Attacked by a bear while scouting the Dacotah territory, Ojibway warrior Hiawatha (Ben Casey's Vince Edwards) is nursed back to health by Minnehaha (Yvette Duguay), the daughter of the tribe's arrow maker. Falling in love, the two marry and return to the Ojibway village, where hotheaded brave Pau-Puk-Keewis (Keith Larsen) incites a war between the two nations. Learning his mother died because of the chief of the Dacotahs, Hiawatha is forced to choose between his tribe and his squaw's in this action-packed frontier adventure. Directed by Kurt Neumann (Kronos, The Fly), Hiawatha was produced by Walter Mirisch, Allied Artists' head of production. Cofounding The Mirisch Company in 1957 – producers of Some Like It Hot , The Great Escape and dozens more – he continued to make films under his own name as well, including Man of the West, Hawaii and In the Heat of the Night, the 1967 Oscar® winner for Best Picture.
