Ein Kamel im wilden Westen

I love James Garner films, especially western, especially old ones. This one from the Disney studios is a gem, featuring a very young Jodie Foster as a 10 year old girl with a crush on the "little Indian" who turns out to be not an Indian at all.

OK, so it might be a bit corny for modern tastes, but the acting is flawless all around, especially Garner and Vera Miles and the "little Indian" played by Clay O'Brien. The camels are great too, obviously played by camels. Whoever their trainer was did a great job!

If you like good clean family entertainment without senseless filler, then I recommend this film could be for you!

Standard western from Disney has Calvary soldier-turned-deserter James Garner escaping incarceration with two camels, coming across an Indian boy in the New Mexico desert, also on the run; turns out the kid, who speaks near-perfect English, is a "white eyes," either adopted by the Indians or raised in captivity (the movie is shy to say). Family film uses the ornery camels for comic relief, while Garner's paternal feelings for the boy underline the scenario with sentiment. Vera Miles plays a handsome widow, conveniently placed on the journey (with a young daughter, Jodie Foster) for the soldier to warm to and the boy to learn from about family. Luckily for Garner, Miles still has her dead husband's razor so's the soldier can give himself a shave... ** from ****

The plot is a little predictable, or maybe I remembered it from 'way back when. As a James Garner fan, it's a sure bet that I've seen this before, but can't remember when. The timing and pace were superb; I was entertained without thinking about time passing. It's a little sentimental for today's tastes. Acting was flawless by the entire cast; every character was believable. The music was unpretentious, and unfortunately, unmemorable, but then it also doesn't date itself, either. At the end, I didn't have the feeling that this is an all time classic, but it did manage to jerk that little tear out of my eyeball. The only major flaw was the poor use of obvious studio shot closeups during the chase scenes, which jarred the viewer from the suspended disbelief necessary to enjoy fiction. Overall, I'm not sorry that I own the DVD. It's a real joy to escape the foul language and smut that passes itself off as entertainment these days.

You know I watch a great many movies, being disabled and not very mobile can do that to you.

From action to romance and thriller to comedy I pretty much enjoy any genre and being this way I have seen a lot of action packed movies. So when one comes my way that is simply a good story with fun and a pleasant message it is refreshing.

This is one of those movies! Good, fun, pleasant to watch and with clean non-violent message.

James Garner is good fun and plays the role well.

Jodie Foster is in it for only a few scenes but you know even seeing her at that age (11 i guess) was kind of neat! Vera Miles also plays her part well.

As for the "one little Indian" - Clay O'Brien, he plays his part well, and even the occasional dodgy haircut is forgivable! So in short, if you a looking for a good, clean, family movie I can recommend this one.

All the best from Southern Ireland! Kevin

How boring.

'One Little Indian' lasts for just 90 minutes but somehow feels much longer, the pacing is so slow; not helped by hardly any action or noteworthy event(s). The cast do alright, but the plot isn't interesting or well told; of course the idea is a heartwarming one, but never once does it really come through as that. Not sure the kid attempting to be Native American is necessary, either.

I have zero issues with the onscreen talent themselves, James Garner (Clint), Vera Miles (Doris) and Clay O'Brien (Mark), among others, all give fine performances - could've been better, could've been worse. It's always cool seeing a future famous cast member when they were younger, Jodie Forster (Martha) in this case.

All too mundane. A weak attempt, even if Disney have done worse.