Young Indian brave White Bull captures and tames a wild stallion and names him Tonka. But when White Bull's cruel cousin claims Tonka for his own and mistreats the horse, White Bull sets him free. Tonka finally finds a home with Capt. Keogh and the 7th Calvary, and in 1876, rides into the Battle of Little Big Horn with General Armstrong Custer, becoming its only survivor.
Practical Effects
Incredible horse training—no CGI, just actual terrified animals.
Production
Massive Custer battle recreation with 200+ extras.
Acting
Sal Mineo gives 1000% as White Bull—method before method existed.
Director
Lewis R. Foster
Sal Mineo
White Bull
Philip Carey
Captain Myles Keogh
Jerome Courtland
Lieutenant Henry Nowlan
H.M. Wynant
Yellow Bull
Joy Page
Prairie Flower
Britt Lomond
General George Armstrong Custer
Rafael Campos
Strong Bear
Herbert Rudley
Captain Benteen
John War Eagle
Chief Sitting Bull
Gregg Martell
Corporal Korn
Slim Pickens
Ace
Robert "Buzz" Henry
Lieutenant Crittenden (as Robert Buzz Henry)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Disney killed so many horses filming the Little Big Horn sequence that the ASPCA intervened and new animal welfare regulations were created. The 'no animals were harmed' credit exists partly because of this movie.
The real Tonka/Comanche was taxidermied and still lives at the University of Kansas—he's the only 'survivor' of Little Big Horn who became a museum exhibit. The movie actually undersold the weirdness.
US
