When even traditional Western director John Ford developed a conscience about the portrayal of American Indians as bloodthirsty savages, the day of the Red Indian was clearly doomed and that of the Native American already in sight. This portrait of the epic trek back to the homelands of a pitifully oppressed race is slow but impressive, directed with fine singleness of purpose. The Cheyenne are portrayed as proud, implacable people and played with great humility, especially by veteran Gilbert Roland. Alas, the trek is punctured in the centre by a long comic action piece set in Dodge City, which, apart from containing James Stewart's worst performance (as Wyatt Earp), completely destroys the mood of the film.

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