Navajo (1952)
Directed by Norman Foster / Jules Dassin
Genres - Drama |
Sub-Genres - Psychological Drama |
Release Date - Feb 12, 1952 (USA - Unknown) |
Run Time - 70 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
Share on
Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Navajo was one of a group of intelligent "chamber" westerns turned out by Lippert productions in the 1950s. Technically, it's not a western at all, but what would later be termed a "docudrama." Shot on location at a Navajo Indian Reservation, the film features nonprofessional Native Americans in the major roles. Francis Kee Teller plays Son of the Hunter, a young Navajo boy who is separated from his family so that he may be given his government-dictated mandatory education. Disdaining the "white" world, Teller runs from his instructors. The two tenderfeet find themselves in a perilous situation, from which the savvy Teller must rescue them. One of the teachers is played by Hall Bartlett, the producer of Navajo (and, parenthetically, the then-husband of actress Rhonda Fleming).
Characteristics
Themes
Keywords
Indian (Native-American)-reservation, Navajo, race-relations, education, society