MovieChat Forums > Broken Arrow Discussion > It is unconscionable that Jay Silverheel...

It is unconscionable that Jay Silverheels was not credited for his role

posted 19 years ago by rspear61
11 replies | jump to latest

I guess real indians didn't get much credit in these types of films, but come on, Jay's portrayal of the renegade Geronimo was excellently done. It was a very believable performance that did not outshine Jeff Chandler's Cochise, but showed the anger that was needed to convince us that Geronimo could not go along with Cochise. Jay Silverheels was an outstanding actor.

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[–] savikain 19 years ago

I totally agree with the comments made by rspear61, I think that as an actor Jay Silverheels was never given the credit he deserved.I grew up watching him as tonto in the old lone ranger tv series which i still watch today,though i`ve notice the the overly anti indian remarks in alot of the early shows which i`m sure must of been hard for Jay to deal with,but to his credit he did! signed Jet181949

[–] pjwoodall1 19 years ago

I read Clayton Moore's autobiography several years ago, and the only people he had anything bad to say about were Bonita Granville and her husband who took his mask away from him. He said the Lone Ranger always treated Tonto as an equal and showed great concern for his comrade when they faced danger.
I used to have a 2-record collection of highlights from the Tonight Show, and Silverheels resurrected his Tonto character as a job applicant at an employment agency where Carson interviews him. I was very surprised to see his long list of credits, especially PERILS OF NYOKA where Moore was the hero and Silverheels apparently an Arab. Iron Eyes Cody is also credited in the serial as an Arab!
There is one omission in Moore's list of credits in his book--ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION where he is one of the Legionaires(Chapter 10, I think).

[–] glenwoodave 18 years ago

I didn't realise Jay Silverheels wasn't credited until you mentioned it. But now looking at the full cast list on imdb, it seems that only SEVEN actors in the whole film got a screen credit! Huh??? What was that about?

Jay Silverheels was indeed an outstanding actor. His performance in Broken Arrow in the "I walk away" scene was riveting. He was the perfect Geronimo for Jeff Chandler's Cochise - both of them equally strong but with different visions for the future of their people. I wish we could have seen more of him in the movie, but as the story was really about the trust and friendship between Jeffords and Cochise I guess it wasn't appropriate. Pity they didn't make a sequel with the emphasis on Jay's Geronimo character.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bradford-1 16 years ago

In the "old days," studios were notoriously stingy with credits, especially at the beginning of films, though they sometimes added expanded lists after "The End," which BROKEN doesn't do. Although I haven't seen it, I've read about a Western called GERONIMO (1938) which doesn't credit Chief Thundercloud, even though he plays the title character! I would assume that will be corrected if it ever makes it to DVD.

[–] vpilutis 14 years ago

Funny thing back in the 1930s and 40s most films had end cast list however not all the actors were always listed. Then in the 1950s and early 60s many studios
stopped having end casts listings.
Then later on they started again now the end credits overall go on and on.
More so for FX films

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[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 13 years ago

I agree, OP.

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[–] gribfritz2 9 years ago

ROFL....he was in it for 5 minutes...get over it...many others with larger parts who happen to NOT be native american went uncredited. I suppose it isn't PC to cry for them as well.

[–] rspear61 9 years ago

"many" others?? Like who? And PC has nothing to do with it. Does my original post sound PC to you?

To know who rules you, find who you are not allowed to criticize. Voltaire

[–] Skye_Reynolds 9 years ago

Yeah. It's pretty crazy. It's not like his role in the film was incidental. He was Cochise's counterpart and a pivotal character in a couple of key scenes. He was the first to interrogate Tom Jeffords. He gave a believable and emotionally charged speech during the debate over the treaty. And he led the attack near the end.

The only other omission I remember that's this glaring is Now, Voyager (1942) in which Janis Wilson, the young girl who played Tina, was uncredited. She was kind of a plot device, but she had a couple of important scenes at the end. It's sort of like if a version of A Christmas Carol failed to credit the actor playing Tiny Tim.

There's really no excuse for Jay Silverheels being uncredited.

[–] archerboy58 9 years ago

Jay Silverheels and John Doucette(survivor of the wagon train attack) are not credited yet Joyce MacKenzie who played the dinner owner had no lines and just sat there was!