Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

I'd be curious to find out if this picture had any impact on the creation of the 1965/66 Western TV series "Branded" starring Chuck Connors. The plot of this movie is very similar to Episode #2 of that popular show. In the chapter titled 'The Vindicators' it's revealed that Jason McCord's (Connors) commanding officer, Major James Reed, had been going senile and was mentally incapacitated at the time of a major battle. McCord attempted to relieve him of command on that basis, since the Major refused to order a retreat in the face of overwhelming odds against one hundred forty Apaches.The difference here is that Lieutenant Davenport (George Neise) is an arrogant know-it-all who refuses to accept Sergeant Wade McCoy's (Connors) advice on traveling through Mescalero Apache territory. Compounding Davenport's behavior is a head wound suffered in battle along with the heat of the desert in which they're traveling. The story line creates a bit of an anomaly in the character of the Lieutenant, who alternately appears coherent before becoming irrational again relative to the danger they face. Things get more complicated after the Apaches run off the troop's cavalry horses, and following a skirmish, two women are saved by McCoy who he takes captive as a potential bargaining chip with Apache Chief Victorio. One is an Indian squaw named Tula (Lisa Montell), the other is a white woman (Susan Cummings) who has lived with the Apaches and has become Tula's close friend.There's a meaningful conversation between Ellen Carter (Cummings) and Sergeant McCoy in which the woman gets passionate in her belief that tolerance and hate exists on both sides between Indians and Whites, and that arriving at an understanding between them might lead to peace. That belief system is shattered after one of the hotheaded cavalry soldiers attempts to rape the woman, forcing her to re-examine how some individuals are just plain evil. As the story progresses, McCoy and Carter begin to have feelings for one another, as their situation becomes more precarious with the Apaches preparing for a final attack.With only a handful of other reviews for the movie on this site, and most of them dismissing it as a just another cowboy and Indian flick, my approach is somewhat tempered by the comments I posted here. At only an hour, there's not much time to get more in depth with the characters and story line, but the inclusion of that dialog between Carter and McCoy provides ample food for thought. It also doesn't hurt that Chuck Connors was one of my favorite TV cowboys either, and the similarities in the story to the premise of one of his TV Western series (the other was 'The Rifleman') made it all that more interesting.

A couple of guys who later became stars in small screen westerns, Chuck Connors and John Smith star in Tomahawk Trail about a sergeant who takes over from an inexperienced lieutenant and gets the patrol they were on back to the fort on foot.Where they find the place massacred and the Mescelero Apaches ready to come back finish them off. The only hold card they have is that they managed to capture Lisa Martell who is Chief Vittorio's daughter along with a white female companion Susan Cummings. At least one of the cavalry soldiers has his mind distracted by the women just another headache that Connors has as he awaits a court martial even if they're rescued.Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny was positively docile as Captain Queeg next to George Neise playing the lieutenant who is truly a hateful person. In fact he should have toned it down a notch, his performance was a bit too jarring. Harry Dean Stanton playing Neise's orderly makes one of his early appearances in a film. He also has to see that his lieutenant is going off the deep end, but he remains doggedly loyal.Tomahawk Trail is decent enough for western fans, but below average altogether.

Tomahawk Trail is a movie that is most enjoyed by those either younger than eight years old (where the children can play cowboys and Indians) or those who are 50 and older. I know that Chuck Connors has been in many types of films, yet I remember him mostly in westerns like this movie. The movie moves along at a fairly good clip. The best thing about this movie is that it is only an hour long. The movie can't afford to have any down time. This is a cowboy and Indian movie. Tomahawk Trail is either best enjoyed on as a Saturday afternoon matinée or as a late at night movie. The actors do okay in their roles. However, once the movie has played, it is easily forgotten except for Chuck Connors. Bring your popcorn and your Western boots to this one, Partner.

This movie captures one's attention from the start with Chuck Connors' opening line of narration: "Lt. Merriman was dead; the brains cooked out of his skull over an Apache torture fire." From this point on the movie proceeds in a taut, terse fashion which is a model of economical story-telling. True, it doesn't add up to much but it knows its limitations and works within them with commendable assurance. "Tomahawk Trail" would be a good movie to study in Film-Making 101. Its faults are obvious but not fatal. The soldiers' US Cavalry uniforms should be soiled and sweaty and yet, too often, they seem to have just come from the Costume Shop. Also, the two female characters are unconvincing. Susan Cummings has been dropped into the plot simply to give Chuck Connors a pretty girl to kiss at the fade-out, and Lisa Montell makes a very unpersuasive Indian.Chuck Connors, playing yet another of his "Mc" characters, is in his physical prime here and one regrets he's given no chance to do a "beefcake" scene.The location work around Kanab, Utah, (using black-and-white photography), adds an air of authenticity. There's not a studio-bound shot in the whole movie.Assuming your expectations aren't unrealistically high, you may well be pleasantly surprised by "Tomahawk Trail."