The Yellow Tomahawk

The Yellow Tomahawk is a typical western from the 1950s. Perhaps it was forgotten because of the time it was released. It was 1954 and everyone was running after widescreen and colour films. This film, on the other hand, is in narrowscreen and was shot in black and white. But it has a solid cast. Rory Calhoun is the protagonist, a man who, like the western genre itself, went from film to television and always offered good portraits of those tough men who conquered the west. At his side, we have a treat for the male eye in the beautiful Peggy Castle, who loves to take baths in streams despite the threat of an imminent Indian attack. Joking aside, she is a pretty woman with a strong character who deserved better luck in her professional career. We also have Lee Van Cleef, a classic villain in both Hollywood and spaghetti westerns. Here, with a little makeup, he is the Indian who sends the soldiers the yellow tomahawk, as a warning that they are not welcome because he has to take revenge on the soldier who commands the camp, played perfectly by Warner Anderson, since he was the culprit of one of those indiscriminate massacres where the frenzy of the lowest human instincts does not respect women, children, or the elderly. Perhaps the best thing about this plot is the fatalism of the situation. There is no solution. The conflict cannot be avoided. The Indian only understands the Law of Talion, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. In a supporting role is Peter Graves. In his case he is dominated by gold fever and sells his soul for those nuggets of golden metal, therefore he is not the hero we so admire in Mission Impossible. Also, as an unlikely interracial couple, but one that is consolidated by actions rather than words, were Noah Beery, with a very long acting career in film and TV, and the young Rita Moreno, who years later would burn up the screen in The West Side Story (1962).

In short, an entertaining western, with a tough conflict between soldiers and Indians and with very well-known figures that I like to see again.

The 1950s was the decade of the message western, and this is a low budget version of the genre. But don't let the low budget (or the deterioration of the film negative) scare you away. This story about a bloody confrontation that is the direct result of a barbarous US general's attempt to occupy Indian lands is surprisingly brutal, sympathetic to the native Americans, and much more cynical about the inherent decency of those in power than one would expect from a movie from this era. Yes, if you look, you will find ample and annoying western movie clichés. Rory Calhoun and Rita Moreno are the recognizable stars here -- and they are playing types, rather than roles. (Rory is the scout raised by the native Americans, who is conflicted. Rita Moreno has an obnoxious role as the cute native American who has attached herself to Rory's Mexican sidekick). The reason to watch is plot, pacing, and, yes, the ending that you will not predict.

Note. The film was shot in color, but TCM broadcast it in black and white. This looks like a film in bad need of restoration, particularly as much of it was shot against sagebrush that was actually in bloom.

Although color would have been nice for this western shot on location in Kanab, Utah, The Yellow Tomahawk is no frills, brutal, and bloody western about some survivors of a massacre trying to make it home to safety. The Cheyennes however are only retaliating for the infamous Sand Creek Massacre in which the commanding officer had a big part. The commander is Major Warner Anderson who has some real issues of his own.

Rory Calhoun and Noah Beery, Jr. play a couple of scouts who see the problem, but are helpless with Anderson's intransigence and stupidity. Anderson even after Sand Creek is now building an army fort on Cheyenne land and the Cheyenne don't take kindly to that. They send the army warning signal of The Yellow Tomahawk which is their way of saying clear out. The scenes of the massacre of the cavalry and some civilians including women is not for the squeamish.

Peggie Castle and Rita Moreno play the women paired with Calhoun and Beery. Peter Graves is a shifty gold prospector. But the film belongs to Warner Anderson, this might be his career role. You won't believe why he ordered the Sand Creek massacre, but it's actually curiously relevant to issues coming before the Supreme Court to be rendered as I write this.

This western belongs to the second part of career for Lesley Selander, his best part, unlike his cheap one, during the forties. Here, with more budget, he is of course more comfortable, and without being under the lack of freedom, which is usually the bad side of a bigger budget. Producers generally remove any wish for something new, or unusual, when some directors dare something daring. Exectuves only seek the gross, and in that purpose, the key is to propose to audiences what they seek for, what they search for, and certainly not something unexpected. Such a shame. Here, with this film, and others that he made more or less in the same period, Lesley Selander makes me think of a total freedom, concerning camera angles, characters study, and above all the Indian attack over the cavalry base camp, so violent, so brutal, with shocking scenes of women slaughtered with tomahawk. Yes, this is a very effective, excellent western from a specialist. An overall atmosphere and spirit that you can't forget, especially from a grade B movie, and not a Z.

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.