Ride Out for Revenge (1957)

Rory Calhoun is Tate, lawman in a small town near the Black Hills. Once, he was an acclaimed Indian fighter.

But the Cheyenne have been defeated and rendered nearly defenseless. He’s tired of war and tired of the prejudice toward the Indians.

Of course, part of his sympathy stems from his affection for a young Indian woman named Pretty Willow (Joanne Gilbert), daughter of Chief Yellow Wolf and sister to his hot-headed son Little Wolf (Vince Edwards).

The two chiefs visit town to ask local cavalry command Capt. George (Lloyd Bridges) for food and clothing to survive the winter. They offer to trade gold in exchange for that and the right to continue living on their land.

As he’s leaving town, Yellow Wolf is gunned down. During a retaliatory raid, the Cheyenne under Little Wolf steal horses and munitions from the cavalry, enough for a follow-up attack on the town. And Tate’s nephew is killed.

Tate knows he could end the hostilities by killing Little Wolf. But what would that mean about the future he hoped to enjoy with his sister?

And what would it mean for the rest of the Cheyenne with Capt. George eager to chase them off their land and get his hands on the gold Yellow Wolf discovered?

Review:

One of the lower-budget Calhoun Westerns, this is an effective movie even if it does come off as a bit preachy at times and even if the action scenes aren’t all that well done.

I mean, how many rounds does the troop under Capt. George’s command fire at Little Wolf and Tate during an ambush before they hit anything?

A fresh plot helps. And Gloria Grahme has perhaps the most interesting role as Amy Porter, a widow whose husband was killed by the Indians. She’s fallen in love with Tate and treats his nephew like her son.

She can’t fathom his sympathy for the Indians. And she can’t stand the fact that he loves an Indian squaw rather than her.

The film ends with Tate explaining the importance of adapting to change to Pretty Willow. In response, she poses an interesting question: Would the whites fight like the Cheyenne did if someone tried to take the land from them?

Directed By:
Bernard Girard

Cast:
Rory Calhoun … Tate
Lloyd Bridges … Captain George
Gloria Grahame … Amy Porter
Joanne Gilbert … Pretty Willow
Vince Edwards … Chief Little Wolf
Frank DeKova … Cheif Yellow Wolf
Michael Winkelman … Billy
Richard Shannon … Garvin
Cyril Delevanti … Preacher
John Frederick … The lieutenant

Runtime: 78 min.

Memorable lines:

Capt. George, looking over a gold nugget Cheyenne Chief Yellow Wolf wants to swap for the right to stay on their land: “What do you think, Tate?”
Tate: “Sounds like a fair transaction. Their gold for their land. You got nothing to lose, captain.”

Tate to Amy Porter: “Maybe you’d like to know what a savage girl does when her savage father is murdered. She cries. She cries just as hard as you did when John was killed.”

Capt. George, of the Cheyenne: “They’ll massacre the whole town, I tell ya.”
Tate: “That’s the way it goes with murder. First an old man. Then a small boy. And maybe next, a scared captain. Who knows?”

Tate to Amy Porter: “I’m ashamed of you. … Hate’s twisted you, Amy. Like a disease. It’s written on your face when you talk. It eats you up inside. Pretty soon, somebody catches it from you. Then there’s a whole epidemic. And that’s what this town’s got — an epidemic of hate.”

Amy Porter to Capt. George: “You don’t even know it, but you lost more than any of us.”
Capt. George: “Ah, no Mrs. Porter, not me.”
Amy: “Oh, yes you have Captain. You’re in real trouble now. With them (the Indians) gone, there’s no one left here to hate. But yourself.”