Little Big Horn (film)

Little Big Horn (also known as The Fighting Seventh) is a 1951 American Western film written and directed by Charles Marquis Warren starring Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland and Marie Windsor.[2]

Little Big Horn
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles Marquis Warren
Screenplay byCharles Marquis Warren
Story byHarold Shumate
Produced byCarl K. Hittleman
StarringLloyd Bridges
John Ireland
Marie Windsor
CinematographyErnest Miller
(as Ernest W. Miller)
Edited byCarl Pierson
Music byPaul Dunlap
Production
companies
Bail Productions Inc.
Robert L. Lippert Productions
Distributed byLippert Pictures
Release date
  • June 15, 1951 (1951-06-15) (United States)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$500,000[1]

It was also known as The Fighting Seventh.[3]

Plot

Captain Phillip Donlin (Lloyd Bridges) and his small troop must rush to reach Little Big Horn in order to warn General Custer of the Sioux attack that awaits him. As they race against time, and Donlin pushes them hard through an arduous and dangerous journey, the Sioux start taking out the soldiers one at a time. Meanwhile, Donlin also clashes with Lt. John Haywood (John Ireland), who Donlin knows is having an affair with his wife, Celie (Marie Windsor).

Cast

Production

It was to be the first of a two-picture deal Charles Marquis Warren had with Republic Pictures. Warren was a leading writer at the time best known for Only the Valiant and he wanted to become a director. The film was called The Black Hills and was to be produced by Joseph Kane and star Rod Cameron. Filming was to start 10 March 1950.[4][5]

The film eventually shifted to Lippert Pictures.[6] Filming was to have started 7 November 1950.[7] However it was pushed back to February. Lloyd Bridges was the star.[8][9]

In an interview, Marie Windsor recalled an executive from Lippert Films announced the film had run out of money, with the production having several pages torn out of the script, and the film finished without certain scenes being done.[10]

Reception

The film was a box office hit.[11] It launched Warren's career as a director.[12]

Critical Assessment

Writing in The Nation, film critic Manny Farber calls Little Big Horn “a tough-minded, unconventional, persuasive look” at the events surrounding General George Armstrong Custer's defeat at the hands of the Soiux and Cheyenne under Sitting Bull in 1876.[13]

Farber praises the film for its “unpolished handling of the regular-army soldier…for once, men appear as individuals, rather than types—grousing, ornery, uprooted, complicated individuals, riding off to glory against their will and better judgment; working together as a team in a genuinely loose, efficient, unfriendly American style.[14]

Awards

It was nominated for an award by the Writers Guild of America in 1952.[15]

Footnotes
  1. "TMe: Box Office Tops from 1950-1959".
  2. "Little Big Horn (1951) – Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast – AllMovie". Allrovi.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  3. "FIGHTING SEVENTH, the". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 18. 1951. p. 346. ProQuest 1305813330.
  4. Schallert, E. (January 11, 1950). "Holliday stars in 'born;' wyman craves change; cameron in 'black hills'". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166055151.
  5. Scheuer, P. K. (August 15, 1954). "A TOWN CALLED HOLLYWOOD". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166647881.
  6. Schallert, E. (November 6, 1950). "Mae murray to pick film idols; preminger footight deal set". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166136263.
  7. "STUDIO BRIEFS". Los Angeles Times. October 19, 1950. ProQuest 166142180.
  8. "Drama". Los Angeles Times. February 13, 1951. ProQuest 166189967.
  9. Schallert, E. |date=Feb 27, 1951|Drama. Los Angeles Times
  10. p. 271 Fitzgerald, Mike Marie Windsor Interview in Ladies of the Western: Interviews With 25 Actresses from the Silent Era to the Television Westerns of the 1950s and 1960s McFarland, 30/10/2009
  11. Schallert, E. (October 5, 1951). "Drama". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166253898.
  12. Scheuer, P. K. (October 26, 1959). "Lippert hails era of $300,000 hits". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 167507684.
  13. Farber, 2009 p. 374, p. 786: Sources and Acknowledgments, The Nation, “Best Films of 1951” January 15, 1952
  14. Farber, 2009 p. 374
  15. "Awards for The Fighting Seventh (1951) – Little Big Horn (original title)". IMDb.com. Retrieved October 6, 2013.

Sources
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