War has broken out in the American colonies between the French and the English, and the Mingos tribe strikes the first blow by attacking and wiping out a Mohican camp. Only a young boy named Uncas survives.
Pathfinder (George Montgomery) rushes to the British fort, demanding to know why help wasn’t sent to the Mohicans. He learns that the messenger requesting that aid never arrived.
Eager to strike back, Pathfinder agrees to become a spy by pretending to scout for the French.
To assist with the language barrier, British Col. Duncannon decides to send along Welcome Alison (Helena Carter), a refined young woman who came to America to marry a British officer.
Only he turned out to be a drunk and deserted to become a renegade for the French cause.
Their mission: Disrupt the flow of supplies to the French army and report back with any possible information about the French battle plans.
Pathfinder isn’t happy about being saddled with a female for a spy-mate, especially one who doesn’t even know how to load a musket. But his attitude changes over time.
As for that former fiancé of Alison’s? He reappears, at the worst of times.
George Montgomery as Pathfinder, considering an offer to spy for the British after being offered a top notch interpreter to assist in The Pathfinder (1952)
Helena Carter as Welcome Alison, the Englishwoman who speaks French and finds herself accompanying The Pathfinder (1952)
Review:
A decent final battle scene and the verbal sparring between Montgomery and Carter enliven a pretty predictable tale.
At one point, Pathfinder decides he should kiss Welcome Alison to restore her confidence in her ability to attract men. She quickly proves adept at wrapping French officers around her fingers.
Jay Silverheels plays Pathfinder’s sidekick, Cingachgook. Carter looks and sounds lovely in the role of Welcome, though she could use lots of practice looking terrified when she and the boys stumble among a larger band of blood-thirsty Indians.
Bruce Lester has the role of Bradford, Welcome’s former lover, and Elena Verdugo plays his Indian princess wife, who dreams of the gold he keeps promising her, until she realizes he’s more than willing to sacrifice the lives of her fellow tribesmen to earn that gold from the French.
Jay Silverheels as Chingachgook, coming across a massacred Mohican village and finding only son Uncas still alive in The Pathfinder (1952)
Walter Kingsford as British Col. Duncannon, trying to convince Pathfinder to join the fight against the French in The Pathfinder (1952)
Directed by:
Sidney Shalkow
The Cast:
George Montgomery … Pathfinder
Jay Silverheels … Chingachgook
Helena Carter … Welcome Alison
Walter Kingford … Col. Duncannon
Stephen Bekassy … French Col. Brasseau
Rodd Redwing … Mingo Chief Arrowhead
Elena Verdugo … Lokawa
Bruce Lester … Capt. Clint Bradford
Chief Yowlachie … Eagle Feather
Vi Ingraham … Ka-letan
Ed Coch Jr. … Uncas
Rus Conlkin … Togamak
Runtime: 78 min.
Bruce Lester as Capt. Clint Bradford, the former British officer who was once engaged to Welcome Alison in The Pathfinder (1952)
Elena Verdugo as Lokawa, the Indian princess Bradford marries as part of his scheme to acquire gold in The Pathfinder (1952)
Memorable lines:
Pathfinder: “Why did you ever accept a job like this?”
Welcome Allison: “Why not?”
Pathfinder: “You’re a woman.”
Welcome Alison: “Excellent. I’d heard your eyes were sharp.”
Pathfinder to Alison: “When are you going to stop picking up a tomahawk every time you talk to me.”
Pathfinder to Alison, jealous over the attention she was paying to a French officer: “Guns aren’t like human beings. They’re reliable if you take care of them.”
Pathfinder: “Mean critters, those Delawares. They torture a man first, then they scalp him.”
Col. Brasseau, feeling his head: “It’s taken all my life to grow this.”
Pathifnder, after blowing up a new road: “By the time they figure out how to turn around, the war will be over.”
Stephen Bekassy as Col. Brasseau, the French commander, welcoming Pathfinder and Welcome to his post in The Pathfinder (1952)
Rodd Redwing as Chief Arrowhead, chief of the Mingo tribe, ready for a showdown with Pathfinder in The Pathfinder (1952)
George Montgomery as Pathfinder and Helena Carter as Welcome Alison, facing grim prospects in The Pathfinder (1952)
George Montgomery as Pathfinder and Jay SIlverheels as Chingachgook, sensing trouble ahead in The Pathfinder (1952)
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