Hiawatha on AllMovie

When Vincent Edwards attained TV stardom as "Ben Casey" in 1961, his detractors took great delight in citing Edwards' earlier starring appearance in Monogram's Hiawatha. A great deal of fun was had by all when it was revealed that Edwards had to have his chest shaved on a daily basis while playing the hero of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem. This aside, Edwards is fairly credible as Hiawatha, while the film itself is easy to take (perhaps too easy; action fans may be disappointed). The nucleus of the story is Hiawatha's love for Minnehaha (Yvette Dugay), the daughter of his tribe's mortal enemy, Chief Igaoo (Morris Ankrum). As war clouds gather, Hiawatha struggles manfully to prevent bloodshed between the Ojibway and Dacotah tribes. The ending of Hiawatha is slightly at odds with the Longfellow original, but works within the context of the film.