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Walk the Proud Land

Play trailer Poster for Walk the Proud Land Released Aug 1, 1956 1h 28m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
0% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Based on a true story, this film follows John Philip Clum (Audie Murphy), a government official sent to Arizona to broker peace between the Americans and the Apache people. Initially hesitant, the Americans are convinced by Clum to stop fighting, and they allow him to establish a police force on the reservation, trained by Clum's friend Tom Sweeny (Charles Drake). Meanwhile, a romantic rivalry begins between Clum's wife and an Apache woman (Anne Bancroft) who has taken refuge in Clum's home.

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Richard W. Nason New York Times Murphy is shot at and pushed around. But the point is that he responds to all this with nothing more than the somnambulant expression of a boyish counselor making his rounds at day camp. Jun 15, 2020 Full Review William Brogdon Variety Cinemascope and Technicolor give the footage visual attractiveness. What's lacking, however, is excitement and story action. Jun 15, 2020 Full Review TIME Staff TIME Magazine [Murphy proves] that a white man can singlehanded do better than the entire U.S. Army at hunting down Indian rebels, and can bring peace, freedom and prosperity to the Apaches -- provided, of course, that the scriptwriter is on his side. Jun 15, 2020 Full Review Tony Sloman Radio Times This potentially powerful story of conflict is rather spoiled by the emphasis on Clum's domestic troubles, which nullifies the original premise. Nevertheless, Murphy is convincing, and both Pat Crowley and Anne Bancroft are excellent in supporting roles. Rated: 2/5 Jun 15, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews There was little action, which is not a good sign for any Western. Rated: C+ Jun 15, 2020 Full Review TV Guide Staff TV Guide [A] slow screen biography. Rated: 2.5/5 Jul 10, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (7) audience reviews
j f That Anne Bancroft can start the fire under my smoke signal any day! Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/15/24 Full Review Audience Member good technicolour western Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member a very good western movie even if it was not a sucess at the box office.Beautiful horses in movie to. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Seen better, but it was OK. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Seen better, but it was OK. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member In the various tellings of the tale of the OK Corral, the name John Clum comes up as a peripheral character. At that point in his life he was Mayor of Tombstone, Arizona and founder and editor of the Tombstone Epitaph which was in editorial support of the Earp brothers. But before that John Clum was an Indian agent, sent to the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona to reform the corrupt practices regarding same. Audie Murphy plays an eager and honest Clum in this film. The poor Indians were caught between a rock and a hard place. Either it was the army who was going to govern them or as was argued the civilian Interior Department. Clum has some interesting and novel ideas about giving the Apaches a large measure of self government. But the real story of Clum is hardly touched on. He stands out simply because he was honest. Sad to say Indian agents for the most part were hack politicians from the political machines back east. Whether they were hired by the War Department or the Interior Department, a lot of them robbed the poor Indians blind. Right at this time, one of the most notorious scandals of the Grant Administration was the Whiskey Ring which involved various trading posts and reached right up to the Secretary of War, a gentleman named William Belknap who resigned before he was impeached. Murphy gets able support from two leading ladies, pretty and perky Pat Crowley who plays his eastern fiancé and Anne Bancroft who is the spectacularly beautiful Indian widow who's crushing out on him. Jay Silverheels who played Geronimo in Broken Arrow, plays him again in Walk the Proud Land. Charles Drake plays the former army sergeant who hires on as a blacksmith at the San Carlos Reservation and becomes Murphy's best pal and confidante. Walk the Proud Land is one of the few western films to have a choreographer in the person of Tommy Rall. Rall, a well known Broadway dancer, plays a young Indian warrior who becomes Murphy's friend. There is a lengthy sequence involving the Apaches entertaining some white VIPs at Murphy's wedding to Crowley with some tribal dances. A nice mix between the real deal and what you might see in Rose Marie's Totem Tom Tom number. Walk the Proud Land is definitely one of Audie Murphy's better westerns for Universal and a nice tribute to a real western figure. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Walk the Proud Land

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Based on a true story, this film follows John Philip Clum (Audie Murphy), a government official sent to Arizona to broker peace between the Americans and the Apache people. Initially hesitant, the Americans are convinced by Clum to stop fighting, and they allow him to establish a police force on the reservation, trained by Clum's friend Tom Sweeny (Charles Drake). Meanwhile, a romantic rivalry begins between Clum's wife and an Apache woman (Anne Bancroft) who has taken refuge in Clum's home.
Director
Jesse Hibbs
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal International Pictures
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 1, 1956, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 5, 2019
Runtime
1h 28m