One Little Indian is a 1973 Disney film with James Garner as a Cavalry deserter on the run. He gets caught as we start the story but he escapes with a couple of camels from the failed camel corps project. The Calvary, with tracker Jay Silverheels, is hot on his trail.
James encounters a little Indian boy called Mark who turns out to be a white kid. I've always been fond of James Garner, I will often watch something just because he's in it. Mark is played by Clay O'Brien, he had a short career, from 1972 to 1976. He appeared in several Disney productions. After acting he became a rodeo star with many world championships in team roping.
James and Mark stop at the home of Vera Miles and her daughter Jodie Foster. Vera's husband has died and they plan to leave their farm for a town in Colorado. James talks her into taking Mark to the next town where she hopes to get him a family. That doesn't go so well when Mark runs away and follows James.
The pair gets caught and it looks like they might hang James. We do learn James got in trouble because he stopped other troopers from killing Indian women at a village they were destroying. Heady stuff for Disney. Luckily, James has some friends, they arrange a stampede to bring the gallows down. It's Disney after all, they wouldn't have let a good man hang.
Morgan Woodward plays the Sergeant that is looking for James, he's a mean one. Pat Hingle, John Doucette, Bruce Glover, and Andrew Pine are some of the cast I knew. Harry Spalding is the writer and Bernard McEveety is the director. Glad I picked it up. I was entertained and would watch it again.
I don't remember this film either. I may have seen it a long time ago. I also like James Garner. I'll keep an eye out for it on TCM and Disney.
Posted by: Gary S Mattingly | July 26, 2019 at 10:45 AM