The story is about a Marshall, played by Jimmy Stewart, who is called upon by the military to negotiate with a Cherokee tribe for the release of some prisoners (captured nine years earlier). The military cannot intervene because it has a treaty with them and to do so would be a declaration of war, so the civilian Marshall is sent in. He, and one of the officers set off to reclaim the prisoners.
The interesting thing here is that Stewart gets to play a self-indulgent jerk most of the time. He's not in it for the good of the mission but instead for the $$ he can make. He even makes morally ethical choices that are not representative of a 'good guy'.
One of the big things with this film is that it wasn't the traditional cowboys and Indians type of film where the Native Americans are the bad guys. Instead, it shed light on bigotry which allowed Stewart to have one of his only good moments and redeemed his character a bit. This idea that the Native Americans were being represented as more than just 'savage' killers was what drew me to the film in the first place.
Overall, my only complaint is that it feels like three films in one but it's not enough of a deterrent to me to have enjoyed the story.
Yes, I'll recommend it.
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