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Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Plot  





2 Cast  





3 Production  





4 References  





5 External links  














Tonka (film)






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Tonka
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLewis R. Foster
Written byDavid Appel
Lewis R. Foster
Lillie Hayward
Based onComanche: Story of America's Most Heroic Horse
by David Appel
Produced byJames C. Pratt
StarringSal Mineo
Philip Carey
Jerome Courtland
Rafael Campos
CinematographyLoyal Griggs
Edited byEllsworth Hoagland
Music byOliver Wallace
Color processTechnicolor

Production
company

Walt Disney Productions

Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution

Release date

  • December 25, 1958 (1958-12-25)

Running time

97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[1]

Tonka is a 1958 American Western film directed by Lewis R. Foster and starring Sal Mineo as a Sioux who survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The film is based on the book Comanche: Story of America's Most Heroic Horse by David Appel, and depicts the fictional story of the Indian and US Cavalry owners of the titular horse.[2]

It was filmed in Bend, Oregon, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution, a division of Walt Disney Productions.

Plot[edit]

White Bull, a young Sioux, captures a wild stallion he names Tonka, and trains him. He must give the horse to his bad-tempered cousin, Yellow Bull, who abuses Tonka to try and break his spirit. White Bull lets the horse escape, and Tonka is captured by the U.S. Cavalry. Captain Keogh rides Tonka at the Battle of Little Big Horn, and the horse is the only survivor of the massacre. When Captain Keogh is killed Tonka rises up and kills Keogh's killer. White Bull joins the cavalry, and is given the duty of looking after Tonka, who has received an honorable discharge from further battle duties.[3]

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Tonka was filmed in Bend and Madras, Oregon.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1959: Probable Domestic Take", Variety, 6 January 1960 p 34
  • ^ TCM overview
  • ^ Horse is 'Tonka' Star, The Boston Globe, December 26, 1958, page 19
  • ^ "Filmed in Oregon 1908-2015" (PDF). Oregon Film Council. Oregon State Library. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • External links[edit]

  • t
  • e

  • Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tonka_(film)&oldid=1202981856"

    Categories: 
    1958 films
    Walt Disney Pictures films
    American Western (genre) films
    1958 Western (genre) films
    Western (genre) cavalry films
    Films based on Western (genre) novels
    Films about horses
    Films scored by Oliver Wallace
    Cultural depictions of George Armstrong Custer
    Cultural depictions of Sitting Bull
    Films directed by Lewis R. Foster
    Films shot in Bend, Oregon
    1950s English-language films
    1950s American films
    1950s Western (genre) film stubs
    Hidden categories: 
    Articles with short description
    Short description matches Wikidata
    Use mdy dates from October 2021
    Use American English from October 2021
    All Wikipedia articles written in American English
    Template film date with 1 release date
    All stub articles
     



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