The setting of 1953's "War Arrow" is Fort Clark in West Texas near Brackettville during the Indian Wars of the late 19th century. Major Brady (Jeff Chandler) arrives from D.C. to utilize a small band of transplanted Seminoles to aid the US Army against the marauding Kiowas. Brady conflicts with the Colonel of the fort (John McIntire) and romances a redheaded widow (Maureen O'Hara) while a Seminole woman takes interest in him (Suzan Ball).Chandler was 33 during filming and is great as the masculine protagonist with Hollywood looks, but his greying hair makes him look at least a decade older. Sadly, he'd be dead in less than ten years due to a botched surgery. McIntire as the by-the-book and jealous CO is odious, but maybe redeemable.The women, O'Hara and Ball, are another highlight. Maureen was 32 during filming and looked great, but she's one of those women who became more exquisite as she got older (to a point, that is). In the early 60s she was one of the most beautiful women to walk the face of the planet. In "War Arrow" she hadn't reached her voluptuous peak yet and she was hardly a good actress at the time, but it is interesting to see her when she was younger. Just as beautiful – and perhaps even more so – was the rising brunette Suzan Ball. She was only 18 during filming and is just stunning as the Seminole Avis. Sadly, she would pass away a mere two years after "War Arrow" was released due to cancer.Another positive for me is the Agoura, CA, locations, which – surprisingly – are a decent stand-in for West Texas. In any event, the film has a great Western "look." Unfortunately, the film loses points due to using white actors in the main Native roles, like Dennis Weaver as the Seminole brave who loves Avis and Henry Brandon as Avis' father, Maygro, not to mention Ball as Avis. But this is forgivable since this was the standard practice of the time and there were no Native actors available. Less forgivable is the stereotypical portrayal of the Indians (the haltingly way they speak English, dancing around the fire and the music), but actually it's not as bad as you would think.The biggest negative is the old-style of filmmaking of Westerns at the time. This is clearly a Hollywoodized portrayal of the Old West that could never be mistaken for reality. Yet there are a number of Westerns that broke out of the these limitations of the era, like 1950's excellent "The Sundowners" (not to be confused with the 1960 film of the same name) and 1956's "The Last Wagon," both of which rank with my favorite Westerns of all time. I point this out to show that some Westerns rose to the top in the 1930s thru 1950s, but "War Arrow" wasn't one of them. Still, it's certainly worth catching for the positives noted above. For me, it's like going back in time and it's enjoyable for this alone.The film runs 78 minutes.GRADE: C+

At one time the Seminoles were fierce fighters in their native habitat of Florida. However, after years of a notably successful war against the U.S. Army they finally agreed to peace and have been relocated from the swamps of Florida to the prairies out west. Without weapons they have been forced into a submissive posture against the warlike Kiowas. At the same time, the United States has a nearby fort which has also suffered harassment from the Kiowas as well. Determined to correct this situation, an Army major named "Howell Brady" (Jeff Chandler) is sent to the fort in an effort to rearm the Seminoles to augment the troops at the fort. When Major Brady arrives he meets an obviously frustrated Colonel Jackson Meade (John McIntre) who harbors resentment toward the major because of his own inadequate handling of the situation. Major Brady also meets an attractive widow named "Elaine Corwin" (Maureen O'Hara) who welcomes a new face in the middle of nowhere. At any rate, filmed in color this film was obviously geared for the drive-in movie crowd and probably filled that niche quite well. But it has nothing outstanding or noteworthy about it. The acting was adequate but nobody really stood out except maybe Maureen O'Hara. In short, this was an average Western. No more and no less.

Watched this film on TV. Maureen O' Hara & Jeff Chandler are the stars here, in this otherwise average western. He's a cavalry major who over- rides the opposition of fort commander John McIntire and recruits friendly native American Seminoles to help defeat hostile Kiowas.O'Hara plays a fiery wife of a captain who's gone missing and she's a hot shot with a rifle and doesn't mind laying a charge of dynamite, if need be. She's radiant as ever but Chandler looks a bit wooden (generally for me as an actor).The end shoot out against the Indians is a spirited and action-packed one and nearly makes up for an otherwise rather disappointing, slightly boring film. The direction, by George Sherman, is adequate but little more and whilst it's in Technicolor, it doesn't look as glorious as it should.One for serious fans of westerns, otherwise, probably not.

Surely the best line of the film is when Jeff Chandler "forcibly" kisses Maureen O' Hara (after she tells him she doesn't love him) and she responds by telling him: "I'm genuinely impressed."Very interesting Western, possibly overstating the lead character's sympathy for the native American, but this is ahead of its time for a 1953 movie. Note the scene in the fort commander's office, where he says "It's difficult to prove how many raiders you've killed." The implication here is that the lead character refuses to collect scalps - i.e. the "proof". There are lots of other little not so obvious details in this film which kept me hooked!