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Buffalo Bill (1944) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   388 votes
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Director:
William A. Wellman
Writers:
Æneas MacKenzie (screenplay) &
Clements Ripley (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Buffalo Bill on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
April 1944 (USA) more
Genre:
Biography | Western more
Plot:
The story of William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, legendary westerner, from his days as an army scout to his later activities as owner of a Wild West show. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
The Greatest Western Movie Ever Made more (11 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Joel McCrea ... William Frederick 'Buffalo Bill' Cody

Maureen O'Hara ... Louisa Frederici Cody
Linda Darnell ... Dawn Starlight
Thomas Mitchell ... Ned Buntline
Edgar Buchanan ... Sergeant Chips McGraw

Anthony Quinn ... Chief Yellow Hand
Moroni Olsen ... Senator Frederici
Frank Fenton ... Murdo Carvell
Matt Briggs ... General Blazier
George Lessey ... Mr. Schyler Vandervere
Frank Orth ... Sherman - Shooting Gallery Owner
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
90 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Iceland:12 | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Norway:A | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #9533)
Filming Locations:
Crow Indian Reservation, Montana, USA more
Company:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
When Sgt. Chips is delivering mail at the beginning of the film, one of the mailboxes he delivers to is labeled "2nd Lt. A. MacKenzie". Æneas MacKenzie was one of the film's writers. more
Quotes:
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody: Mr. President. Ladies and Gentlemen. I was afraid I was going to make a fool of myself in front of you tonight. But that would have been all right, because a man can make a fool of himself when he's off his own stamping grounds. But when a man makes a fool of himself on his own stamping grounds... more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Biography: Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel" (1999) more
Soundtrack:
Taps more

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User Comments

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The Greatest Western Movie Ever Made, 22 November 2009
10/10
Author: jayraskin1 from Orlando, United States

This is one of the most underrated films of all time. It excels in every area - cinematography, acting, writing, direction, editing and production values. Yet, New York Times Critic Bosley Crowthers dismissed it as just a "colorful film" when it opened in 1944.

Yet, scene after scene is brilliant, the comedy works, the romance works, the action works, and the political/philosophical points about the American West work. For example take the comic second scene of the film where Bill Cody has to wait for a letter, while the postman delivers the mail according to rank. "There are many ranker than you," he says. Delicious. There is hardly any romantic scene in a movie that matches Maureen O'Hara being taught Native American mating customs by Joel McCrea. The Battle scenes between the soldiers and Native Americans are as good as anything until "the Magnificent Seven." Politically, it intelligently denounces racism and shows that the Native Americans fought largely in self-defense. At the same time, it shows Native Americans as both fierce in battle and dignified. It makes the point that the only Indian that the Euro-American ever cared about was the Indian inscribed on their money.

The movie has great writing and great lines. For example, after the army massacres a group of Native-Americans, Joel McCrea finds the dead body of Linda Darnell. She was his Native-American schoolteacher. He picks up the woman and carries her body in his arms. "A friend of yours?" quips a soldier. "They were all friends of mine," answers Bill.

McCrea and O'Hara are flawless in the leads, but the acting is great down the line. Anthony Quinn and Linda Darnell as native Americans have some great scenes. Before he is about to go into battle, Quinn tells himself, the grass will still grow, the sun will still shine and the river will still flow. It eloquently shows the way Native Americans see themselves as part of nature. Darnell is wonderful as she tries to fit in with Euro-American Society only to realize that they will only always see her as an "Indian." This is the perfect Western, both exciting and intelligent. It beats out "Stagecoach," "Cimmaron," "Once Upon a Time in the West," "the Magnificent Seven" and "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" as my favorite Western only because it seems so effortless and modest.

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