Rory Calhoun plays Adam Reed, a half-breed who tries to convince a stubborn Maj. Ives to abandon the idea of building a fort in Cheyenne territory.
The Cheyenne are out to avenge the Sand Creek massacre, and the major’s little settlement makes a perfect target.
But Ives doesn’t listen, the predicted massacre occurs and Reed finds himself trying to lead a small band to the safety of Fort Ellis.
That band includes pretty Kate Bolden (Peggie Castle), the major and a gold-hungry cowboy named Sawyer (Peter Graves).
Kate is a particularly interesting case. She came West to marry a lieutenant under Ives’ command, but got cold feet when the threat of an Indian attack arose.
Now she finds herself falling for Reed, who’s much more accustomed to the threat of violence.
Rory Calhoun as Adam Reed, trying to warn of the danger posed by the Cheyenne in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Peggie Castle as Kate Bolden, who came West to marry a soldier but changes her mind in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Review:
Probably not director Lesley Selander’s worst, but certainly far from Rory Calhoun’s best Western. Some of the dialogue is sure to make you groan; so might some of the silliness.
For instance, Rita Moreno plays a young Nez Perce girl named Honey Bear who is infatuated with a trader named Tonio (Noah Beery Jr. with a horrible south-of-the-border accent). At one point, she finds a guide to engineering and plans to use it to cast a love spell on the much-older man.
Then there’s Lee Van Cleef in the role of an Indian chief named Fireknife. He wants Ives dead. When he’s not working toward that end, he’s holding between-fight pow-wows with Calhoun’s character.
This is a little more violent than you’d expect from a 1952 Western, especially the massacre scene, in which women and children aren’t spared. The title comes from the yellow tomahawk Calhoun delivers to the major, a Cheyenne sign to move out … or be killed.
Warner Anderson as Maj. Ives, the cavalry commander who ignores warnings about the Cheyenne in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Lee Van Cleef as Fireknife, leader of the Cheyenne war party out for Maj. Ives’ hide in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Directed by:
Lesley Selander
Cast:
Rory Calhoun … Adam Reed
Peggie Castle … Kate Bolden
Noah Beery Jr. … Tonio Perez
Warner Anderson … Maj. Ives
Peter Graves … Sawyer
Lee Van Cleef … Fireknife
Rita Moreno … Honey Bear
Walter Reed … Keats
Dan Riss … Sgt. Bandini
Adam Williams … Corporal Maddock
Patrick Sexon … Lt. Bascomb
Runtime: 82 min.
Noah Beery Jr. as Tonio Perez, a fellow frontiersman Adam Reed befriends in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Rita Moreno as Honey Bear, the young Indian girl in love with Tonio Perez in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Memorable lines:
Maj. Ives, to Adam Reed: “We’re in contact with a supreme destroyer. He cannot change. Either we must eradicate him, or sink to his level.”
Adam Reed: “A free man can ask a free woman, what might your plans be?”
Kate Bolden: “To remain alive. As long as possible.”
Kate Bolden, looking over the massacre scene: “Savages. Oh, Lord in heaven, how could they do it?”
Adam Reed: “Once, we did it to them, Kate.”
Kate: “May the Army destroy them for it.”
Adam: “Will another bloodbath make your dreams easy?”
Kate: “You’ll not defend them?”
Adam: “No. But if massacre breeds massacre, where’s the end of it? Ives asked for this. He slaughtered like they did. He was building a fort here to do it again. The Cheyenne took their revenge. Who’s to blame? Ives? The Cheyenne? How far back do you go to find the real enemy?”
Adam to Kate: “The Cheyenne were as much my people as you. You’ll find this hard to believe, Katherine, but they love their children. They’re loyal to their friends. And their women don’t run away when their men are in danger.”
Peter Graves as Sawyer, a man with a saddlebag full of secrets, with Kate Bolden (Peggie Castle) looking on in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Patrick Sexton as Lt. Bascomb, with his wife and infant as the Indian threat grows in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Walter Reed as Keats, the army surveyor,.with Rory Calhoun as Adam Reed in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Rory Calhohn as Adam Reed and Peggy Castle as Katherine Bohlen in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Peter Graves as Walt Sawyer with Tonio Perez (Noah Beery Jr.) and Honey Bear (Rita Moreno) looking on in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
Noah Beery Jr. as Tonio Perez and Rory Calhoun as Adam Reed in The Yellow Tomahawk (1952)
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