SYNOPSICS
The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) is a English movie. Lesley Selander has directed this movie. Rory Calhoun,Peggie Castle,Noah Beery Jr.,Warner Anderson are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1954. The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) is considered one of the best Western movie in India and around the world.
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...
Same Actors
Same Director
The Yellow Tomahawk (1954) Reviews
Another western sleeper from the 1950s with good plot, acting, characters of some depth , and violent action
Major Ives (Warner Anderson), one of the commanding officers of the infamous Sand Creek Massacre ( an actual event) is building a fort in Cheyenne territory. Fireknife(Lee Van Cleef) , tells his friend Adam Reed (Rory Calhoun) to warn the soldiers that they must go or be killed. This is a true act of decency as they know the butcher Ives is in command and they really want him: and revenge for the slaughter he caused. Reed and Fireknife may actually have been blood brothers as they refer to each other as brothers and Reed tells Catherine (Peggy Castle) "the Indians are as much my people as you are." The arrogant Ives won't listen, the Indians attack and the action is unusually violent for it's time. (When Catherine tries to find her former fiancé she says, with a look of horror " I can't tell if it's him") The survivors are forced to go through Cheyenne territory to another fort to reach safety, and this sets up a confrontation between friend Reed and Fireknife. This is another example of a modestly budgeted western with a superior script, very good acting and characters of some depth. Also, the Indians are not the "bad guys". Reed tells Catherine " It might surprise you but Indians love their children and are loyal to their friends." And Fireknife does save his life There is also a very interesting twist in the end which I do not believe has been done before or since. Definitely worth seeing. The film was originally shot in color but only black and white prints were every released on television. This film deserves to be restored.
Typical 50's Western but good.
An Indian scout warns the settlers around the army post they are in danger from Indians and he is proved right. Twenty-seven year old Castle fills out her tight-fitting shirt and jeans and makes her presence known as she breaks her engagement with an army officer and falls for Calhoun--who, as a scout, rescues her and the commander after the raid. But the rescue is only temporarily as, on their way to the nearest fort, they are attacked again by Indians led by Lee Van Cleef. He and his fellow Indians want the commander for what he did at Sand Creek. It was there, in history, that the Federal army slaughtered Indian women and children without giving them a chance to surrender. Calhoun wants to keep him alive and take him to the fort for court-martial so to help stop future slaughter of Indians. It's a typical 50's Western but one of the good ones--perhaps because of Rory Calhoun (who was always good) or Peggy Castle who made cowboys glad they were men. Or both!
Good western, offers different perspective on westward migration.
Calhoun spends much of his time in this film, warning the builders and settlers of a new army outpost, that they will be wiped out by the hostiles. In this decidedly downbeat tale, he is not only snubbed by authority, but mocked and ridiculed...and guess what? The action scenes are done well, and the unusual ending is fresh.
"Don't run, there's no place to run to".
I was a fan of Rory Calhoun back in the late Fifties when he appeared in the Western TV series lead role of "The Texan". In this picture, filmed in 1954, Calhoun looks almost a decade younger and exceptionally athletic. There was no reason to believe that he wouldn't fall for Peggie Castle's character, especially after she broke off her engagement with cavalry Lieutenant Bascomb (Patrick Sexton). She might not have survived network TV as long as Amanda Blake in 'Gunsmoke', but she sure did rival Kitty as one of the pre-eminent saloon keepers of the Old West in 'Lawman'. I never heard of "The Yellow Tomahawk" until it popped up on Encore Westerns last night, and it proved to be one of those rough cut gems from a half century ago. In addition to Calhoun and Castle, the other interesting casting decision made here was Lee Van Cleef in the role of Cheyenne warrior Fire Knife. You also had Peter Graves in the role of a renegade gold prospector who killed his partners for their dig, eventually proving to be a thorn in the side of Indian scout Adam Reed (Calhoun). But it doesn't end there - Noah Beery's on hand as a cavalry hand named Tonio Perez, and he finds himself fending off the advances of Nez Perce maiden Honey Bear. Rita Moreno is not quite convincing as the fawning young squaw infatuated with a grizzled old goat twice her age, and I kept wondering if Reed might cast an eye in her direction. Maybe he would have if she opened the picture swimming in the buff instead of Castle. The story itself gets downright brutal in a number of scenes, particularly the attack on Major Ives' (Warner Anderson) new fort under construction. Iron Knife puts an honorable face on things in his dealings with Reed, but ultimately you know that things will end badly. The finale is a bit of a twist, as Reed holds to his own principles just as dearly; the chief should have accepted the gift bow back when it was offered. If you're paying attention to the opening credits, you'll wonder as I did why 'Color by Color Corporation of America' heralds the start of a black and white picture. I guess I've seen enough films to not be surprised by such a minor detail, but it would have been cool to actually see the yellow tomahawk.
Star-studded B western.
Feels just like Saturday afternoon at the movies. The ever popular Rory Calhoun plays Adam Reed, a Wyoming Indian scout, who has a strong bond with Fireknife(Lee Van Cleef), a Cheyenne warrior. Against a treaty with the Indians, the army decides to build a fort on their land. Reed is caught between both sides, but as predicted ends up in a vicious fight to the finish with Fireknife. The fetching Peggie Castle plays Calhoun's love interest. On the lighter side Noah Berry Jr. plays a Mexican that scouts for the army and falls in love with a beautiful Indian girl Honey Bear(Rita Moreno). This almost forgotten B western features a star-studded supporting cast: Peter Graves, Warner Anderson, James Best, Ned Glass and Robert Bray. Thank you Encore Westerns channel.