Buffalo bill 1944 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Buffalo bill 1944 buffalo bill was one of the big hits of 1944, yet neither its writer, director nor leading lady seems to have had any affection for it, or even wanted to make it. Joel mccrea takes his role seriously, and it does try to tell a compelling story, but there are little things which stops it from becoming engaging. Buffalo bill 1944 approved 1h 30min biography, romance, western april 1944 usa 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. Wellman on allmovie no slouch himself at rearranging the facts to. Good solid joel mc crea film, with maureen costarring as louisa cody. Buffalo bill is a 1944 english film stars joel mccrea, william a. The film shows an indian head cent, an unusual event at the time when the showing of actual.
Buffalo bill director william wellman would wince at the liberties taken with codys life especially the films now notorious closing line. In 1877, william frederick cody, an army scout at a remote frontier post, and a longtime friend of the cheyenne indians, is riding one day when he sees a wagon being attacked by a group of indians. He was a hopeless pat garrett in the outlaw but then it was an utterly lousy film. Wellman didnt want to make the film but he was stuck he had no choice but to make the movie because he owed fox a film for having been permitted to make the oxbow incident 1943, a film that studio chief darryl zanuck disliked as much as wellman disliked buffalo bill. If you enjoy the old westerns, youll enjoy buffalo bill. Buffalo bill western 1944 joel mccrea, maureen ohara, linda. Buffalo bill cody would probably have enjoyed this technicolor version of his life and times. The story of william buffalo bill cody, legendary westerner, from his days as an army scout to his later activities as owner of a. This studio artist drawing of joel mccrea was used to promote 1944s buffalo bill. The sirens life being what it perpetually is, she hasnt made it there until this week, when she saw a double bill of the great mans lady 1942 and buffalo bill 1944.
Wellman and starring joel mccrea and maureen ohara with linda darnell, thomas mitchell as ned buntline, edgar buchanan and anthony quinn in supporting roles. Annie get your gun, starring louis calhern as buffalo bill. Buffalo bill 1944 pays fine detail to color and surroundings, but not as much to its story where it gets difficult to root for anybody. Courtesy 20thcentury fox the first actor to play buffalo bill in the movies was the man who had perfected the role for over a quarter century on the stage and in the show arenawilliam f. Buffalo bill is a 1944 film produced by 20th century fox and directed by the vastly underappreciated william wellman.
The 1944 film buffalo bill stars joel mccrea as buffalo bill, maureen ohara, and linda darnell. Buffalo bill 1944 is a a fictionalized biopic of the life of buffalo bill cody joel mccrea who worked as a scout for the us army and later traveled east, establishing his wild west show and becoming an international sensation. This film follows the legendary story of william buffalo bill cody, from buffalo hunter to wild west showman. Already a renown scout, cody rescues louisa from an indian attack, then frees her father when hes kidnapped by the cheyenne for leverage in treaty negotiations. Wellman and starring joel mccrea and maureen ohara. Buffalo bill 1944 based on a story by frank winch, and set against the backdrop of bloody battles between white settlers and native americans, buffalo bill is the exciting story of the famous scoutturnedshowman william f. Wellman and collectively written by aeneas mackenzie, clements ripley, cecile kramer and frank winch. Joel mccrea is starring, alongside maureen ohara, linda darnell, thomas mitchell, edgar buchanan and anthony quinn. The film forum in new york city is running a massive william wellman retrospective, projected in glorious 35millimeter, through march 1. Wellman with joel mccrea, maureen ohara, linda darnell, thomas mitchell, year.
It is to be noted, that this rarely seen film, stands out for its acting, scenery, colour, and indian battle scenes. The movie was filmed in and around kanab, utah so the scenery is really great. Wellman con maureen ohara, thomas mitchell, anthony quinn, linda darnell. I say purports because the end result is about as realistic as the average green acres episode. Buffalo bill is a biographical western about the life of the legendary frontiersman, starring joel mccrea and maureen ohara with linda darnell and anthony quinn in supporting roles. The movie purports to be a biography of the famous william cody, a man who was a legend in his own time. Buffalo bill redt senator frederici en zijn dochter louisa. The 1944 twentieth century fox film buffalo bill is about the western hero and wild west show promoter william cody, known as buffalo bill. Director william a wellman claimed that he spent months researching the real william f cody with writer gene fowler. The first major film about william frederick buffalo bill cody, a buffalo hunter and decorated army scout who later became a famous showman, buffalo bill is probably as colorful and entertaining as codys life. The transfer of this technicolor film looks pretty good for the most part, though the colors sometime fluctuate slightly and seem a tad pale. Cody of the pony express, starring dickie moore as buffalo bill. The 1944 film buffalo bill stars joel mccrea as buffalo.
Buffalo bill, a colorful film, with joel mccrea in title. It stars joel mccrea, maureen ohara, linda darnell, anthony quinn, thomas mitchell and edgar buchanan. Buffalo bill, a colorful film, with joel mccrea in title role, opens at the roxy victoria has new arrival. I love maureen ohara and bought this dvd mainly due to reading about the film in her autobiography, tis herself.
Buffalo bill, starring joel mccrea as buffalo bill. I saw the film in 1944 when i was eight years old and for some reason it has. In later years, buffalo bill director william wellman would wince at the liberties taken with codys life especially the films now notorious. 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. Wellman took up the challenge in his 1944 biopic buffalo bill, to tepid results. See the article in its original context from april 20, 1944, page 0 buy reprints. Maureen ohara is louisa, the woman he falls in love with during his rise to fame as an indian fighter. The movie starts in 1877, with young bill cody joel mccrea hunting buffaloes and rescuing a wagon of dignitaries and sgt. The film also starred linda darnell, thomas mitchell, edgar buchanan, and two native american actors. It has an interesting cast, but the story suffers from lack of a strong and cohesive story arc, as. The film was directed by wild bill wellman, one of the pantheon of oldline hollywood masters from 19301960. No slouch himself at rearranging the facts to make a good story, colonel william f.
It has a really good cast and you cant go wrong with joel mccrea. Wellman with a great allstarcast as joel mccrea, maureen. Buffalo bill 1944 24822 movieart original film posters. Director william wellman directed some very good westerns, such as the oxbow incident, yellow sky and westward the women, but this isnt one of his very best. Buffalo bill 1944, which featured joel mccrea as the wild wests most flamboyant showman. Get premium, high resolution news photos at getty images. Original scene card from this 1944 film in very fine condition. Joel mccrea is believable as buffalo bill and must have been on loan for the part i cant imagine any of foxs players at the time in this role. Asked in movies, film directors where was kill bill ii filmed. Buffalo bill comes closest to being a good film in its somewhat bitter last act spoilers, when bills accomplishments are discredited by industrialists and politicians who object to his defense of the american indian and especially his outspoken anger against the rapid development of the west. Alors quune revolte eclate chez les indiens, william cody. Good biographic movie portraying the famous wild west role. Where was the 1944 movie buffalo bill filmed answers.