Comanche Territory
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
George Sherman
Maureen O'hara
Macdonald Carey
Will Geer
Charles Drake
Pedro De Cordoba
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Frontiersman James Bowie arrives in the Mexican-controlled territory of Texas in the 1820s, where he is saved by Dan'l Seeger, an ex-Congressman, from a group of attacking Comanche Indians. Dan is shot during the rescue, and after Jim removes the bullet from his shoulder, the two are captured by the Comanches and taken back to their village. They are saved from execution by the arrival of Quisima, the elderly chief of the tribe, who is impressed by both Jim's manner of speech and his knife. Jim teaches the Comanches how to make the famous Bowie knife and, in return Quisima agrees to allow the United States to mine for silver on Comanche land after the tribe renews its treaty with the government. Upon leaving the Indian village, however, Dan confesses that he was sent from Washington, D.C. to ratify the treaty in question, but it was stolen from him. The two then travel to Crooked Tongue, where Jim hopes to discover the culprits by pretending to be a silver buyer. Upon arriving in town, Jim immediately runs afoul of Katie Howard, owner of both the local bank and saloon. Dan recognizes Katie's perfume as the scent of the person who shot him and openly demands that she return the stolen treaty, which leads to a barroom brawl. Katie is then ordered by her brother Stacey to romance Jim, as he hopes the wealthy frontiersman will buy their silver in the future. Later, Jim and Katie are forced to go to the Comanche village and meet with Quisima. The chief's son Pakaneh accuses "the white man" of breaking his treaty. When Jim pledges his word that the new treaty is on its way, he is forced to fight Pakaneh to prove his sincerity. Katie then confesses to stealing the treaty to help the settlers, but Jim convinces her that the treaty will bring both peace and prosperity to the area, so she agrees to return it. Although Stacey lies to her that he has destroyed the treaty, Katie throws a big party to convince the settlers to accept the treaty's terms. Later, Stacey takes the treaty to Quisima, having augmented it with a provision that insists that the Indians turn over their guns. The old chief agrees, not knowing that Stacey and his men plan to kill the disarmed Comanches, then begin silver mining on their land. Learning of Stacey's deception, Jim and Dan ride to the Comanche village to warn them of the planned attack, but the Indians have little with which to defend themselves, having already given up their rifles. Katie, previously unaware of her brother's plans, steals the wagon filled with the Comanches' guns and rides to the Indian village. She arrives there just in time to arm Quisima's warriors in their battle against Stacey's men. Seeing that defeat is imminent, Stacey tries to escape, only to be ridden down and captured by Jim. With peace restored, Jim heads back for Washington to meet with President Andrew Jackson, but promises Katie to return soon.
Director
George Sherman
Cast
Maureen O'hara
Macdonald Carey
Will Geer
Charles Drake
Pedro De Cordoba
Ian Macdonald
Rick Vallin
Parley Baer
James Best
Edmund Cobb
Glenn Strange
Iron Eyes Cody
Crew
Harold Belfer
Oscar Brodney
Leslie I. Carey
Richard Deweese
William Fritzsche
Russell A. Gausman
Maury Gertsman
Leonard Goldstein
Frank Gross
Bernard Herzbrun
David S. Horsley
Joseph Kish
Lewis Meltzer
Lewis Meltzer
Richard H. Riedel
John F. Sherwood
Frank Skinner
Joan St. Oegger
Bud Westmore
Yvonne Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were The Bowie Knife, and The Life of Jim Bowie. Portions of the film were shot near Sedona, AZ. This film is a fictionalized account of elements in the life of American pioneer James Bowie. Born in Logan County, KY, in 1796, Bowie moved to San Antonio, TX in 1828, becoming a Mexican citizen in 1830. Bowie joined the Texas battle for independence in 1832, and while serving as a colonel in the Texas revolutionary army, died in 1836 at the battle of the Alamo. He is noted for inventing the knife that carries his name.
