“The Arrow of Defiance is the story of skirmishes between the Indians, nomadic hunters and farm settlers, protected by the army. Captain Stewart, arriving at a gallop, takes his position on a hill overlooking an Indian encampment – barely a dozen tents stretch across the valley. Right from the first moment there seems to be little doubt about the outcome of the final conflict. From now onwards, the authorities are hidden behind fortresses, but the American flag which flies over it proudly fills the frame. Individual fates stand behind the collective adventure and the film treats the enemies with the impartiality of a border newsreel. For once, even Bulletin Pathé has the sobriety of a dispatch agency. The use of realistic detail constantly enriches the picture and justifies the brief slowing down of the action. Dark Buffalo is not able to read the expulsion order and a Yankee soldier reads it for him. The pace of the chase scenes is helped by the ability of those taking part, who jump to the ground and line up their horses to act as a shield with the mastery of true cavalry soldiers. In its speed, the scene shows parallel actions in the same shot. It also contravenes the rule, just established, that the main dramatic event takes place in the foreground and secondary event in the background. The burning down of a farm by Indians becomes a far-off trail of smoke high up in the frame, surrounded by a barely identifiable silhouette, while the women of the tribe in front of us stop to watch, acting almost like spectator doubles”.

(Claudine Kaufmann, Le silence sied à l’Indien, Cinémathèque, no.12, 1997)