Trooper Hook

Trooper Hook is directed by Charles Marquis Warren and collectively written by David Victor, Jack Schaefer and Herbert Little Jr. It stars Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Earl Holliman, Royal Dano and Rudolfo Acosta. Music is by Gerald Fried, with theme tune song by Tex Ritter, and cinematography is by Ellsworth Fredericks.

Upon capturing a band of marauding Apaches, Cavalry Sergeant Clovis Hook (McCrea) finds a white woman amongst the group. Cora Sutliff (Stanwyck) was taken by the Apache years ago and became the squaw of their leader, Nanchez (Acosta), she also bore him a child, Quito (Terry Lawrence). The army decides to reunite Cora with her white husband and charge Hook with delivering both her and Quito safely across country to the Sutliff homestead...

Splendid cast is assembled for this black and white Oater that is more about racism and the problems of inter-racial relations in the Old West, than it is a Cavalry Vs Indians shoot 'em up. Story essentially follows a stagecoach travelling across country that finds Hook, Cora and Quito encountering all manner of characters along the way, most of whom are racist. While of course there is the small matter of the Apache being on their tail as well.

Hook is a grizzled old badger, orders are orders, regardless of if he had any sort of objections to his mission, he's there to keep order and see the job through. For various reasons, everyone on the journey will be looking to him for action and decisions, not least Cora and Quito who begin to form a warm relationship with him. It of course builds to a head once the Apache come back onto the scene, and there's the issue of if Cora's husband will accept her and her half-breed son into his life?

It's very competently performed, and with the exception of some of the lower budget aspects of the production, it's well crafted by Warren. Unfortunately the writing doesn't always give the outside characters a quality of script befitting the themes of the story. Hook and Cora get some good back story, she in explanation of her captivity and he with his rueful recollections as a prisoner of the Civil War. While Holliman is served well as a genial cowpoke and Dano as the crotchety stagecoach driver is great fun.

Coming as it did post far better movies that dealt with prejudice themes in the Indian Wars, it feels like a coat tail grabber, and a watered down offering at that. That it's still a worthy viewing experience comes down to the work of a committed set of lead actors. 6.5/10

Joel Mccrea at his best.I recorded this off the tmc channel recently on a dvr. The dvr went bad so I lost the show.I have tried to find this movie everywhere and it is not available. What a shame this treasure is lost to so many. The little boy Terry Lawrence was so very good. No one could have played that part better. Lynn Stalmaster in my opinion was the best at casting that ever was. You could depend on the actors doing a good job if he picked them for it. Everyone in this show is superb.A very realistic show without going into the sordid details of todays movies.I am an adult and I know what happened. Don't need to see it.I like good endings without the hero's getting killed. I watch movies to be entertained not depressed and this one fills the bill.

This is a true good western, made by THE specialist Charles Marquis Warren, one of the best masters in this category, but unfortunately underrated. This movie starring Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck could not be bad anyway. The topic is predictable but unusual and interesting to watch. Joel MccRea has here a role which seemed to have been made for him. Barbara Stanwyck is also wonderful, as usual. Rodolfo Acosta is terrific here as Natchez, one of his best characters but amybe not the most know, like the film. It is well written, edited, providing exciting action sequences. Don't miss the opportunity to catch it if you can.

Another fine McCrea Western with more substance than most. Cavalry sergeant McCrea must get white Indian squaw Stanwyck and little half-breed son past bigoted whites and hostile Apaches to her former husband Dehner. Along the way, they encounter many difficulties from both whites and Indians.

Those scenic Utah vistas, even in b&w, lend real credibility to the proceedings. And catch that opening scene. Note the brutality from both cavalry and Apaches, as latter execute prisoners, while former lays waste to Indian encampment. Throughout, the subtext hints at an underlying commonality between the two races despite the hostility. Or, as Apache Nanchez and cavalryman McCrea observe during a peace parley, there's a little of each in both of them.

Now, the question logically arises—given the warfare and brutality, why is McCrea so basically kind to enemy Stanwyck and son. Sure, she was captured and made a squaw and still has white skin, but she's also born Nanchez's son, captivity or no captivity. That's enough for most whites to hate her. Thanks to an intelligent script (except for the contrived ending), we find out. McCrea was a captive during the Civil War and stayed alive by imitating a dog, of all things. So, he knows what it's like to humiliate oneself in order to stay alive, which is what the unrepentant Stanwyck has done as a captive of the Apaches. It's a solid psychological point and a credit to McCrea that his character would risk such a demeaning episode in his background.

There's also the suspenseful stand-off around the fallen stagecoach. It's pretty clear that McCrea will shoot the boy if Nanchez attacks. It's also a pretty cold-blooded gamble. What's rather surprising is that McCrea shows no doubts or compunctions about risking the boy's life. Not too many Westerns of the time showed the hero holding a gun (through Holliman) to a little boy's head, amounting to an unusual departure, particularly for McCrea's apparent lack of feeling. Of course, what's going on underneath the steely resolve is likely entirely different.

Stanwyck is excellent as the stoical Cora Sutcliff. Her career had fallen off since there weren't many A-pictures available to a middle-aged star. But being the down-to-earth person she was known to be, she gives this B-Western her best, and it shows. I just wish Earl Holliman had more screen time. Some people are born to play certain parts, and he was born to play a good-natured, slightly oafish cowboy. His scenes with McCrea amount to little gems of unspoken affection. At the same time, I'm guessing young lady Kohner's part was added to Holliman's to give the movie more youth appeal. But most of all, the film has the great Joel McCrea. No actor brought more quiet dignity and less egotism to the traditional cowboy role than he. Unfortunately, I expect it's that very low-key approach that has lowered his public profile over the years. Too bad.

This 1957 release came at a time when both movies and TV were saturated with cowboys and six-guns. As a result, many quality Westerns got lost in the crowd, and, I expect, this humane little effort is one of them. Nonetheless, the ending is much too conventional and conveniently pat to distinguish the results completely from the pack. I just wish the script showed the same imagination in the last 5 minutes that it showed in the other 70-some. Then we would have had a complete little gem.

Quality entertainment here. Joel Mcrea, Barbara Stanwick and Earl Holliman pull it off along with some good supporting staff to bring us a movie with depth and feeling. The subject matter brings out any hidden prejudice and helps us to examine it in the light of reality. We go back in time when Indians were around and being rounded up and there are many tales to tell about that. This one involves a white woman taken captive and ending up having a son by an Indian chief. Not a very popular position back then and every generation since then has something to say about this subject. We see how we can choose between three choices while watching. Either we accept the situation, reject it or stand-up for it. The movie gives us those positions and more. It also ends on a positive note which back in the day was needful and helpful especially if the subject matter was controversial. Enjoy the horses, towns, dust, general store and stagecoach days as they came and went so quickly but affected many a life. Good movie to snack with a tasty drink too. I always enjoy Westerns that have a catchy tune either in the beginning or ending. This one has it in the middle of it not once but twice. The tune which was a story set to music makes sense. I couldn't help but think they should have done a sequel too. Mount up and lets ride.