Tomahawk (1951) Reviews

• Jim Bridger-The Sioux call him Tomahawk.

  Spikeopath2011-04-27

  Battle of Powder River (AKA: Tomahawk) is directed by George Sherman and adapted for the screen by Sylvia Richards & Maurice Geraghty from a story by Daniel Jarrett. It stars Van Heflin, Yvonne de Carlo, Alex Nicol, Preston Foster, Jack Oakie, Tom Tully, John War Eagle and Susan Cabot. It's a Technicolor production filmed on location in the Black Hills of Dakota, with music by Hans J. Salter and photography by Charles P. Boyle. "This is the Laramie Conference. A powder keg that may explode at any moment. It would take little to light the fuse. There are important and powerful men here. On one side the leaders of the Sioux nation-on the other representatives of the United States. But on this day it will take a great man to see both sides-Jim Bridger: pioneer, trapper and scout, is such a man." Coming a year after Delmer Daves' excellent and similarly themed Broken Arrow, Battle of Powder River appears to have been lost in the mix of Westerns sympathetic to the Indians. Much like Broken Arrow, and for that matter Devil's Doorway (1950) as well, this is propelled by a magnetic and strong central lead performance. Van Heflin as Jim Bridger gives the film a believability factor, important for a film that's based around historical events in Montana Territory 1876/7. Thankfully the film built around Heflin isn't too bad either. The plot essentially involves Bridger, a man who married a Cheyenne woman, caught in the middle of an impending war between the Indians and the American military. The army are ordered to build a road and fort on land previously ceded to the Sioux by a previous treaty. This they want to do because of gold having been discovered in the Dakota's. Bridger sets about trying to keep peace but is undermined by personal conflicts and violent bigots like Lieut. Rob Dancy (and effective rascal turn by Alex Nicol). Naturally for a film of this type, budget, era and running time, it's not an actual history lesson, so folk should not expect as such. But the makers are thoughtful as regards the events of the time and neatly tell their story via the fluctuating perspectives of the characters standing either side of the brewing conflict. It's also nicely shot by Sherman (The Battle at Apache Pass/Comanche) and Boyle (Horizon's West/Gunsmoke), the location work integral to the plot so as to understand what these people were ultimately fighting for. While Salter scores it in standard Cavalry Vs Indians style. The minor problems come with de Carlo's character and the shortness of the action. The former, admittedly lovely in Technicolor, serves only as romantic surplus who does a real dumb thing, and the latter is annoying since Sherman was more than capable of crafting exciting action (for example see the finale of The Battle at Apache Pass). Here the final battle of the title is swift and basically a compilation of charge and be felled sequences, while a buffalo scene is all too brief and only hints at what excitement could have been garnered from that passage of play. Annoyances for sure, but not enough to drag the piece down to B movie fodder territory. Although it's trumped by two, thematically similar and better movies the previous year, the story, Heflin and the scenery make this a must see for the Western fan. 7.5/10

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• A Magnificent Western

  hpkenzo2006-07-31

  This great 1951 western just seems to get better with age. Having seen the film many times over the years but again today on TV, I really think this is one of the best westerns of the period and one that stands the test of time. Filmed in a documentary style ( Voice-over at beginning and end etc.)and influenced by the previous year's hit ' Broken Arrow', this film is actually an improvement as it does away with any romance that dominated the earlier film and concentrates on the story of Jim Bridger an Indian scout trying to keep peace between the army & the Sioux, who are trying to secure land rights. Based on the real life adventurer, the script while simplified remains intelligent with the accent on action but is unusually sympathetic to the Indians for 1951. Engrossing and beautifully photographed by Charles P Boyle (Old Yeller, Davy Crockett) in glorious Technicolor. Van Heflin gives a very convincing performance as Jim Bridger and it's good to see native actors playing native Indians & speaking in their native tongue! There are distinct parallels here with Costner's 'Dances with Wolves' ( actually filmed in the same area of Dakota)and interesting comparisons could be made with the award winning 1990 epic but whilst I admire the more recent film, 'Tomahawk' is the one I look forward to seeing again, all economically packaged in only 82 minutes!

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• Enjoyable chronicle of a strong fight between the Sioux tribe led by Red Cloud and the US cavalry along with scout James Bridger

