Les forbans du désert

This film is a rugged Western with plenty of action. The premise is that four men are released from prison and set out to find the loot they were arrested for stealing. The fact is that one of the four (Hodiak) was actually just an innocent bystander and happened to get mistaken for the fourth gang member while on his horse on honest work. He has to fight his way through years of jail time with the other three, and joins them on their quest, figuring he has a right to the money now. Hodiak represents the heroic Everyman, dealing with the situation. The other characters are very well drawn, and Derek is perfect as the rebel without a cause kid, who struggles with the three different adults in his life-two who are helpful(Hodiak and Teal, representing the "Sgt Lyle" character more) and Brian (defintely the "Sgt Barnes" character). To watch it today, you would think "Platoon" had some roots in this movie. I won't give away the end, but self sacrifice is involved, and a great twist in the overall quest.

When the story begins, a group of men have just been released from prison and the local sheriff chases them out of town. It seems they were involved in a robbery five years ago and now that they are out of prison, the men want to track down the hidden money. One of the men is not actually part of the gang (John Hodiak) but was convicted of the crime nonetheless...mostly because the gang members said nothing to help free him. Not surprisingly there are a few hard feelings and the guy feels he, too, is entitled to the money.

There are some problems getting the money. First, it's buried in a long abandoned ghost town. Second, and more importantly, it's on Apache land and the tribe is not especially friendly! Third, there is no one...no one to root for in the film.

This is a fair western. It has a few problems apart from having nothing but unlikable characters, such as how stupidly the Apache braves fight...they couldn't have been this dumb in real life! They seem to enjoy riding up on their horses just to be shot! Also, there's a character played by John Qualen that is just bizarre and his motivations and actions make little sense. Overall, a decent and watchable western but one that isn't particularly great or necessary to watch.

This western is a grim, spare adventure about four ex-cons out to recover a cache of gold hidden in a ghost town. That's the entire plot, in a nutshell. The party grabs an Indian girl along the way, perhaps for a romantic effect with young John Derek, which suits the others just fine. Gold and greed are the two main themes in the screenplay, so none of the characters engender any sympathy. Most of the film dwells on the search for the gold and the anticipated Indian attack, which comes during the film's last reel. The cast is good, with John Hodiak, Ray Teal and David Bryan in the lead roles. Maria Elena Marques, a sharpshooter with a bow and fire arrow, is pretty and stays on the periphery of the story. The color work is very good, and though not a major entry in the western genre, this film is worth watching for the cast and the flavor of a golden-age western.

Ambush At Tomahawk Gap starts with four prisoners, John Derek, John Hodiak, Ray Teal, and David Brian all released from Yuma prison and out looking for the loot that was stashed by one of them before they were caught at the town of Tomahawk Gap. Only one of those prisoners is a ringer. John Hodiak was a total stranger and the other three made him a patsy so the real fourth guy could stash the loot. Only he got killed and Hodiak did his time in the joint.

You can understand why he wants in on the split. Only the Apaches are on the warpath and Tomahawk Gap is now a ghost town. If it's up to them no one's going to live long enough to spend any of it if they can find it.

This one is a crackerjack B western in which most of the cast is killed. The Apache attack is really staged well and ensemble cast gives some great performances.

As for the stolen money. There is an ironical twist in the end worthy of Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder.

And also thanks to the producer Wallace mc Donald, because if the producer had been Sam Katzman, believe me, the result would not have been the same on screen. This is a gritty western, very surprising for such a bland director. Fred Sears gave us all kinds of films; all kinds: westerns, war, crime, comedy, dramas and only EARTH VS FLYING SAUCERS is the most famous, because of Ray Harryhausen special effects. So, back to this one, yes, this is a pretty solid movie, showing a scheme rarely seen before and after, a scheme where there is not good or villains, only men fighting for their own interests. My favorite from Fred Sears.