Joe Dakota (1957)

Jock Mahoney plays the title character, a former cavalry captain who rides into the tiny town of Aborville, having been summoned to help one of his faithful old Indian scouts.

In fact, this was an Indian scout so faithful, he assumed the name Joe Dakota upon settling in a shack just outside town.

When Mahoney arrives, that Joe Dakota is no where to be found.

What he does find are some very nervous and unfriendly townsfolk, busy drilling an oil well on the land where Joe was supposed to live.

Those townsfolk include Cal Moore (Charles McGraw), who’s leading the oil drilling efforts; brothers Aaron (Claude Akins) and Adam (Lee Van Cleef) Grant; and local storeowner Frank Weaver (Paul Birch).

Frank has two daughters, one of whom is engaged to Cal. The other (Luana Patten as Jody) is peculiarly moody. As it turns out, she had befriended the old Indian.

Joe soon decides she might have the answers he’s looking for to solve the mystery surrounding the other Joe Dakota.

Jock Mahoney as Joe Dakota, asking questions about his Indian friend while Myrna Weaver (Barbara Lawrence) looks on in Joe Dakota (1957)

Luana Patten as Jody Weaver, meeting Joe Dakota as he arrives in Aborville in Joe Dakota (1957)

Review:

An excellent little film with a unique story. Certainly the best of the several quickie Westerns Mahoney made in the 1950s.

It’s helped along by deft touches of humor, like Mahoney banging his head on a store sign as he tries to catch a second glimpse of Luana Patten. Or his horse shying away from him in disgust after he’s been thrown into a pool of oil.

As for Patten, she was one of the first child star contract players for Walt Disney Studios in the late 1940s. She returned to film as a fetching teen in the late 1950s.

In addition to appearing as a guest star on several Western TV series, three of her final film roles were Westerns — “The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come,” “Thunder of Drums,” and “Shoot Out at Big Sag,” all released in either 1961 or 1962.

Charles McGraw as Cal Moore, leader of the effort to drill an oil well in Joe Dakota (1957)

Lee Van Cleef as Adam Grant, Anthony Caruso as Marcus Vizzini and Claude Akins as Aaron Grant in Joe Dakota (1957)

Directed by:
Richard Bartlett

Cast:
Jock Mahoney … Joe Dakota
Charles McGraw … Cal Moore
Paul Birch … Frank Weaver
Luana Patten … Jody Weaver
Barbara Lawrence … Myrna Weaver
Claude Akins … Aaron Grant
Lee Van Cleef … Adam Grant
Anthony Caruso … Marcus Vizzini
Rita Lynn … Rosa Vizzini
George Dunn … Jim Baldwin
Steve Darrell … Sam Cook
Juney Ellis … Ethel Cook
Gregg Barton … Tom Jensen
Jeane Wood … Berha Jenson
Anthony Jochim … Claude Henderson
Francis McDonald … Elder Joe Dakota

Runtime: 79 min.

Paul Birch as Frank Weaver, talking to his daughter Jody (Luana Patten) in Joe Dakota (1957)

Barbara Lawrence as Myrna Weaver, Jody’s older sister in Joe Dakota (1957)

Memorable lines:

Cal Moore to Joe Dakota: “Let me give you a little tip, friend. People in a small town don’t like strangers very much at any time. And when those people are digging an oil well, they don’t like strangers at all. You know, I think you’d better get on your horse and ride away from this small town.”

Joe Dakota, after moving into the Indian’s old shack: “Let me give you a friendly tip. People in a small town don’t like strangers prowling around their place at night. So why don’t you climb on your horse and ride away from this place.”

Joe Dakota, to Cal Moore: “You wouldn’t shoot anybody, Cal … I figure any man who would use a girl to frame an old man doesn’t have too much daylight courage.”

Charles McGraw as Cal Moore and Jock Mahoney as Joe Dakota meet near the oil well in Joe Dakota (1957)

Francis McDonald as the old Indian who used the name Joe Dakota in Joe Dakota (1957)

George Dunn as Jim Baldwin as the barber with a conscience in Joe Dakota (1957)

Luana Patten as Jody Weaver, awaiting Joe Dakota’s likely return in Joe Dakota (1957)

Jock Mahoney as Joe Dakota, defending the property he claims he owns in Joe Dakota (1957)

Jock Mahoney as Joe Dakota, getting Jody Weaver (Luana Patten) to share a difficult memory in Joe Dakota (1957)