Indian Paint
Indian Paint
| 08 April 1965 (USA)
Indian Paint Trailers

Nishko is a chief's son in the Great Plains, before Europeans arrive. During his rite of passage, he's determined to tame a painted pony. He approaches manhood while his peaceful clan is set upon by a nearby tribe willing to break a treaty. He must also contend with the kidnapping of three young women from his village, his pony's illness behind enemy lines, his mother's coma after a rattlesnake bite, the medicine man's urging that he sacrifice what he loves best, the attack of a cougar and of wolves, and his own injury while alone in the woods. His kindness, bravery, and quick thinking serve him well, but rescue come from an unexpected source.

Reviews
Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Red-Barracuda Others have suggested that Indian Paint was a little un-PC in its depictions of Native Americans but I reckon you need to take the historical context into account when you consider a film such as this. It was made in the early 60's and I think that the idea to focus on the lives of the Native American people was a pretty commendable one; in fact, not only that, but there was a total absence of white people at all in this story. Granted, some white actors played the Indian characters with make-up but this is surely a minor complaint when set alongside the film's worthwhile overall objectives.It's essentially a coming-of-age story about a boy and the horse he loves. But in amongst this there are quite a few other dramas and story developments, such as the ongoing conflict between warring tribes. It's not necessarily a great film but it is an agreeably unusual one, with an unexpected emphasis on a people not usually given the main focus in cinematic offerings. It must have played its own small part in painting a more human picture of Native Americans than was usually the case in traditional westerns and for this reason it is a pretty nice little movie.
wayne-526 I find it hard to believe that I watched this movie being filmed in 1963 on location and have never seen the movie.I was in a boy's camp that went out for a few days of camping. We ended up along the Brazos River, I believe and the movie company ended up right beside us. Some wild donkeys (or loose donkeys) came into our camp while we were gone on hike and at our food. The people with the movie company invited us to eat with them and that's how I met Johnny Crawford face-to-face. He was a really nice kid (he was only 3 years old than me) and we all were big Rifleman fans. We at with him and he talked to us and it was just like a bunch of kids sitting around. He didn't act stuck up or anything. I also got to meet Jay Silverheels of The Lone Ranger fame, who played Crawford's father. I had never seen a movie being filmed before and it was a magical experience for me. The one vivid memory I have is that the Native American actors had rubber-tipped arrows and lances. I couldn't figure out how they wouldn't look rubber in the movie so now I'll have to see the movie and find out.
bkoganbing If Indian Paint hadn't started out with a bad historical error I might have given it a star or two higher rating. But even a B independent picture should not have made such a bad mistake. Right at the beginning the narrator says that the story is set in the time before the white man came to the western hemisphere and the Indians who are plains Indians are all riding horses.Even high school history students know that the horse came to America first from Cortes who let his stock run free and multiply in Mexico. Horses gradually moved north or were traded north by tribes to the south to their northern brethren who envied what could be done on horseback.Such an incredibly silly error mars a very nice story of a young Indian boy coming of age as a warrior through his love and care for a wild colt that everyone else says can't be broken. Jay Silverheels is the chief of the Arikawaha tribe and he's got considerably more dialog than what he used to have in The Lone Ranger. Silverheels's son is Johnny Crawford two years from The Rifleman and trying to keep his career alive as a teenage heartthrob. He plays the lad trying to tame the wild colt and has quite a few adventures in the process.Some criticism is voiced about not having American Indian players in the roles that whites have in this film. Take a look at the credits and you'll see one Robert Crawford, Sr. is the associate producer of Indian Paint. That should answer the question why his Johnny was cast in the lead. Please note that Robert Crawford, Jr. who was a regular in the Laramie series while Johnny was on The Rifleman is cast as Johnny's best friend. I think this is the last time the Crawford brothers worked together on a project.Indian Paint was shot on a shoestring completely outdoors in Texas where the action would have taken place a few hundred years earlier. It does lack some production values that a big studio could have given, but it's still a nice story, good family viewing.But let no one come away with the fact that horses were being ridden before Columbus got here.
zinvester I waited 42 years to see this movie. My mother wouldn't let me when it came out, and it has been virtually impossible to find it on video until I checked Netflix. I was very fulfilled to be able to watch my childhood hero Johnny Crawford in this movie finally. I'm sure Native Americans would not agree with much of the content in here by today's standards, but by the standards of 1964, it was fairly agreeable. The Indians were fighting one another, and there is no conflict with "the White Man." It's an improbable story of a boy and his horse but I sure enjoyed it. If you watch carefully, the horse, as both a colt and an adult, are played by several different horses.