Adapted from Paul I. Wellman's 1936 novel of the same name, Broncho Apache was loosely based on a real-life historical figure and actual events. On Sept. 3, 1886, Geronimo, chief of a band of Chiricahua Apaches, reached a treaty with the U.S. government and surrendered to U.S. Gen. Nelson Miles. With Geronimo in custody, the U.S. proceeded to break its pledges and forcibly transported nearly 450 Apache men, women and children from the San Carlos reservation to Fort Marion and Fort Pickens in Florida. A Chiricahua Apache warrior named Massai managed to escape near Kansas City, Mo., and headed back west. For years to come, he would lead frequent raids on white settlers and Native Americans alike, becoming a feared figure in New Mexico and Arizona. Massai is believed to have hid in the Chiricahua mountains, and was never captured; some historians think he may have been killed by a sherriff's posse in 1906. Massai Point, about 100 miles south of Globe, Ariz., today bears his name.
Producers Hecht and Lancaster hired a strong cast of supporting actors for Broncho Apache. Jean Peters (Nalinle) debuted on screen opposite Tyrone Power in Captain From Castile in 1947, one year after