This movie is odd in that it truly looks like two completely different movies fused, not so seamlessly, together. The first 1/2 of the film is concerned with the plight of the Cheyenne people and their running from their horrible reservation land--starring Richard Widmark, Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland. The acting, direction and writing for this was superb. Then, there is a completely stupid and meaningless segment with a completely different cast. It fortunately only lasts about 20 minutes (that's short considering the overall length of the film). Jimmy Stewart is Wyatt Earp and Arthur Kennedy is Doc Holladay. Neither plays their role very convincingly and little energy goes into their performances. The segment, believe it or not, is played comically and is neither interesting nor funny--and it completely disrupts the somber tone of the film. Then, abruptly, the film returns to the Richard Widmark portion for the remainder of the film. Without this horrible "guest shot" within the movie with Stewart and Kennedy, the film would probably merit a score of 9, as it really was a unique look at how some Indian tribes were forced into conflict by the reservation system. But, with it, the overall message is somewhat muddled and the movie just went on too long. It's sad, though, because the meaningless 15% of the film could easily be edited out to make a far more effective picture.
Review of Cheyenne Autumn
