La levée des Tomahawks

The War of 1812 is the setting for this low-budget but nostalgic western. The reality is that Tecumseh established an Indian confederacy to drive out white settlers but here the chief is portrayed as tolerant and peaceful towards white settlers. The film has the look of a Saturday matinée double bill entry and although there are a few clashes between the Indians and the colonists, the movie offers nothing new. Jon Hall is the star here and goes under cover as a government agent to find out who is stirring up the Indians. Jay Silverheels is the title character and is better than he needs to be as the wise and dignified Shawnee chief. Michael Ansara as the warlike Prophet leads the Indian uprisings and his attacks on the colonists and British spies are major plot angles. The bright, rich technicolor hues enhance the picture and the music accompaniment is also good.

This is a reasonable Western with plenty of interesting points for students of the genre. For a start it has a Native American in a starring role. (There may be other instances of this in films made in the mid-20th century but none come to mind.) Jay Silverheels is Tecumseh, the Brave Warrior of the title, though his physical heroism is confined to a knife fight with his brother; his bravery relates more to his wisdom in coming to terms with white Americans, even building a town like one of theirs in which to house his people. He may be ahead of his time in social planning, but he is surely unwise in showing interest in the white heroine. Silverheels does well in this role, certainly when compared with his poker face and wooden lines as Tonto in the Lone Ranger series.

Very few of Jon Hall's films have made it to British TV, so it was good to see him. The rest of the cast do well enough, though their faces are unfamiliar to me and their names do not appear in Quinlan's directories of film actors. Katherine Larson looks and performs better than many heroines in Westerns of this era.

Best of all, it is an "early" Western, set in the early 1810s as tensions mount between Britain and the United States. The Brits are the baddies, but not too much so, thus there is novelty in the plot. The civilian clothes and army uniforms are of the period, as are the single-shot weapons, even if these seem to be reloaded incredibly quickly, especially in the river skirmish that opens the film.

The plot seemed to have an historical basis, so I checked, to discover, not surprisingly, that the film had tampered with the facts.Tecumseh and his brother appear to have been on better terms in real life, and they did found a "town" for their people, but whether this was on white men's lines is not stated.And though the film portrays Tecumseh as being on the side of the United States, after the events it depicts he did join the British side. (One does wonder what damage all these inaccurate Westerns did to people's understanding of American history.)

The Brave Warrior in this title refers to the Shawnee chief Tecumseh who made a valiant effort to unite Indian tribes against encroaching Americans going over the Appalachians and settling in Indiana Territory. Jay Silverheels plays Tecumseh and his one-eyed brother The Prophet is played by Michael Ansara. But if you're expecting to see the real story of the Battle Of Tippecanoe than skip this one by. I would recommend a made for TV film about Tecumseh that stars Jesse Borrego that came out in the Nineties.

The white hero of this film is the fictional Steve Ruddell played by Jon Hall. Hall is a confidential agent sent by President Madison to find out about British agents stirring up the various tribes. Not that there wasn't enough stirring in the other direction from a group of young Turk Southern and Western Congressmen, among them Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. But that's real history.

According to this Hall is the one in charge not Governor William Henry Harrison and he's giving James Seay who plays Harrison orders. Harrison is also not in uniform which is one of the many inaccuracies about Brave Warrior. Harrison in fact was a military man and was most definitely in charge.

It's B film from Columbia so do not expect any high standards. The whole thing is shot on a western set and looks nothing like Indiana in the early 19th century.

Skip this trip to Tippecanoe.

The least visible war in US history is probably the war of 1812 with the British and other than The Buccaneer (filmed twice )I am unable to recall any movies made about it ,apart from this modest but reasonably effective action picture

Tension is building around the Northern border of the USA and the British are stirring up trouble by enlisting hostile Indians to their cause.Tecumseh (Jay Silverheels)is well disposed to the Americans but his more hot tempered brother ,known only as The Prophet(Michael Ansara)is openly at odds with him and challenges his authority over the tribe . The British incite The Prophet to raid settlements and they also have a nest of spies to keep them informed of goings on in the US settlements.Combating their nefarious schemes -well,nefarious if you are an American that is !-is the rugged American agent Steve (Jon Hall)who persuades Tecumseh to build "a model white town"at Tippecanoe and this immediately becomes a target for The prophet and his allies .Steve also finds time to romance the daughter of the local fur trader -who just happens to be a British spy and who Tecumseh is also in love with

The main virtues of the movie are its pace (brisk direction from Spencer Gordon Bennet)and some nice colour photography.Silverheels is fine as Tecumseh but the other performances are adequate ,no more than that .The ending seems rushed and has a curiously bitter sweet tang to it

This is a brisk B feature and will provide enjoyment if your expectations are modest and you enjoy lively period movies

Brave Warrior is directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and written by Robert E. Kent. It stars Jon Hall, Christine Larson, Jay Silverheels and Michael Ansara. Filmed in Technicolor with photography by William V. Skall, the plot is loosely based around the events of the War of 1812 and the Battle of Tippecanoe.

"This is a story of two men in a town all drawn by a strong destiny into the maelstrom that was to be the War of 1812 between the United States and England. One of these men was an American, Steven Ruddell, the other was Tecumseh, greatest of all Indian chiefs. Who had his head quarters at the town of Tippecanoe, home of the Shawnee Indians. The fuse was burning close to the powder keg of war when a flat boat carrying a shipment of salt from Vincennes, capital of the United States territory of Indiana, sailed up the Wabash river bound for Tippencanoe………"

History gets fudged as the makers produce a film that looks real nice, but is a dull as dish water on an entertainment level. Silverheels turns in a good show, but the makers fail to give the character the dignity he warranted, while Skall's capturing of the scenic locale at Simi Valley, California, is of a high calibre. Everything else feels unnatural, almost as if the production team hadn't a clue how to make this little slice of history into a feature length movie. Mercifully it clocks in at a short 73 minutes, but for many, myself included, that's 73 minutes too long. 3/10