Jay Silverheels is Tecumseh, an Indian chief who dreams of peace with the white man in the days before the outbreak of the War of 1812.
His brother, known as The Prophet (Michael Ansara) sees things differently, siding with the British against the whites.
Into this mix arrives Steve Ruddell (Jon Hall), a master frontiersman assigned to find out who’s stirring up the trouble with the Indians.
He and Tecumseh are old friends. And both have a special place in their heart for Laura MacGregor (Christine Larsen), a red-haired merchant’s daughter.
Only it turns out her father is among those aligned with the British.
Hoping to show his people how to live with the whites, Tecumseh builds the town of Tippecanoe to resemble a white settlement, then goes off to spread news of the white man’s friendship with other tribes.
But while he’s gone, the British allies try a sneak attack on the Americans and The Prophet goes back on the warpath, determined to make the town of Tippecanoe his own.
Jon Hall as Steve Ruddell, the man brought in to keep peace with the Indians in Brave Warrior (1952)
Jay Silverheels as Tecumseh, dreaming of lasting peace between the Indians and whites in Brave Warrior (1952)
Review:
Some unique action sequences, thanks to the unusual War of 1812 uniforms, help enliven this otherwise forgettable film.
The lovers triangle between Tecumseh, Steve Ruddell and Laura MacGregor seems like a stretch. And one reason The Prophet hates the whites so much is that he lost an eye in a fight with them when he was young.
This marked one of the first starring roles for Jay Silverheels, who had uncredited roles in a host of films through the 1940s. A year earlier, Michael Ansara had played the feared Indian chief Tucsos in the Gregory Peck Western, “Only the Valiant.”
Christine Larsen as Laura MacGregor, the white woman Tecumseh hopes to marry in Brave Warrior (1952)
Michael Ansara as The Prophet, determined to get back at the whites for the loss of his eye in Brave Warrior (1952)
Directed by:
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Cast:
Jon Hall … Steve Ruddell
Christine Larsen … Laura MacGregor
Jay Silverheels … Tecumseh
Michael Ansara … The Prophet
Harry Cording … Shayne MacGregor
James Seay … Gov. Harrison
George Eldredge … Barney Demming
Leslie Denison … Gen. Proctor / Bancroft
Rory Malinson … Barker
Rusty Wescoatt … Standish
Runtime: 73 min.
Leslie Denison as Bancroft, aka Gen. Proctor, a British agent hoping to ambush a U.S. Army detail in Brave Warrior (1952)
George Eldredge as Barney Demming and Harry Cording as Shayne MacGregor, conspiring to start a war between the U.S. and Britain in Brave Warrior (1952)
Memorable lines:
Man on raft, smacking at his neck: “Confound it. Mosquitoes come as big as eagles around here.”
Second man on raft: “If you don’t kill ’em, Joe, you’ll break your own neck slappin’ at ’em.”
Tecumseh: “My brother, the Prophet, speaks strong words against our friends, the United States. That we could be born of the same mother is indeed strange. You know but one thing — to live with war paint on your face and a tomahawk in your hand.”
The Prophet: “A tomahawk is stronger than your soft words.”
Jay Silverheels as Tecumseh, dealing with a more warlike brother, The Prophet, in Brave Warrior (1952)
James Seay as Gov. Harrison and Jon Hall as Steve Ruddell, trying to keep the U.S. out of a war with the British in Brave Warrior (1952)
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