Indian Paint (1965) User Reviews

I watched this movie being filmed

[wayne-526 · 5/10 · 10 April 2010]

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 ate our food in camp. 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 older than me) and we all were big Rifleman fans. We ate 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.

Indian Paint

[zinvester · 6/10 · 13 January 2007]

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.

Such A Silly Error About PreColumbian Indians

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 21 February 2010]

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.

"Indian Paint" is a family-oriented movie about the trials and tribulations of a native-American boy's "coming of age".

[fauxjob · 16 August 2011]

I watched several reruns of this as a 6th grader in 1975 on local programming in St. Louis, so I'll write my review from a 9 year-old's perspective.

"Indian Paint" is a family-oriented movie about the trials and tribulations of a native-American boy's "coming of age". The characters maintained my interest and the plot was filled with the twists and turns that make a kid's movie thrilling, however far fetched.

The cinematography, costumes, and stunts are typical of the era and I quite enjoyed it. I didn't consider this film a "western", even though it fits the genre in the sense of "the west"-- it's not your typical protagonist / antagonist with villains-type of western.

The relationship between the main character and his horse is so moving that I thought the movie was called "Painted Pony"-- instead, that's a little tune that actor Johnny Crawford sings and hums in the film. I quite enjoyed that and it stays in my memory to this day.

It's not PC to native-Americans, and it's historically incorrect, as many point out, but it's my belief that films like this generated interest for our native-Americans.

I would recommend this for kids / family, as well as adults who are nostalgic or don't mind the un-pc angle. I would definitely watch it with my pre-adolescent kids if I had any ;-)

Not bad!

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 8 February 2021]

The Mill Creek B-Movie Blast set is even more all over the place than your normal Mill Creek set, which usually at least has a horror or science fiction theme. Honestly, they could have just called this Mill Creek presents Nearly Everything Crown International Pictures Released. Actually, they totally should have, because I would have bought it even sooner.

Yes, not everyone has a Crown International Letterboxd list. But I sure do and one of my life's goals - look, it's my grail, not yours - is to see every single movie they ever released.

To get there, I'm going to have to make it through Indian Paint, a 1965 western with Johnny Crawford (Mark McCain from TV's The Rifleman), Jay Silverheels (Tonto from TV's The Lone Ranger) and Crawford's brother-in-law Pat Hogan, a Native American actor who showed up in plenty of films before his untimely death at the age of 46. Hogan seems pretty awesome, as in his spare time he wrote for men's magazines and was such a good writer that John Steinbeck sent him a note praising his writing. Know what's even more amazing? His dog's name was White Man.

This being a 1965 Western, Crawford ends up playing Nishko, the chief's son who must tame a painted pony. Nobody told him anything about the rattlesnakes,cougars, wolves and enemy tribes that he'd have to handle along the way.

This was directed by Norman Foster, who made a pretty great film noir called Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, as well as several of the Mr. Moto, Charlie Chan and Davey Crockett movies. He wrote the film as well, which isn't as problematic as most westerns from this time. So there's that.

The quest to complete the Crown International library continues

Leisurely, nostalgic film with personal touches for me...

[jmsfan · 7/10 · 13 November 2013]

I have many reasons for liking this film. First, I will admit I heard of it while growing up in a small town in Texas. The filming locations for Indian Paint state that it was filmed in Grand Prairie, Texas and in "Texas" (which, for me, means that there were too many locations to name, but that's just my opinion). But I know specifically of a town where scenes were filmed nearby and that town is Cleburne, Texas.

My older sister (by 10 years) was a young teeny-bopper at the time and knew all about Johnny Crawford and even his brother Robert (Bobby) Crawford Jr. In my small town, even in the pre-internet days, it was no secret that a Johnny Crawford film was being made the next town over. Due to my sister's urging, no doubt, my Dad took her and some of her friends to Cleburne to see if they could find the hotel where the Crawfords were staying.

As there were only so many hotels in town, it wasn't hard to track down and my sister told me of how Bobby Crawford (who was a heartthrob himself for teen girls at the time) saw girls gathering and was playing peek-a-boo with them in and out of the hotel, much to their squealing delight. Meanwhile, my Dad, who could talk his way into many an opportunistic situation, asked a man who was getting into a jeep with a production logo on the side if he could give him a lift to the set. The guy said, "sure," and off my Dad set off towards the filming site. They talked along the way and soon my Dad had to confess that he wasn't part of the film crew. The guy promptly let him out and took off. Back in those days, it wasn't hard to catch a ride (at least in our part of Texas), so Dad got back to Cleburne and met up with my Mom, sister, and her friends. For small-town Texas folk, this was a fun time.

