The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)

When the army insists on building a fort on Indian land, in defiance of a treaty, the warnings of a scout go unheeded.

Director:

Lesley Selander

Writers:

Richard Alan Simmons (screenplay), Harold Jack Bloom (story)

Stars:

Rory Calhoun, Peggie Castle, Noah Beery Jr.

Cast

Cast overview:
Rory Calhoun	...	Adam Reed
Peggie Castle	...	Katherine Bohlen
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Tonio Perez (as Noah Beery)
Warner Anderson	...	Major Ives
Peter Graves	...	Walt Sawyer
Lee Van Cleef	...	Fire Knife
Rita Moreno	...	Honey Bear
Dan Riss	...	Sgt. Bandini
Walter Reed	...	Keats
Patrick Sexton	...	Lt. Bascomb (as Patrick Joseph Sexton)
Robert Bray	...	Lieutenant Banion
Adam Williams	...	Cpl. Maddock
James Best	...	Private Bliss
Ned Glass	...	Willy

Storyline

In Wyoming Territory, army Major Ives and his men are building a temporary camp. The civilian surveyor, Mr. Keats is making preparations for the construction of a large permanent fort. However, the future fort is being erected on Cheyenne lands, in defiance of the treaty. Adam Reed is a self employed scout with friendly ties to the Cheyenne. Upset about the construction of the new fort on their lands, the Cheyenne ask scout Reed to contact Major Ives and deliver their message of grievance to him. The symbolic message consists of a yellow tomahawk as a warning against the building of a new fort in the area. Reed delivers the warning message to Major Ives but he is not taken serious. Major Ives lectures Reed about the need of bringing civilization to the lands that otherwise would go to waste under the savages. Reed retorts that Major Ives' only duty is to escort wagon trains of settlers passing through Cheyenne territory rather than build new forts in violation of the treaty. Reed also...

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Plot Keywords:

deception | american indian | fort | treaty | gold prospector | 

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Taglines:

See RITA MORENO - LIFE's Sex and Innocence Cover Girl!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fire Knife

Filming Locations:

Colorado City, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bel-Air Productions,Schenck-Koch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Sunday morning coffee western...

I happened to have seen this movie this morning on TCM. Very bad acting, low budget and poor plot are the impressions I felt while watching the movie. The only highlight of the movie was watching tender young Rita Moreno, (23 years old), playing a teenage Indian squaw in love with an older man in his 50's. She reminded me of a earlier version of Sue Lyon as Lolita (1962), only a more innocent Lolita. She bounces up and down like a 1950's teeny bopper, almost as if you would expect her to be chewing gum, falling all over this old man, willing to give him anything, as he plays it off like she's a hindrance to him. Any man in his 50's that had a beautiful, virgin, teenage girl willing to do ANYTHING for him and be his bride, would be insane not to take advantage of her. It's too bad that the censorship board back when this movie was released didn't permit more of an expansion of a character such as Rita Moreno's. The only reason why I gave this movie a 3 instead of a 1 is Rita Moreno's appearance in the movie.