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Just what I expected

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This first film released by Kirk Douglas's Bryna Production Co. begins with luscious Italian actress Elsa Martinelli(Onahti) slipping out of her clothes in a forest, and taking a bath in a river. Kirk Douglas comes moseying along on a horse, takes a peek, and continues on. But, he'll make his acquaintance more forcefully in the future, always when she is alone and near or in the river. They will end the film floating together in the river. In between these sensual interludes, which are what most people most remember about this film, is more traditional frontier western fare, including bad white men, who want to steal the Indians' gold mine, a bad Indian, who's willing to tell them where the mine is for a jug of whiskey, and a bad wagon train guide who leads the train into the heart of Sioux territory just to have a tryst with the chief's daughter. The later is, of course, Kirk Douglas, as Johnny Hawks. In his absence from the wagoners, bad things happen, which might have been averted if he had been present. These launch a full scale military response by the Sioux, and a panicked retreat of the wagoners to the fort from wince they came. Shirking his duty, even for a few hours of pleasure, made him partly responsible for the travesties that occurred in his absence, and made him vulnerable to the charge of being an Indian lover, rather than an Indian fighter. After all, he usually verbally minimized the chance of a seemingly unprovoked Indian attack, saying that he liked Indians and white folks equally well, and saw no reason why they couldn't get along peacefully(I'm afraid he was a little overoptimistic in this regard). Thus, Johnny Hanks had to redeem himself in the eyes of the whites by taking a leading part in the defense of the fort and inhabitants during the all out charge of the Sioux, who unwisely staged their attack in broad daylight. In reality, Indians very rarely launched a full scale attack, even at night, against a well built fort with an adequate number of defenders. It was simply too lethal, in most cases. They were less able to absorb a large loss of life than the whites. But, such an attack, especially if accompanied by a partial burning of the fort, as in this film, was hard to resist as the climactic 'action' event. Of course, such an attack is also seen in certain other films. Hawks finally ended the battle by escaping the fort to parley with Red Cloud, trying to convince him that further bloodshed wouldn't bring back brother Gray Wolf. Also, he promised that he would bring in the assassin of Gray Wolf(Walter Matthau, as the greedy Wes Todd) to be dealt with in Indian fashion. Lon Chaney, Jr., played his partner Chivington, in the quest for gold. Chivington killed several other Indians, that added fuel to the animosity of the Sioux toward the whites.......Diana Douglas, Kirk's ex-wife, played Susan, a widow with a son. She tried to get Hawks to accompany her to Oregon, but no dice. He preferred Onahti and his accustomed lifestyle......Veteran actor Alan Hale, Jr. played a wagoner who tried to interest Susan in joining him in Oregon, citing his experience growing apples. Walter Abel played Captain Trask, of the fort, while stern-faced Edward Franz played Red Cloud........Ironically, the film was about people moving to Oregon, and was filmed entirely around Bend, Oregon, but the story takes place entirely in eastern Wyoming........I'd like to return to the Hawk-Onahti romance. When Hawks first accosted her, she struck back with a knife, which he took from her. Ignoring her water jars, she ran toward the encampment. Surprisingly, she didn't tattle on Hawks, suggesting possible interest in him. In the second, most memorable incident, again, she was initially hostile, including when he pulled her down in the river shallows and lay on top of her. But, suddenly, she smiled and stopped resisting. Later, they relaxed under a tree and talked about Hawks need to continue with the wagon train vs. his desire to be with her. Hawks' defeat of Grey Wolf, in a staged duel, may have influenced her perception of him. Next, they independently cooperated in subduing Gray Wolf-killer Todd, and bringing him in to stand Indian justice. Lastly, of course, they are floating together in the river........In all, one of the most memorable westerns you will find. See it at You Tube.

