The year is 1876, and the Tomahawk and Western Railroad is scrambling to meet a deadline in order to secure a franchise to operate in Colorado.
But the railroad faces a couple of major obstacles in reaching the town of Tomahawk by the deadline of noon Sept. 5: There are no tracks for a 40-mile stretch, and someone is hellbent on making sure the mission isn’t completed, probably the owners of a stage line likely to be put out of business if the rail line succeeds.
To overcome the first obstacle, a team of mules is hitched to pull a train engine from Epitaph to Tomahawk. Making sure scoundrels don’t stop the engine becomes the responsibility of Kit Dodge Jr. (Anne Baxter), the sharp-shooting, knife-throwing, never-been-kissed granddaughter of Epitaph’s recently wounded marshal.
Once she learns how to flirt, she finds two men to bat her eyes at: traveling salesman Johnny Behind the Deuces (Dan Dailey), who unwittingly becomes the railroad’s first passenger; and Dakota (Rory Calhoun), a henchman for the stage line who infiltrates the odd caravan bound for Tomahawk.
Anne Baster as Kit Dodge, challenging Dakota to a shooting match in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Dan Dailey as Johnny Behind the Deuces, a traveling salesman getting to know Kit better in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Review:
Another railroad story? Ah, but this one has enough twists, and enough comedy, to make it an entertaining little film.
For example, Dailey spends part of the film tied to a chair attached to the train’s engine to make sure the railroad’s first passenger doesn’t escape. The marshal has one heck of a time teaching his granddaughter about the birds and the bees. And a long overdue New Year’s fireworks display helps avert an Indian uprising.
The cast also includes Walter Brennan, who looks over his train engine — named Emma Sweeney — like an overprotective husband. And you’ll spot Marilyn Monroe, looking gorgeous, of course, in an early uncredited role as Clara, a member of a dance troupe that tags along on the trip to Tomahawk.
Rory Calhoun as Dakota, the smooth-talking Dawson henchmen who joins the expedition to Tomahawk in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Arthur Hunnicutt as Sad Eyes and Walter Brennan as Terence Sweeney take in the song-and-dance show in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Directed by:
Richard Sale
Cast:
Dan Dailey … Johnny Behind the Deuces
Anne Baxter … Kit Dodge Jr.
Rory Calhoun … Dakota
Walter Brennan … Terence Sweeney
Charles Kemper … Chuckity
Connie Gilchrist … Madame Adelaide
Arthur Hunnicutt … Sad Eyes
Will Wright … Marshal Kit Dodge
Chief Yowalachie … Pawnee
Victor Sen Yung … Long Time
Jack Elam … Fargo
Mauritz Hugo … Dawson
Marilyn Monroe … Clara
Runtime: 90 min.
Will Wright as Marshal Dodge asking Pawnee (Chief Yowalachie) to keep the guys away from Kit in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Connie Gilchrist as Madame Adelaide, leader of the dance troupe in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950) with Marilyn Monroe as Clara, one of her girls.
Memorable lines:
Marshal Kit Dodge to Pawnee, after a futile attempt to explain the birds and the bees to his granddaughter, Kit Jr.: “If any sidewinder starts sweet talkin’that gal, you got my blessing to part his hair with your ax.”
Dakota: “A fella’s bound to pick up a few notches in the course of livin’.”
Kit Dodge: “Or dyin’.”
Dakota to Kit: “If there’s anything else I can do for you, you just wiggle your little pinky.”
Kit Dodge: “My grandpa is about the kindest man you’ll ever meet. Why I recall the time they hanged Buckskin Tony. They didn’t fix the noose quite right and when the trap sprung there was poor ol’ Buckskin jumpin’ like a frog at the end of that rope with his tongue stickin’ out like a blacksnake. And you know what? Poor grandpa just couldn’t stand it. He got out his six-gun and blew Buckskin’s head off so he wouldn’t choke to death.”
Kit Dodge to Johnny: “Maybe you wouldn’t have such a loose foot if I gave you a permanent limp.”
Anne Baxter as Kit Dodge, getting a badge from her lawman grandfather (Will Wright) in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Maurice Hugo as Dawson, the man determined to keep the train from reaching Tomahawk in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Charles Kemper as Chukity, the oft-bumbling deputy to Kit’s granddad in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Marilyn Monroe as Clara, a member of the dance troupe that tags along to Tomahawk in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Chief Yowalachie as Pawnee, keeping a close eye on Kit, tomahawk in hand, in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
Dan Dailey as Johnny Behind the Deuces
with Anne Baxter as Kit Dodge in A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
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