsia, as well as the renegade Apache played by Michael Pate.
20 Century Fox saved a bundle on production costs for the first episodes of the series. They only had to shoot about 5 minutes of new footage to insert into footage from the 1950 film, and the earlier television remake. Having said that, it all goes together rather well and the final product is quite good.