The Iroquois Trail (1950)

George Montgomery is Nat Cutler, who finds himself trying to clear the name of his dead brother during the French and Indian War and nearly winds up being hung in the process.

His brother Tom, fighting for the British army, has been given an important dispatch to deliver to Crown Point.

What Tom doesn’t know is that the scouts accompanying him, Sam Girty and Ogane (Sheldon Leonard) are both operatives of the French Army.

They fatally wound Tom, who lives long enough to whisper what happened to his brother, but not long enough to share the information with his British officers.

And so Tom is branded a traitor, and Nat — known as Hawkeye by his Indian friends — sets out to get revenge on those responsible for his brother’s death.

He catches up with Girty rather quickly and turns his focus to Ogane.

Meanwhile, French General Montcalm is making significant strides in his march down the Iroquois trail toward the British headquarters at Albany, mostly because he seems to always learn what the British are planning.

Before long, Nat is branded a traitor as well, locked in a jail at Fort Williams and scheduled to hang. Then the Hurons attack.

George Montgomery as Nat Cutler, aka Hawkeye, determined to find those responsible for his younger brother’s death in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Brenda Marshall as Marion Thorne, insisting on a reunion with her father in spite of the danger in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Review:

The surprisingly effective use of closeups and in-your-face action, plus a plot that isn’t just another tired retelling of “Last of the Mohicans,” makes this worth watching, even if the outcome is predictable from the word “go.”

Brenda Marshall plays Marion Thorne, the film’s love interest. Yep, she’s bound for a reunion with her dad at Fort Williams. Yep, she’s loved by a British commander (Glenn Langan as Capt. Jonathan West).

And, yep, her virtue and her life will be threatened more than once at the hands of those nasty Huron Indians.

Monte Blue plays Sagamore, Montgomery’s Indian companion. The Huron assault on Fort Williams — against Montcalm’s orders — and a canoe chase are among the film’s action highlights.

Montgomery would don the coonskin cap again two years later in “The Pathfinder.”

Glenn Langan as Capt. Jonathan West, the man who intends to protect, then marry Marion Thorne in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Sheldon Leonard as Ogane, lusting over the thought of capturing pretty Marion Thorne in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Directed by:
Phil Karlson

Cast:
George Montgomery … Nat Cutler / Hawkeye
Brenda Marshall … Marion Thorne
Glenn Langan … Capt. Jonathan West
Paul Cavanagh … Col. Eric Thorne
Monte Blue … Chief Sagamore
Sheldon Leonard … Chief Ogane
Reginald Denny … Capt. Edward Brownell
Dan O’Herlihy … Lt. Blakely
John Doucette … Sam Girty
Holmes Herbert … Gen. Johnson
Don Garner … Sgt. Tom Cutler
Marcel Gourmet … Gen. Montcalm
Arthur Little Jr. … Adutant Dickson
Esther Somers … Ma Cutler

Runtime: 86 min.

Monte Blue as Sagamore, Hawkeye’s faithful sidekick, meeting Nat Cutler’s mother in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Paul Cavanagh as Eric Thorne, commander of Fort Williams and Marion’s father in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Memorable lines:

Capt. Jonathan West, explaining his request for a transfer to the colonies: “I told the general I was pining away for my old commander.”
His new commander: “The last time I saw your old commander, she was with Lt. Hunter.”

Ma Cutler: “I was hoping this time you’d stay long enough for the right girl to come along and knock that wilderness moonshine out of your head.”
Nat Cutler: “Ma, I still haven’t found a gal I’d give a good weasel skin for.”

Capt. Jonathan West, about the colonies: “The forest and the streams are beautiful. The hills are magnificent. And the mosquitoes are the biggest and most blood thirstiest I’ve ever encountered.”
Marion Thorne: “Oh, John, you’d complain about paradise.”
Capt. West: “Not if you were there.’

British commander: “If we jailed every colonial who disobeyed orders, we’ve have more prisoners than troops.”

Capt. West, after Sagamore has died: “I couldn’t owe my life to a better man.”
Hawkeye: “I reckon that’s our first agreement, Captain.”

John Doucette as Sam Girty, coming face to face with a vengeance seeking Nat Cutler in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Reginald Denny as British Capt. Edward Brownell, passing Tom Cutler a message that will never reach its destination in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Holmes Herbert as British Gen. Johnson, learning of Montcalm’s plans to attack Crown Point in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Glenn Langan as Capt. Jonathan West, ready to defend Marion Thorne as Indians approach in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Don Garner as Tom Cutler, eager to embark on an important mission for the British Army in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Esther Somers as Ma Cutler, despondent after watching her youngest son die from his wounds in The Iroquois trail (1950)

Sheldon Leonard as Ogane, an Indian with a knack for leading the British into traps in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

Brenda Marshall as Marion Thorne, coming to rely upon Nat Cutler for her survival in a harsh new world in The Iroquois Trail (1950)

George Montgomery as Nat Cutler, aka Hawkeye, armed and ready for a showdown in The Iroquois Trail (1950)