In the hands of other performers, the story might have come across better. Also, if it had been filmed as an independent production that was allowed to take a few substantial risks, they might have been able to overcome the studio formula and turn out an insightful motion picture. Walk the Proud Land is a 1956 American CinemaScope Technicolor Western film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Audie Murphy and future Academy Award winner Anne Bancroft. Filmed at Old Tucson Studios, [2] it recounts the first successful introduction of limited self-government by John Clum (1851–1932), Indian agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory and is based on the 1936 biography Apache Agent by his son Woodworth Clum (1878-1946). COMMENT: In the present=day climate of racial tolerance, integration and understanding, it's a big surprise that this screen biography of a true-life Indian agent who blazed this particular trail, is not constantly revived. Admittedly, next to its patent earnestness, the picture's main virtue is its expansive CinemaScope location cinematography. Based upon the true story of John Philip Clum (Audie Murphy), Walk the Proud Land is a Westerns that takes a sympathetic view of the Native American Indians fight with the white settlers. Audie Plays an Indian agent, John Clum,who led job is to bring peace between the whites and the Indians, and does a great job in a western that has more emphasis on character and story and less on action. Indeed, the role of a pacifist would have worked better with a liberal actor like Henry Fonda or Burt Lancaster. Perhaps Murphy was anxious to spread his wings and show people what he could do with a different sort of heroic character, but contemporary audiences did not buy it.

The other main female presence is Anne Bancroft, miscast as a native girl who has designs on Murphy and wants to take the place of his wife. Interestingly, Miss Bancroft would also study method acting in the late 50s and refine her performance techniques like Miss Laurie did.I would say this is the best western/biopic starring Audie Murphy that I have seen. It's based on the story of John Clum, during his appointment as Indian Agent at Arizona's Apache San Carlos Reservation, some distance north of Tucson. In the various tellings of the tale of the OK Corral, the name John Clum comes up as a peripheral character. At that point in his life he was Mayor of Tombstone, Arizona and founder and editor of the Tombstone Epitaph which was in editorial support of the Earp brothers. But before that John Clum was an Indian agent, sent to the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona to reform the corrupt practices regarding same. Audie Murphy plays an eager and honest Clum in this film. Adapting the real-life story of government agent John Clum, this is undoubtedly a more 'enlightened' look at the relationships between whites and native people during a contentious time in U. S. history. But Murphy doesn't fit the part, given the persona that was associated with him in his previous films, not to mention his status as a hero during World War II. Want to know what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "Indian Agent sent to try new approach to peace with Apaches based on respect for automomy rather than submission to Army. Wins over reservation chiefs and the Indian widow (Bancroft) given to him as housekeeper. Through use of diplomacy and demonstrations of faith in Apache leaders, reservation is put on the road to automomy. Conflicts arise between Apache widow and Eastern wife but latter has a lot to learn."

SYNOPSIS: John Philip Clum is appointed Indian Agent at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, where he finds the Army using violent means to suppress the Indians. Clum asserts his authority to help the Apaches, thus earning the displeasure of the people of Tucson. In gratitude, the Indians send Tianay to keep house for him. This arouses the jealousy of Clum's fiancée, Mary Dennison. The role of Mary Dennison, Clum's fiancée, was originally offered to Piper Laurie, but she turned it down so she could study at the Actors Studio in New York. Pat Crowley was cast instead. [5] There were a couple of moments when Ann Bancroft was on screen when my mouth dropped open at how utterly gorgeous she was. Simply breathtaking! Charles Drake and Morris Ankrum do nice work, and Jay Silverheels can do no wrong in my book (I could watch that noble face and listen to that great voice all day long). The right to use the title "Walk the Proud Land" was obtained from Logan Forster, author of "Proud Land," a novel of the same genre.The film was not a success at the box office, something attributed to the fact that Murphy played a pacifist rather than an action hero. This ended Murphy's plans to make his dream project, a biopic of painter Charles Marion Russell. [5] See also [ edit ]

Geronimo comes to the reservation to recruit warriors. Eskiminzin flatly rejects his efforts yet tells his men they may join Geronimo if they wish; none do. Clum tells Geronimo that he and his people are welcome to live at San Carlos if they agree to certain rules, including being unarmed while on the premises. Geronimo agrees to discuss it with his people. Tianay marvels at Clum's bravery, telling Mary he is the first white man to have spoken to Geronimo and lived.