I'd heard that story several times as a kid. Coincidentally, I grew up loving The Rifleman (in reruns) as my favorite TV Western. I didn't really think of Johnny Crawford in the years to come as the same kid that had filmed Indian Paint.

Cut to 1979, and my younger sister got engaged to a guy who was/and is a brilliant Western painter locally. I tagged along with them to visit his family home south of Cleburne and found out that Indian Paint had been partially filmed on their land. My sister's fiancé and his brother even had a small part in the film, but it's one of those "blink and you'll miss it" moments. He showed it to us on VHS and I was just reminded what a small world it is.

As for the film itself, I remember liking it very much for what it was. Not perfect by any means but a gentle, likable family film. Someday I'll try to pick it up on DVD and revel in the memories. Sorry this wasn't as much a review as it was a trip down memory lane for a middle-aged guy.

A story and expression of traditional values that have, unfortunately, been forgotten.

[benmoshe · 5/10 · 12 April 2018]

A story and expression of traditional values that have, unfortunately, been forgotten or ignored by most Native Americans that I am very familiar with in today's Northern Nevada. That is the fault of the U.S. Government and the perpetuation of life on the Reservation or Indian Colony. The film however emphasizes the values that we all want to have instilled in the ever growing minds of our children. It is an enjoyable story that has told us how Native Americans lived and loved, fought, and died as they provided for and protected their Families and their Tribe or Band.It's a worthwhile family show and time well spent. It's not a movie for nitpickers. Just enoy the story, the acting, and the cinematography.

A dated but noble effort. Definitely worth a viewing.

[pazu7 · 7/10 · 6 May 2006]

I am surprised no one has commented in this film. Sure, it is cheesy by todays standards, and perhaps even for its time. The dialog is pretty corny, and the representation of Native American's might even be considered condescending in its naiveté, especially by our current PC standards. But what I found interesting is that it tells the story of young Indians coming of age from their own perspective. Once again this perspective isn't really theirs, its Hollywoods, but none-the-less it is a story about their life, much in the same way as "Dances With Wolves" tells the story of Indian life. Not that I am comparing the films. "Dances.." is obviously a classic and very few have even heard of "Indian Paint". Rather I am associating the themes of the films and their focus on the lives of the Indians themselves.

Not an easy one to find, but if you do, give it a shot. Set your schmaltz meter to the appropriate era and it should be entertaining enough. Plus it's got Johnny Crawford. How bad could it really be?

Not my cup of tea

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 8 August 2009]

Very much of the time story of a young Indian brave who bonds with a young colt during their time away from the tribe. While away the young man also grows up into a man.

Not my cup of tea western tale gets points for trying not to be the typical depiction of native Americans but at the same time it still suffers from some Hollywood conventions such as Caucasian actors playing Native Americans. Aimed firmly at the family audience the film might give some parents kittens with its "graphic" depiction of death between warriors(its not off screen but it is hidden). I liked that the film doesn't really shy away from real life. Unfortunately the film never fully clicked with me since it's, as I said, aimed at the family audience so some of the twists and turns seemed to be aimed more at teaching a lesson then being full realistic.

Worth seeing if the plot appeals to you or you like westerns.

An interesting film that focuses entirely on Native American people

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 22 July 2015]

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.

Falls between two stools!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 9 April 2018]

Copyright 7 April 1965 by Tejas Productions, Inc. No New York opening. U.S. release through Eagle American Films and Crown International Pictures: 8 April 1965. U.K. release through BLC/ British Lion: 5 August 1966. No Australian theatrical or TV release. 91 minutes. Cut to 77 minutes in the UK.

SYNOPSIS: Nishko, the son of the chief of the Arikara tribe, trains the foal of a domesticated mare and a wild stallion. When mature, the colt is torn between loyalty to his young trainer and his instinct to return to his father's herd. NOTES: Filmed in and around Cleburne, Texas, in 1963.

COMMENT: A story with plenty of exciting incidents, including some amazing animal footage, all beautifully photographed. Norman Foster's direction with its over-use of close-ups is inclined to be dull, whilst the acting, not to be too unkind, is second-rate.

Indian Paint holds the interest but all the same its appeal is likely to be limited. It falls between two stools, - not arty enough for the art-house circuit, yet too un-Hollywood for general release.

Of the speaking players, only Hogan and Silverheels are genuine Indians.

Great family film

[annettegates · 8/10 · 1 January 2022]

Our entire family has enjoyed this film for the past 20 years. Two generations of kids have all loved it. Both girls and boys are fascinated by the story and ask lots of questions about the history and culture portrayed. It's a nice change from "cowboy" movies, since it is about Indians (Native Americans) during an earlier time period, before the arrival of Europeans.