Comanche Territory (1950 film)

Comanche Territory is a 1950 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Maureen O'Hara and Macdonald Carey. Jim Bowie is sent into Comanche country on a mission to allow the government to mine silver on the Indian's land. This film marked the first credited role of James Best.

Comanche Territory
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	George Sherman
Written by	Lewis Meltzer
Screenplay by	Oscar Brodney Lewis Meltzer
Produced by	Leonard Goldstein
Starring	Maureen O'Hara Macdonald Carey
Cinematography	Maury Gertsman
Edited by	Frank Gross
Music by	Frank Skinner
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	May 1, 1950 (1950-05-01)
Running time	76 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.6 million[1]

Plot

An Indian treaty prevents settlers setting up camp on Comanche territory, but silver has been found and the government has sent Jim Bowie (Macdonald Carey) and Dan'l Seeger (Will Geer) to negotiate a new treaty to allow the precious metal to be mined.

Bowie soon finds that settlers are planning a raid on the Comanche, all instigated by saloon owner Katie Howard (Maureen O'Hara) and her crooked brother Stacey (Charles Drake). Katie falls in love with Bowie and turns honest, but it may be too late to prevent another Indian war.

Cast

• Maureen O'Hara as Katie Howard
• Macdonald Carey as James Bowie
• Will Geer as Dan'l Seeger
• Charles Drake as Stacey Howard
• Pedro de Cordoba as Quisima
• Ian MacDonald as Walsh
• Rick Vallin as Pakanah
• Parley Baer as Boozer, the bartender
• James Best as Sam
• Edmund Cobb as Ed

Production

In March 1949, Universal announced they would make a biopic of Jim Bowie produced by Leonard Goldstein, most likely to star Scott Brady as Bowie.^[2] The film was originally called The Bowie Knife. It was O'Hara's second film for Universal, following Bagdad (1949),^[3] and co-star Macdonald Carey's second film on loan from Paramount, following South Sea Sinner (1950).^[4]

Location work was done at Kanab, Utah,^[5] but location shooting took place in and around the Oak Creek Canyon area of Arizona. Filming was postponed a week in August 1949 so O'Hara could recover from laryngitis.^[6]

2025 Cannes Film Festival tribute

Quentin Tarantino paid tribute to Comanche Territory and one other George Sherman film, Red Canyon, by hosting special screenings of the films at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.^[7]