La hache sanglante

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.

The Yellow Tomahawk is directed by Lesley Selander and written by Harold Jack Bloom and Richard Alan Simmons. It stars Rory Calhoun, Peggie Castle, Noah Beery Jr., Warner Anderson, Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef and Rita Moreno. Music is by Les Baxter and cinematography by Gordon Avil.

Scout and tracker Adam Reed (Calhoun) is handed a yellow tomahawk by Cheyenne warrior Fire Knife (Cleef). It is to be given to Major Ives (Anderson) as a proclamation of war, a heed to get women and children out the way prior to attack. Ives stubbornly rejects the threat...

Another splendid 1950s Oater begging to be sought out by fans of the genre, and another reason to laud Calhoun as underrated in his time. Story wise there are familiar tropes, but it's always nice to see a screenplay sympathetic to the Native Americans, where here led by *ahem* Van Cleef they are fed up of encroachment and seek to defend their tribal lands. There is honour in the actions, which in turn solidifies a believable friendship between Fire Knife and Reed.

It's also in parts sexy, which gets its first marker during Reed and Katherine's (Castle) first meeting, god bless water! Ok! So the inevitable coupling is all a bit sudden and trite given an event previously, but the romance factor here does not hinder the depth of the screenplay. Also bonus is that Reed is not some unstoppable muscular hero, he is openly shown to be as fallible in a fight as all of us can be - twice! The makers are not here purely for comic book

There's twists in store as well, one of which is a doozy, while the action as you would expect under Selander is very competent and exciting. You will not forget the massacre sequences, where the eye for an eye - violence begets violence theme is banging the drum, while the presence of Beery and Graves is most welcome. Filmed in Colour but released to TV in black and white, a Western fan can't help lament this fact. For you can see the wonderful Kanab locations begging to be colourized. Shame that.

The messages within my grate on some, but if shrugging that off there is a whole lot for Western supporters to savour here. 7/10

A lot of the B Westerns were "fluff", but usually the director or writer would want to add some "sidebar" on for their personal motif.

It is the "sidebar" that is usually the message the director and writer want to display. Sometimes, it is "advertising" for products, such as tobacco companies, soda companies, or what have you.

Here, either Director Selander, or writers Simmons and Boone, looked to want to add their own flavor to a fairly routine cavalry Western.

Like most Westerns of the day, the Indians are depicted as semi good guys with evil white men upsetting the apple cart.

The overkill of the evil white men has always been very politically correct, and especially was in the decades that followed this movie.

However, the real sidebar here is what happens with the evil corrupt cavalry officer who causes at least two massacres, quite knowingly, quite viciously.

Also, a few red herrings come into play here. The fates of a few of the characters you won't guess, as they go against the usual Hollywood propaganda formula. Thus, this particular Western has some surprises by the end.

As rugged Indian scout Adam Reed (Rory Calhoun) rides in the open country of Utah towards a US Cavalry outpost, he is stopped by his close friend, Cheyenne warrior Fire Knife (Lee Van Cleef). Fire Knife gives Reed a yellow tomahawk to give to the outpost commandant, Major Ives whom he and Chief Red Cloud call a "butcher" and hold mainly responsible for the Massacre at Sand Creek. That site is a real historical event (1864) where the US Cavalry killed over 100 Indians, most of whom were women and children. The yellow tomahawk is a warning – more than the Cavalry gave earlier to the Indian – for the soldiers to clear out of the planned future fort or face the consequences. The soldiers will be allowed to depart peacefully.

On his way to the military encampment, Reed spots blonde and nubile Kate Bolden (Peggy Castle) bathing and swimming in a pond. They briefly exchange words; Kate tells him that she's from Boston. At the post, arrogant commander Ives (Warner Anderson) is adamant: he has no intention of leaving, even though the encampment is in Cheyenne territory. No lover of the Indian, Ives believes that the red men are dangerous to civilization. Ives gives women (and children) a choice whether to leave for Ft. Ellis or remain. Orders are given for the men to fortify the position. When preparations are being made, Reed tells Master Sergeant Bandini (Dan Riss) that advance pickets should be placed on the hills, and that not all of the men should be placed behind the barricades. Bandini agrees but explains to Reed that he is resigned to taking orders, whether he agrees or not. The Indians soon attack, and Ives' faulty tactics manifest themselves. When the violence ends there are only nine survivors: the major, a corporal, a private, a Mexican Indian scout Tonio (Reed's friend, Noah Beery Jr.), Tonio's Indian girlfriend Honey Bear (a lovely Rita Moreno), an army engineer/surveyor, a slimy prospector (Peter Graves) who has murdered his two partners for gold, blonde Kate, and Reed.

Now the survivors must make the dangerous trek to Ft. Ellis and safety. Reed wants to keep the major alive at all costs so that he can stand trial (court martial) for provoking an Indian war. Along the way, their numbers will shrink, as will those of the attacking Indians. When Reed and Fire Knife have a parlay, the latter says he will let the dwindling survivors leave peacefully, except for Ives. Reed cannot accept this condition. So the trek continues until the inevitable conclusion.

Director Lesley Selander has directed a nice, very well-paced western. The actors are well-cast, and are given an above average script. Some sympathy is given to the Indians, who are defending their tribal lands from encroachment. There are two twists at the end that involve Major Ives; they will not be revealed here. The western was shot in Technicolor but released to television in black and white.

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.