Broken Arrow

"Broken Arrow" was 20th Century Fox' entry into the race for western TV supremacy in 1956. It did'nt happen here. Unlike Warner Bros., TFC didn't apply the movie like production values to its TV arm and it shows. But does it really matter with westerns? Not as much. Syrian born actor Michael Ansara was well cast as the brooding Cochise. One wonders how much he must have cringed as Tom Jeffords (bloodbrother to Cochise and Army officer) played to the hilt by actor John Lupton, had a tendency to sometimes over-dramatize his parts. Lupton (as did Ansara) went on to play charactor parts in a host of movies and other TV shows. (Ansara as you probably know was married for a time to actress Barbara Eden).The show was nontheless entertaining and was blessed with a bevy of first class directors and guest actors.Broken Arrow was somewhat unusual for its time as unlike other shows and movies of its time it showed that Indians can be reasonable and humane!Nostalgia buffs would love to see cleaned up studio versions of this instead of the grainy 16mm versions available today! Where are they?

I don't remember watching a single episode all the way through each program but I do remember in the opening of the series I'd see somebody breaking an arrow, when I was a youngster and whenever I saw my Grandpa Tony breaking a pound of spaghetti in half before putting it in the pot of boiling water it would remind me of the opening to the show Broken Arrow and I'd say, "BROKEN ARROW". Grandpa would say, "Yes! Broken Arrow!" I'm sure it was a pretty good show. I'm surprised that they don't show old reruns of it on TV as they do with Gunsmoke and Bonanza. Could it be available on VHS or DVD? If anybody knows, please do tell me and I'll be very much obliged. But this evening I was cooking spaghetti for dinner tonight and just like my Grandpa I broke the whole pound of spaghetti strands in half and I murmured, "BROKEN ARROW!"

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!?

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.

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?)