Tomahawk

Tomahawk is a good B western with some A list cast players in the credits. The lead character in it is famous mountain man Jim Bridger who in 1868 when this story is supposed to be taking place was 64 years old and according to Wikipedia was suffering from arthritis and rheumatism at that time and was retiring from army scouting, trapping, and all other frontier activities. But what we have is 40 year old Van Heflin in the part. Knowing what I know it does make the film just a trifle ludicrous.

But no more than a whole lot of other Hollywood product which had famous frontier characters in all kinds of situations and plots that were historically and physically impossible. In fact there is some truth in some of the story line in Tomahawk. Bridger in fact did find a scout an alternate trail to the Bozeman trail which did run through Sioux country and it was called the Bridger trail. Red Cloud did go on the war path at this time when an army fort was built on land ceded to him by treaty. It's just that Bridger was out of the picture in real life at the time of this story.

Heflin makes a stoic and impassive Bridger who is on army business and business of his own. He arrives at the fort commanded by Colonel Preston Foster with sidekick Jack Oakie and Susan Cabot, an Indian maiden. He's there to scout for the army though his sympathies are well known to be with the Sioux. But Heflin is also hunting an army man, known to have been involved in the infamous Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.

Along the way Heflin does help rescue Yvonne DeCarlo and her partner Tom Tully who were traveling in a medicine show wagon when they were attacked. A bit of a romance does develop, though it is definitely in second place to the action, if not the accuracy.

Tomahawk though a B film is definitely in line with such post World War II westerns as Fort Apache, Broken Arrow, and Pony Soldier which had a sympathetic Indian point of view. It's got good production values and moves at a decent clip. But don't write any term papers based on it.