La flèche brisée

I don't remember much of the actual episodes; only the lessons taught me by the series. My mom (who claimed to be in some small part Blackfoot),had me watch the first few episodes and after that I watched them without her having to coax me. She had told me that the Indians,contrary to what we were lead to believe in school,had a strong sense of honor,Justice, Codes of Conduct and fair play,and took care of and had great respect for their elderly within the tribe. Years later,when I found myself in Ranger training with a full blood Apache, I found him to be a friend who, not only reinforced what mom had said, but was a wealth of information on their customs,rituals,and history. We'd been assigned on several missions together in Vietnam and I believe he'd adopted me as his little brother(then I was 5'8" and he was 6'4")Since I was the smaller I'd go in while he watched my back. It was a learning experience for the both of us as each found that what we had learned in our younger years truly had to be,as YODA would say "unlearn what you have learned". Much like what Broken Arrow taught me,what we all thought to be the case, was NOT the case at all. Perhaps we all could benefit from the lessons Broken Arrow has to teach!?

I well remember his series with great fondness. My Mother watched primarily to drool over Michael Ansara and I because of the fine flavour of Native American culture. Let us remember the time: in Westerns all Indians were "bad guys" save for Tonto, and the Apaches were the worst of the worst. Yet in "Broken Arrow", as in the motion picture upon which it was based, the Apaches were human and Cochise an heroic figure up to whom any little boy could look. John Lupton suffered from the ""Sugaroot" Will Hutchin's "aw shucks" young Jimmy Stewart lightweight syndrome" but somehow overcame it by dint of good acting and a underlying tragic flavour shared with Ansara and with the whole series. The tension in the series was cultural; the friendship of Cochise nd Tom always balanced against this cultural gulf. Not a typical Western at all but an exploration of multiculturalism in its best sense, "Broken Arrow" was unique in its day.

I just saw what appears to be the first TV episode of Broken Arrow with Lupton as Tom Jeffords and Ricardo Montalban as Cochise. This is the episode where Jeffords' wife dies, like in the movie with Jimmy Stewart. I only remember Michael Ansara as Cochise, but not so. I don't know when he changed parts. (Maybe the original was a single episode on Zane Grey Theater, which like The Rifleman, became a series?)

I just answered my own question. Montalban played Cochise in The 20th Century Hour TV series (a series of single one-hour TV made versions of 20th Century Fox movies). This still starred John Lupton as Tom Jeffords. They apparently made the series after this, except with Michael Ansara. I found this by checking the last TV entry on IMDB for Ricardo Montalban under TV episodes. I personally never remember seeing The 20th Century Hour.

As a teen, I watched the series regularly and was definitely glad to see an Indian portrayed as an honorable human being for once. I, too, wish the series were available on DVD. I think the casting of Michael Ansara as Cochise was brilliant. He epitomizes the Cochise portrayed in the original historical novel on which both the film and the series were loosely based, Blood Brother by Elliott Arnold. I just checked and the book is still in print in a rather expensive paperback version. There are many inexpensive used copies available on any number of used book sites. If you enjoyed the series and/or the film, I highly recommend reading the book. The author really did his homework in regard to research and it gives you the broad perspective on the whole relationship between Jeffords and Cochise that could not be as effectively portrayed in a film or half hour episodes in the series.