L'attaque du Fort Douglas

This hokum film set during pre-Revolutionary War deals with a painter named Jonathan Adams (Scott Brady), tangling with diverse dames as he paints wonderful outdoor scenes and beautiful women . He is away from Boston so long that his fiancée , Cynthia Stanhope (Lori Nelson), along with her Aunt Agatha (Barbara Allen), newly arrive from the east to Fort Alden ( 1778, Otsego County, Cherry Valley, the Fort existed and was destroyed in French and Indian War) seeking him . Cynthia finds him juggling the gorgeous Greta Jones (Allison Hayes), a shopkeeper's (Rhys Williams) daughter, as a model. Mohawk Chief Kowanen (Ted De Corsia) holds his tribe in check but rebel warrior Rokhawah (Neville Brand) wishes into raiding the fort for guns . Onida, Kowanen's daughter (Rita Gam), agrees to let the raiders into the fort after sundown and finds herself caught in Adams' hut after the attackers getaway . Later on , the artist Adams and Onida fall in love but he is taken prisoner . Meanwhile , Butler (John Hoyt), an Indian hater , is seeking to provoke a war so that he might get rule of the whole Mohawk valley . Then he murders Kowanen's son, Keoga, and this causes the chief into declaring war against white men . After that, the courageous Adams trying to thwart Iroquois uprising .

This peculiar B frontier western in 1950-style contains adventure , intrigue , fights and an inter-racial love story . It's a quickie with lack luster and low budget but it manages to be at least an enjoyable adventures movie because contains action, sensational outdoors and outlandish thrills situations abound . The story is neither realistic nor ambitious, but sympathetic with good scenarios, costumes and landscapes . It's made on the ideas and leftover from previous movie the very superior ¨Drums along the Mohawk¨ by John Ford with Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert . The film displays a haunting and rich cinematography capturing flavor of colonial life by Karl Struss, Neumann's usual . The motion picture produced by Edward Alperson is finely directed by Kurt Neumann (The fly, Cronos, She-Devil, Tarzan and the leopard woman). This vigorous picture with some humor unintentionally interwoven obtained limited successful but results to be enough agreeable. It's a good stuff for young people and exotic adventures lovers who enjoy enormously with the extraordinary dangers on the luxurious landscapes and marvelous Technicolor photography.

Yes, when I saw that western, I thought I was in a drive in, in my Corvette Stingray with my girl. I was focused on the 3 delicious pin ups, Lori Nelson, Allison Hayes and Rita Gam (as the Indian chief's mohawh daughter, a must see), all three in love with the Casanova painter, fond of nature... shot in studio !!! I forgot all the ridiculous Indian scenes wearing unrealistic costumes, even Neville Brand is badly directed, Neumann was more concentrated on directing his delicious starlettes. And what about the chief's son, definitively not acting like an Indian but rather like a 1956 teenager from Blackboard Jungle. That parody of western would have exasperated late Mr Tavernier. On the French DVD, there is in the bonus a specialist of western and Indians who comments brilliantly this film and the true story of Mohawks, don't miss him.

"Mohawk" is a 1956 color film starring some darn good-looking young people, beautiful scenery, and a different point of view towards Indians. Scott Brady is an artist living in a fort that exists in peace with the Mohawk Indians, except for one rabble-rouser (John Hoyt) who grew up in the area and wants the Indians out. The script is interesting for the period, because the Brady character is constantly reminding people that the white man took land from the Indians.

The cast is populated with some gorgeous starlets: Lori Nelson, Allison Hayes, and Rita Gam. Scott Brady, who ended up becoming a character actor, actually started out as a poor man's Robert Wagner and is an attractive lead here.

Mae Clarke of the Cagney grapefruit is the Indian Chief's wife. All of the Indians have shaved chests. The most familiar actor to most will be Neville Brand as one of the Indians.

Okay, and the guys will love it.

"Jonathan Adams" (Scott Brady) is a young man from Boston who has his heart set on painting. But rather than paint portraits in that city he has chosen to live in the American wilderness near a fort in the Mohawk Valley of New York. Because of his youth and charm he has attracted the attention of the lovely barmaid by the name of "Greta Jones" (Allison Hayes) who has willingly agreed to pose for him as a model. However, things begin to get a bit difficult for him when his fiancé named "Cynthia Stanhope" (Lori Nelson) arrives unexpectedly from Boston. Likewise, his chance encounter with an Iroquois maiden by the name of "Onida" (Rita Gam) really complicates things. Now rather than reveal any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that, all things considered, this turned out to be a decent grade-B western. Admittedly, there were some parts which were a bit corny and it didn't have an all-star cast or a superior script. But I enjoyed it and the three actresses just mentioned certainly didn't hurt the scenery in any way. Accordingly, I rate it as about average.

Let me just say that I did not expect much from this film when I popped it into the DVD player. It is on a 4 movie set from Platinum Great Westerns Vol 8. that I paid only $4.00. Well, they must of remastered this one, quality is excellent. Almost looks like a 3D color movie at times. The flick itself...pretty good not a western at all though. Set out east in 1790 with the blue coats and settlers invading upon the Indian's habitat. Commissioned Boston artist Scott Brady frolicking with 3 beautiful women, fiancee Lori Nelson, bar maid Alison Hayes, and Indian princess Rita Gamm. Sinister demented land owner John Hoyt plays the white skins against the red skins so both wipe each other out and the valley will be all his. Crazed Mohawk Neville Brand doing frenzied war dances, only makes matters worse. Ends with exciting attack on the fort, bad guy gets his in spades, and Brady picking the right gal for marriage. The movie is no deep drama by any means, but it moves very quickly, nice to look at in a 1950's avante garde way, some (not all) of the outdoor sets are really on a studio sound stage so there are paintings as backdrops that are VERY obvious. Fun movie though to enjoy for what it is.