Buffalo Bill (1944)

A Masterpiece!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

A fascinating recreation of an American legend. Certainly it's not factual. Oddly, one of the few true elements, the hero's descent into side-showing, emerges as a too-familiar cliché, though given a bit of flesh here by McCrea's admirably stoic acceptance and the idea that he's forced into showmanship not by gambling or drink but by sheer financial necessity. In fact Buffalo Bill, the man, is presented as a composite of all the virtues, whilst Buffalo Bill, the picture, is handled with such gusto and panache, so breathtakingly and colorfully photographed, so full of marvelous action with running inserts of stampeding cavalry and Indians on the warpath — all set against superbly eye-catching locations — and so ingratiatingly narrated by Reed Hadley that one can't help but cheer such a grand epic show, produced on such a ding-dong lavish scale. Great technical credits too, including a vivid score and faultless special effects.All this is not to say that "Buffalo Bill" doesn't have its faults. Miss O'Hara is the worst. Looks about as much like a frontier lady as a bird of paradise imitating a sparrow. Even in labor, she's incredibly painted and groomed. In the tiniest of tiny roles, Linda Darnell wipes out Miss O'Hara in their one scene together. McCrea of course is ideally cast. Amongst the support players, we glimpse George Chandler as a sleepy cavalryman and Sidney Blackmer as Teddy Roosevelt. All are effective, with the one proviso that Charles Winninger's old-age make-up is a bit phony and he tends to over-do his usual mannerisms.If I wanted to carp, I could complain about some of the obvious studio back-drops (particularly in the opening scene). Yet despite its occasional faults (and unlike Wellman, I loved the close-out), Buffalo Bill is one exciting movie. What exactly was Wellman's gripe? Here it is: "I didn't like the picture, but I tried to do the best I could with it, but when that poor little crippled kid at the end stands up and says, "God bless you, too, Buffalo Bill", I felt absolutely nauseated."On the other hand, I'm sure Wellman would agree with me that generally the script has its heart in the right place, with pertinent comments to make on wild life preservation and the fate of the Vanishing American. "There are better ways to die," says Yellow Hand when the white man sets about killing off the precious buffalo, "it's a bad thing to starve..." while Cody himself is given the final word on the subject: Dawn Starlight has been killed in battle. Sadly, Cody carries her away. "A friend of yours?" asks the General. "They were ALL friends of mine," Cody quietly replies.

This bright and cheery western has a great sense of the outdoors, helped by good colour cinematography and locations.William F Cody "Buffalo Bill" (Joel McCrea) as the legend tells us was an army scout who then later rescues a Senator and his beautiful daughter, who he marries. He also came to be firm friends with Yellow Hand, who later became chief of the Cheyenne. Cody takes the side of the Indians when modern 'civilisation' moves in over the plains where the buffalo grazed, wiping out both the beasts and the habitat. He later took his Spirit of the Wild West worldwide with his Show, for which he gained international notoriety.McCrea is OK as Cody and as others have said, Anthony Quinn, now, looks faintly ridiculous as Chief Yellow Hand. Then, as a relative unknown, I suppose this gross miscasting wouldn't have mattered as much. However, it is the beautiful Maureen O' Hara as Cody's wife who holds the interest for many, as her loveliness radiates through from the screen.It's also been said that this William A Wellman directed biopic is fictionalised and cannot be considered accurate. That aside, there's plenty of good fighting action, battles on horseback and plains where real buffalo roam. All in all, a modest little western that's quite watchable, if you take it for what it is.

This biopic looks back at the life of the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody. Given the subject, the fine cast, a veteran director, and the Technicolor cinematography, the film is a disappointment. The main failing appears to be the script, which is episodic and meandering. After focusing on Bill's frontier escapades, the latter part of the film dwells on his career as a showman, and this is where the film really bogs down. McCrea is believable, if a bit bland, in the title role. O'Hara is given little to do other than look lovely, which she manages quite well. Darnell is also little used as a spirited Indian. Mitchell, Buchanan, and Quinn round out the familiar cast.

When this film was made, people were still in love with cars, freeways and bringing progress to the west. So it was quite an achievement to bring to the screen a divided hero, who from one side admired the Indian way of life, and who understood that the killing of the buffaloes would bring misery to the natives, but at the same time arranged buffalo hunts for people of the east, and as a scout helped the army fight the Indians. When he goes east and see stories written about him by Ned Buntline we know that it is impossible for him (as for any human being) to live up to them, and he is bound to end up in ridicule. People nowadays are more ecology conscious and that makes this film more meaningful than in 1944. The first part of the film shows the west and the war with the Indians with excellent battle scenes and great color. Maureen O'Hara is more beautiful than in any other film I've seen her and so is Linda Darnell. The second part is when Buffalo Bill goes east, and that is when the film is at its best.