Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Chuck Connors is Sgt. Wade McCoy, who assumes leadership of a cavalry patrol through Apache country after he deems his commanding officer, Lt. Davenport (George Neise), unfit for command.

Davenport has managed to lead the patrol into an ambush, lose all the horses and chase away the pack horses in a fit of anger.

McCoy takes command, knowing it may lead to a court-martial, but also knowing he’s the patrol’s only chance of making it back to Fort Bowie alive.

Along the way, the patrol picks up a pair of traveling companions — Ellen Carter, a white captive of the Apache; and Tula, daughter of an Apache chief who has somehow managed to save Ellen from an unthinkable fate at the hands of her captors.

McCoy sees Tula as an insurance policy; he quickly begins to fall for Ellen.

And the small patrol makes it back to Fort Bowie, only to find the Apache have beaten them there and massacred everyone in the fort.

That sets the stage for a final showdown, with the small outnumbered band of soldiers trying to stave off an Indian attack while Davenport and McCoy wrestle for command.

Chuck Connors as Sgt. Wade McCoy, risking court martial by questioning his commanding officer’s decisions in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

George Neise as Lt. Davenport, delirious and trying to file a complaint with a dead superior officer in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Review:

Mediocre film, with Davenport’s character acting so incompetent, it hurts the film’s believability. Ellen falls for McCoy, naturally, and Tula is unbelievably loyal to her new white sister.

The film does feature a rousing Apache attack on an undermanned fort. It also pre-dates Connors claim to fame — a starring role in The Rifleman, a TV series that ran for five years, beginning in 1958.

German-born Cummings appeared in four Westerns from 1956 to 1958, then landed the role of a saloon owner in the Western series Union Pacific (1958-59) starring Jeff Morrow. She was married to actor Keith Larsen for two years (1953-55) and they had a son together, Keith Larsen Jr.

Susan Cummings as Ellen Carter, the woman the cavalry patrol rescues from the Apache, at least momentarily, in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Lisa Montell as Tula, a chief’s daughter, trying to find a way to help white friend Elen Carter (Susan Cummings) in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Directed by:
Lesley Selander

Cast:
Chuck Connors … Sgt. Wade McCoy
John Smith … Pvt. Reynolds
Susan Cummings … Ellen Carter
Lisa Montell … Tula
George Neise … Lt. Davenport
Robert Knapp … Pvt. Barrow
Eddie Little Sky … Johnny Dogwood’
Frederick Ford … Pvt. Macy
Harry Dean Stanton … Pvt. Miller

Runtime: 60 min.

John Smith as Pvt. Reynolds and Chuck Connors as Sgt. Wade McCoy, trying to figure out what the Indians will do next in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Frederick Ford as Pvt. Macy and Robert Knapp as Pvt. Barrows, grumbling members of the cavalry patrol in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Memorable lines:

Trooper: “You know, West Point (the Lt.) will have your scalp for this?”
Sgt. McCoy: “Then I’ve got nothing to lose, have I?”

Ellen Carter: “We must stop this. This isn’t war. This is cold-blooded murder. There are so many of you. And so few of us.”
Tula: “And what about the times when there were so many blue coats, and so few of our people?”

Ellen Carter: “Tula, when you call me sister, do you speak true?”
Tula” “Chief’s daughter always speak true.”
Ellen: “I love the tall warrior. I do not want him to die. Can my sister understand what is in my heart?”

Lt. Davenport, trying to re-establish his command as the squd is pinned down, inside a fort, minus horses: “Everybody, mount up. We’re not going to die like rats. That’s an order!”

Chuck Connors as Sgt. Wade McCoy, taking command from Lt. Davenport while orderly Miller (Harry Dean Stanton) looks on in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Eddie Little Sky as Johnny Dogwood, warning that the Apache are approaching the fort in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Lisa Montell as Tula and Susan Cummings as Ellen Carter, found in an Apache camp by the cavalry patrol in Tomahawk Trail (1957)

Chuck Connors as Sgt. Wade McCoy tries to comfort Ellen Carter as she frets about an Indian attack in Tomahawk Trail (1957)