Red Men on Parade (1941)
*** (out of 4)
Outside the rather politically incorrect title, this episode in MGM's TravelTalks series is actually one of their best. The film takes a look at various Indian tribes from around the country and tries to show them in a much better light than many of the Westerns around at the time that showed them as dumb, violent and drunk. The film shows us how they make pottery, rugs and why they want to stay on their land and not go too modern. The movie mentions that there were more Indians in 1941 than when Columbus came to America, which I'm not sure how true it is but other bits of information like this are on display. Once again the Technicolor really makes things jump off the screen and the print shown on Turner Classic Movies was very good. It's somewhat refreshing to see this type of short considering how Indians were being shown in various movies around this time. Fans of the series will find plenty to enjoy here and even though not familiar will probably enjoy this one.
*** (out of 4)
Outside the rather politically incorrect title, this episode in MGM's TravelTalks series is actually one of their best. The film takes a look at various Indian tribes from around the country and tries to show them in a much better light than many of the Westerns around at the time that showed them as dumb, violent and drunk. The film shows us how they make pottery, rugs and why they want to stay on their land and not go too modern. The movie mentions that there were more Indians in 1941 than when Columbus came to America, which I'm not sure how true it is but other bits of information like this are on display. Once again the Technicolor really makes things jump off the screen and the print shown on Turner Classic Movies was very good. It's somewhat refreshing to see this type of short considering how Indians were being shown in various movies around this time. Fans of the series will find plenty to enjoy here and even though not familiar will probably enjoy this one.
