The Indian Fighter (1955)

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

Robert L. Richards (story)
Frank Davis (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 March 1956 (Belgium)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

The Indian Fighter and the Girl...a love as fierce as a fire arrow!

Plot:

A scout leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country unwittingly gets involved with a Sioux chief's daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Wagon Train | Beautiful Woman | Fort | Hung Upside Down | Gold Ore

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Johnny Hawks
Elsa Martinelli	...	Onahti
Walter Matthau	...	Wes Todd
Diana Douglas	...	Susan Rogers
Walter Abel	...	Captain Trask
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Chivington (as Lon Chaney)
Eduard Franz	...	Red Cloud
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Will Crabtree (as Alan Hale)
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Briggs (as Elisha Cook)
Ray Teal	...	Morgan
Frank Cady	...	Trader Joe
Michael Winkelman	...	Tommy Rogers
William Phipps	...	Lt. Blake
Harry Landers	...	Grey Wolf / Captain Trask Attaché
Hank Worden	...	Crazy Bear / Guardhouse Keeper

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17674) | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bend, Oregon, USA

Company:

Bryna Productions

Trivia:

Hank Worden, who has a substantial role as the Indian Crazy Bear, also does a cameo appearance as the jailer at the cavalry fort guardhouse; likewise, Harry Landers plays both Grey Wolf and also one of Captain Trask's attachés.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the film, after Red Cloud shows to Johnny Hawks two men hung by the feet, Hawks stands talking to Red Cloud and Grey Wolf. Then his hands appears either grabbing the holster or by his sides, alternately, when it cuts from one shot to another.

Quotes:

Grey Wolf: There can be no friendship between Red Man and White. The fight is to the end. Ride back to your people. There is no room for you here.
Johnny Hawks: You've grown a big mouth since I saw you last, Grey Wolf, but I didn't come here to talk to a big mouth. I've come to talk to a big man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I soliti ignoti (1958)

If i don't?, my troubles are over, yours will only just be starting.

We are at the end of the US civil war, Johnny Hawks, a renowned Indian fighter, is at peace with the Sioux and wants to rebuild his life, even romance with the chiefs daughter is in the offering. But as the peace between the US and the Indians is being brokered, two greed driven Whiskey traders usurp everything due to their greed for Indian gold up in the hills. So just as Hawks leads a wagon train through Sioux territory on the way to Oregon, war has again been declared, with Hawks coming under suspicion of favouring the Indians.

Directed by André De Toth and starring Kirk Douglas {Hawks}, Walter Matthau, Lon Chaney Jr, Elisha Cok Jr and the outrageously beautiful Elsa Martinelli, The Indian Fighter, if i may be so bold?, is vastly undervalued on certain internet sites!. Just about breaking the mold of its B movie feel, it's a piece that with a little bit of intelligence from the casting department, could have been a far better picture. The American cast do fine, but in amongst this splendidly shot picture (and it is), we have to suffer none Indian actors playing excellently written Sioux Indian characters. It's such a shame because here it's a delight to see the Sioux portrayed as a complex and resourceful race, not just in dialogue exchanges, but in a quite exhilarating attack on a US Fort, the use of horses for a disguise operation, and the method of attack {hello, it's a wooden Fort} shows them to have a bit more about them than the cannon fodder they are portrayed as in many lower grade Westerns.

It's still one fine entertaining film tho!.

Kirk Douglas leads the way with a typically ebullient genre show that he was especially good at, a different kind of hero is given just about the right amount of credibility from Douglas, who is in turn backed up by Chaney and Matthau who appears to be revelling in playing slimy characters. André De Toth is a director who has a couple of bona fide classics on his CV, not a name that is mentioned often, but his construction of a story and his excellent staging of the action on offer here, ensures that i personally will be seeking out more of his efforts. Last but by no means least, one has to mention the delightful work from cinematographer Wilfred M. Cline, who gleams the best from the Bend, Oregon location shoot, to make The Indian Fighter one hugely enjoyable genre piece. 7/10