''Pony Soldier'' is a 1952 American Northern

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film set in Canada, but filmed in Sedona, Arizona. It is based on a 1951 '' Saturday Evening Post'' story "Mounted Patrol" by Garnett Weston. It was retitled ''MacDonald of the Canadian Mounties'' in Britain and ''The Last Arrow'' in France, Spain, and Italy.

Plot

In 1876, the North-West Mounted Police send Constable Duncan MacDonald (

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...

) and a blackmailed Blackfoot scout (

Thomas Gomez Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971) was an American actor. Life and career Born Sabino Tomás Gómez, Jr., in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater in 1923, studying under actor Walter Hampden in a production of Cy ...

) to get the Cree to sign

Treaty 6 Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specif ...

with

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. Initially hostile, the Cree are influenced by a Fata Morgana-type mirage that they mistake for the power of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. In addition to negotiating with the Cree, MacDonald of the Mounted Police rescues White hostages ( Robert Horton and Penny Edwards), arrests a murderer, and adopts a Cree son (Anthony Earl Numkena).

Cast

as Constable Duncan MacDonald * Cameron Mitchell as Konah *

as Natayo Smith * Penny Edwards as Emerald Neeley * Robert Horton as Jess Calhoun * Anthony Earl Numkena as Comes Running * Adeline DeWalt Reynolds as White Moon *

Howard Petrie Howard Alexander Petrie (November 22, 1906 – March 24, 1968) was an American radio, television, and film actor. Early life Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 22, 1906. When Howard was three years old his family ...

as Inspector Frazer * Stuart Randall as Standing Bear Included in the cast were

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series '' Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early li ...

and

Frank deKova Frank de Kova (March 17, 1910 – October 15, 1981) was an American character actor in films, stage, and TV. Biography De Kova was born in New York City. He was a teacher at a school in New York before joining a Shakespeare repertory group. He ...

, with ending narration by

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

. Golden Globe-winning actor Earl Holliman made his film debut in this playing an uncredited role.

Production

Director Newman originally scouted locations in Montana, but finding nothing he thought suitable, the film was made in Sedona, Arizona. During development of the project,

technical advisor In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a ...

on Native American issues, Nipo T. Strongheart, wrote a critical review of the proposed screenplay, though other departments of the studio had begun work on it. This led to a meeting with studio executives, which he described as feeling like he was called to the principal's office, and led to a major reconstruction of the whole project. Strongheart worked with the Cree people and their language, and coached non-Indian and Indian actors throughout the movie. During the filming at Sedona, production was interrupted by snowstorms and the flash of a nuclear weapon tested 300 miles away in Nevada.p.99 Heidinger, Lisa, Trevillyan, Janeen, Sedona Historical Society ''Sedona'' 2007 Arcadia Publishing The producers recruited 450 Navajo to play Cree when large numbers were needed. Strongheart, who also plays a

medicine man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...

in the film, also toured to promote the movie. Strongheart had appeared in the 1925 film '' Braveheart'' with Tyrone Power Sr.

References

External links

* * * *
Filming at Sedona''The New York Times'' review
{{Joseph M. Newman 1952 films American Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films 20th Century Fox films Films scored by Alex North Films set in the Canadian Prairies Films shot in Arizona 1952 Western (genre) films American films based on actual events Films based on short fiction Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction Northern (genre) films Films directed by Joseph M. Newman 1950s American films