Walk the Proud Land is one of the few western films to have a choreographer in the person of Tommy Rall. Rall, a well known Broadway dancer, plays a young Indian warrior who becomes Murphy's friend. There is a lengthy sequence involving the Apaches entertaining some white VIPs at Murphy's wedding to Crowley with some tribal dances. A nice mix between the real deal and what you might see in Rose Marie's Totem Tom Tom number. San Carlos, Arizona, and John Philip Clum (Murphy) arrives and attempts to broker peace with the Apache by way of letting them have autonomy away from army government. I am not saying Bancroft is an amateur in WALK THE PROUD LAND; on the contrary, she provides a very engaging performance. But I still found her attempt to play an Indian problematic, and she is not portraying a sympathetic character, which seems at odds with the story's thesis, that we are supposed to give Apaches a chance. Clum is an Indian agent sent to the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona in 1874 to prevent further bloodshed and stop the renegade chief Geronimo (Jay Silverheels) from encouraging young Indian braves to take up their weapons and fight once more. Clum s struggle is made worse by the townsfolk and cavalry who believe that the only good Indian is a scalped one. But whilst Clum makes enemies of the governor, cavalry officers and the more headstrong Apache braves, he begins to win the trust of the elders by talking of the government s new peace plan for Indian autonomy rather than submission and prevent the reservation from siding with Geronimo...

It's a pity that the direction of this worthy script should be so flatly pedestrian. Less than talented directors like Jesse Hibbs (former football star) welcomed CinemaScope because it relieved them of the burden of having to think in terms of visual excitement. Now simply the scope itself is the thing. No dramatic compositions, no effective cutting, no pointed camera movement necessary. With Piper Laurie suddenly not available, the role of Murphy's wife was given to Patricia Crowley who was more identified with romantic comedies at her home studio Paramount. Unfortunately, Crowley doesn't register much in the story and she is not given anything significant to do in her limited scenes. Murphy's fans were accustomed to him playing white-centric roles, where he usually went up against the natives who were on the other side of civilization and the law. In these pictures, Murphy's characters were meant to uphold the ideologies of European Americans in the west, not to make concessions to Indians, least of all warring Apaches. WALK THE PROUD LAND is a story which seems the antithesis of all that.I confess to not knowing the real story of Clum, so I was not distracted by how factually accurate this account was (or wasn't, as the case may be). I watched it purely for its entertainment value and walked away completely entertained. Yes, the script has some rather heavy-handed messages we are beaten over the head with throughout, but I feel most of society could stand to be beaten over the head with some positive messages regarding friendship, loyalty, family, and race relations, so that didn't bother me. This isn't your typical shoot 'em up Western, in fact Clum (Audie Murphy) does as much as he can to banish the military from interfering in his ideas about Apache self governance. Winning over the respect and admiration of the San Carlos Reservation Apaches, he establishes a local police force and tribal court to deal directly with violations occurring within his jurisdiction. Even so, Clum seems to walk a tightrope between Indians and the white man, evidenced by the ubiquitous 'maybe' he contends with whenever dealing with situations that affect both sides. This Universal picture made money at the box office, but not enough money to be profitable for the studio. It was an "A" budget production with an expensive star, Audie Murphy, who had proven himself in a slew of other westerns and action adventure yarns that appealed to conservative audiences. Why they decided to put him into a biographical role as an Indian agent who sympathized with the Apaches is somewhat baffling.