  ma-cortes2017-06-29

  The flick gets noisy action , crossfire , spectacular raids , a love story , and intrigue is slowly but surely built up , being quite entertaining . This Cavalry vs. Indians Western , set in 1866 , deals with hostilities emerging when US government builds a road and a fort in territory ceded by previous treaty to the Sioux led by Red Cloud (John War Eagle) who refuses to surrender himself , as a spark to bring a violent war . It stars Jim Bridger (Van Heflin) serving as a guide and adviser , and whose Cheyenne killed spouse led him to watch the conflict from both sides . Bridger is sent by Col. Carrington (Preston Foster) to aid the army in bitter fighting the savage and hated Sioux and to end the uprisings in Indian territory . As Jim Bridger -though initially hostile due to wrenching personal issues and old sinister conflicts- , along with his colleague Sol Beckworth (Jackie Oakie) another mountain man, fur trapper, army scout and explorer , both of whom join army , fighting side-by-side for the glory of the West . Nevertheless , nasty bigot lieutenant Dancy (Alex Nicol) is reluctant to this unusual alliance and distrusts having the famous scout as ally . Then , Dancy leads his regiment on a wild chase across the plains and hills in this saga of the old west . Dancy and his US cavalry squares off rampaging Sioux . Dancy participated at the massacre at Sand Creek in 1864 , -killing a lot of Indians , majority of whom were women and children- along with John Chivington who led a bloody militia in Colorado Territory with his heinous Volunteers who were responsible for several deaths . Along the way Bridger tries to win the heart of a beautiful woman named Julie Madden (Yvonne De Carlo) . This moving movie is an epic portrait of the historic story about the celebrated Indian Sioux battles against the USA cavalry , being inaccurate historically , though at the final re-enacts the 'Fetterman Massacre' , an actual event that took place in 1866 . The picture gets Western action , shootouts , romance , breathtaking raids on wagons as well as fort , colorful outdoors with big skies wonderfully photographed by Charles Boyle and turns out to be fun . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . At the ending , when takes place the Indian assault , possesses all the sweep , grandeur and noisy action of the greatest Westerns of an age long past . Nice acting from a great cast . As Van Heflin is good as the known scout who attempts to keep the peace between US cavalry and Indians . Heflin gives stature to the role , providing sincerity and bravura . And two beautiful starlets : Yvonne De Carlo as gorgeous and pleasant woman , and other wonderful girl , Susan Cabot as Indian Monahseetah . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as : Alex Nicol , Preston Foster , Jack Oakie , John War Eagle , Ann Doran , Stuart Randall , brief appearance by Rock Hudson and special mention for the veteran Tom Tully . The film is freely based on James Felix Bridger's (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) life who was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820–1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites . He was of English ancestry , and his family had been in North America since the early colonial period . He would come to know many of the major European American explorers of the early west, including Kit Carson, George Armstrong Custer, Hugh Glass, John Frémont, Joseph Meek, and John Sutter. Bridger was part of the second generation of mountain men and pathfinders who explored the American West that followed the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. In fact , while exploring in order to find an alternative overland route to the South Pass, Bridger found what would eventually be known as Bridger's Pass , it would later be the chosen route for both the Union Pacific Railroad and later Interstate 80. The motion picture was professionally directed by George Sherman in B-style , though has some flaws . Sherman made reliable low-budget fare for Columbia between 1945-48, then moved on to do the same at Universal for another eight years , where he directed this ¨Tomahawk¨ . Sherman specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns there , including the "Three Musketeers" series, which featured a young John Wayne. George directed lots of Westerns as ¨The Last of the Fast Guns¨ , ¨The Lone Hand¨, ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ , ¨Red skin¨ , ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ ¨Calamity Jane¨, ¨Relentless¨ , ¨Comanche Territory¨ , ¨Dawn at Socorro¨, ¨Border River¨ , ¨war arrow¨, and many others . He also made occasional forays into action and horror themes, often achieving a sense of style over substance . The only "A"-grade films to his credit were two westerns starring John Wayne: ¨Comancheros¨ (1961) (as producer) and ¨The big Jack¨ (1971) . His last films were realized in Spain as "Find That Girl" , ¨The new Cinderella¨ and ¨Joaquin Murrieta¨. ¨Tomahawk¨ Rating : 6.5/10 . Well worth watching

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• An entertaining western

  Tweekums2012-03-17

  Recently I've watched a few westerns that I'd not heard of until I saw them listed in the TV guide; most turned out to be enjoyable and this one turned out to be one of the best. Set in 1876 when the US Government wants to open a trail through Sioux territory; they are understandably wary as every previous treaty with the US Government has been broken. At the Treaty meeting a white man stands up for them; he is Jim Bridger a scout who is travelling with his friend Sol Beckworth and a Cheyenne woman called Monahseetah. No treaty is signed but Bridger tells the commanding officer that the Sioux will let them pass through there territory if none of them are harmed. Bridger has no intention of staying with the army but when Monahseetah sees one particular officer, Lt. Dancy, he takes the offer to act as a scout... clearly he has a score to settle with Dancy. Things turn bad pretty soon when Dancy murders an Indian boy he sees near their horses; he covers up his crime but another Indian who saw what happened escapes and it isn't long before they are attacked. Nobody is killed but one settler is wounded. Once in the fort Dancy claims the attack was unprovoked but Bridger just knows he is lying... it is only a matter of time before there is open warfare between the Cavalrymen in the fort and the Sioux. I was surprised just how much I enjoyed this film; there was plenty of exciting action, some of it exciting, some of it tragic; some tense moments and with the exception of Dancy there were no genuinely bad characters. The Sioux had clearly been wronged and had every right to fight back but the vast majority of the cavalry just wanted to live in peace and help the settlers through the territory. Dancy however was a real villain we learnt early on that he had only reenlisted in the army because he enjoyed the prospect of killing Indians and we later learn that earlier on he had been part of a group who had massacred a Cheyenne village including a woman who was Bridger's wife and Monahseetah's sister. It was refreshing not to see the Indians portrayed as 'savages' preying on 'innocent' settlers; even though the story follows people within the camp it is clear that our sympathies are meant to lie with the Sioux. Van Heflin puts in a fine performance as protagonist Jim Bridger and Alex Nicol is suitably unpleasant as the villain Dancy. If you are a fan of the western genre I definitely recommend watching this one!

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• Colorful western historical drama

  NewEnglandPat2003-09-05

  Universal's western is an entertaining cavalry-Indian affair that details the frontier adventure from the point of view of famed scout Jim Bridger. The film recounts the usual treaty-breaking by whites that despoils the Indians' hunting grounds, the conflicts of which lead to war between the Sioux tribes and the troopers. Two major battles, the Fetterman engagement and the Wagon-Box Fight are touched on as well as tensions caused by an Indian-hating lieutenant. The lush, beautiful country and wild buffalo herds lend authenticity to the story and keep the film moving at a good clip. Van Heflin is sincere as the scout who knows Indians and understands their grievances. Yvonne De Carlo is striking as Bridger's love interest although an Indian girl complicates matters a bit. The cast is good, especially John War Eagle as Red Cloud. Hans Salter contributes a nice traditional western music score.

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