Soldier Blue (1970) on Netflix
In 1877 Colorado Territory, Cheyenne warriors wipe out a cavalry column. Private Honus Gent and Cresta Lee survive; she sides with the Cheyenne, he does not. They must reach Fort Reunion.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.9/107,404 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes38%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1877, a column of cavalry troops crossing the Colorado Territory is attacked and wiped out by Cheyenne warriors. Two people come out of it alive: Private Honus Gent, a young soldier who believes in his orders, and Cresta Lee, who has spent two years in a Cheyenne village and tells him plainly that her sympathies are with the Cheyenne. Their only course is to walk to Fort Reunion, the army post where her fiancé, Lieutenant McNair, is stationed. Supplies are short, and they hide from Native riders along the way. Kiowa horsemen spot them, and Cresta presses Honus into fighting their chief. Honus has also destroyed a gun shipment belonging to a trader who sells weapons to the Cheyenne, and that trader is now after the pair.
Cast
- Bob Carrawayas Lt. McNair
Show all 20 cast
- Marco Antonio Arzateas Kiowa Warrior (uncredited)
- Barbara De Hubpas Mrs. Long (uncredited)
- Ron Fletcheras Lt. Mitchell (uncredited)
- Alfredo Tarzan Gutiérrezas Kiowa Indian (uncredited)
- Conrad Hoolas Lieutenant (uncredited)
- Lance Hoolas Guard (uncredited)
- Nicolás Jassoas Kiowa Indian (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Soldier Blue (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
The film provided the first motion picture account of the Sand Creek massacre, in which Colorado Territory militia under Colonel John M. Chivington massacred a defenceless village of Cheyenne and Arapaho on the Colorado Eastern Plains.- According to Bergen, a large van full of prosthetics was brought in for the violent battle sequences, loaded with dummy body parts and animatronics, and amputees from Mexico City were hired as extras for the final massacre sequence.
- Director Nelson said he was inspired to make the film by the wars in Vietnam and Sơn Mỹ. Principal photography began on 28 October 1969, with the exterior photography taking place in Mexico.
- The title song, written and performed by Buffy Sainte-Marie, was released as a single and became a top ten hit in the UK as well as other countries in Europe and Japan during the summer of 1971.
- The film was criticized negatively by some on release; a purported survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre claimed that seeing it was "the most horrifying experience of my life".