Simple and acceptable Indian Western compellingly starred by Kirk Douglas and decently directed by Andre De Toth . It deals with an explorer called Johnny Hawks (Kirk Douglas) leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country to Oregon , 1870 . Johnny unwittingly gets involved with a Sioux chief's (Edward Franz) daughter (Elsa Martinelli) . But unscrupulous whisky traders (Walter Matthau , Lon Chaney Jr) are after the gold on Sioux land , as they blackmail Indians and subsequently originate friction . Hawks attempts to make peace with the Indian leader but a secret Sioux gold mine causes dispute and treason . Johnny tries to warn a fort of an imminent raid by the Sioux and the detachment mistake him for one of the renegades . In the Old west there are always the men who live breathe violence and the women who hold their breath . This exciting picture tells the story of a upright scout called Johnny Hawks , finely played by the great Kirk Douglas . The film packs the sweep of ¨Red River¨, the drama of ¨High noon¨ , the violence of ¨Shane¨ and the might of Kirk Douglas as a two-fisted ¨Indian Fighter¨. Noisy action , romance between Douglas/Martinelli , thrills , fights , wonderful outdoors , all of them keep things lively . Interesting as well as stirring screenplay by Robert Richards , Frank Davis and prestigious Ben Hecht , Billy Wilder's usual . This undemanding western is plenty of suspense as the dreaded final Indian attack approaches and the protagonist realizes he must stand alone against impossible odds and nobody is willing to help him but they pursue him , while he attempts to clear his name as wrongfully accused as traitor . This enjoyable tale is almost rudimentary though full of clichés , a good guy come to narration is almost adjusted in real time from the starring arrives in the fort commanded by a tough Captain , nicely performed by Walter Abel , until the ending confrontation , when they are besieged by Indians ; as Douglas/Hawks is given a limited time to resolve the accusation as a Sioux's friend , and consequently a treacherous . The highlights of the film are the facing off between Douglas and his enemies , Walter Matthaw and Lon Chaney Jr , and the climatic confrontation on the final . Phenomenal and great role for Kirk Douglas as tough guy , he's the whole show , he plays a scout hired to lead a wagon train to Oregon . He gives a perfect acting as craggy , violent and uncompromising figure . Kirk did most of his own horse riding and, at one point , broke his nose attempting a stunt that called for him to make his horse fall . The casting of Onahti , the Indian girl , resulted out to be much more difficult than first anticipated . Though there were a number of unsuccessful auditions , it wasn't until Kirk Douglas' wife spotted a model in "Vogue" magazine that the production knew they had their leading lady , her name was Elsa Martinelli . Very good support cast , many of them usual in Western , such as Walter Matthau , Diana Douglas who married Kirk Douglas , Walter Abel , Lon Chaney Jr. , Eduard Franz , Alan Hale Jr. , Elisha Cook Jr. , Ray Teal , Frank Cady and Hank Worden in a doublé role as Crazy Bear / Guardhouse Keeper ; likewise , Harry Landers plays both Grey Wolf and also one of Captain Trask's attachés . Made in enough budget by producer William Schorr , it is an efficient film and very entertaining . The picture contains an excellent cinematography in CinemaScope , print by Technicolor by Wilfred Cline , being shot on location in Bend , Oregon , including gorgeous landscapes . Thrilling and appropriate musical score by Franz Waxman . This typical Western was professionally directed by Andre De Toth . Being first feature from Kirk Douglas' then new production company, Bryna, named for his mother . At his beginnings De Toth entered the Hungarian film industry, obtaining work as a writer, editor , second unit director and actor before finally becoming a director. He directed a few films just before the outbreak of WW II, when he fled to England . Alexander Korda gave him a job there, and when De Toth emigrated to the US in 1942 , Korda got him a job as a second unit director on Jungle Book (1942) . Andre De Toth was a classical director , Western usual (Indian fighter, Man in the saddle , Ramrod , Last of Comanches , The stranger wore a gun), but also made Peplum (Gold for the Caesar) and adventure (The Mongols , Morgan the pirate , Tanganyika) . Probably his best known film is House of wax (1953), a Vincent Price horror film shot in 3D .

I've always enjoyed Kirk Douglas films in general and he's usually very good in westerns. But The Indian Fighter quite frankly is a pumped up B western.Kirk produced this one as well and was able to get a good cast of familiar faces in westerns. He even got his ex-wife, Diana Douglas to appear as a widow traveling west on a wagon train with her son.Kirk Douglas is Johnny Hawks who is a scout guiding a wagon train west to Oregon. The film opens with him checking out the naked Elsa Martinelli taking a bath in a creek. Pleasure before business and he continues on to the village where he finds out Elsa is the daughter of Chief Eduard Franz.And that sets the tone for the film. When Douglas should be concerned about the safety of the people he's working for, he's off trying to court Elsa. His preoccupation with her almost causes disaster to the train.Action there is though, including a nicely staged Indian attack on an army post. And the whole film was shot in Oregon on location quite nicely. I believe some of this same area was used in Kirk Douglas's later western The Way West.Kirk Douglas's heroes are usually flawed and quite three dimensional. But this film has a hero I could not really get a rooting interest for.

At the heart of De Toth's oeuvre lies an interesting contradiction. He has an abiding interest in suspense, action, and the wellspring of violent events (a fact underlined by the number of thrillers, frontier yarns and dramas he helmed during his career), but, as a director, characteristically disassociates himself from their process. This 'distancing' effect has been noted by a number of viewers, creating some critical debate about De Toth's engagement with his material. In my view his detachment is not to be confused with aloofness - an interesting comparison can be made with Stanley Kubrick's alleged 'coldness' - but is rather De Toth's way of resolving what really 'matters'. It is this intelligence, revealing itself sharply in his best films, that makes him such a worthwhile study. Along with De Toth's assured debut 'Ramrod' (1947) and the austere 'Day of the Outlaw' (1959), 'The Indian Fighter' is probably the finest of his Western films, revealing a characteristic response to the demands of the genre. In 'Ramrod' the moral questing springs from a noirish plot that is unsettled and full of tension. In 'Day of the Outlaw' issues are resolved more formally, played out against the stark landscape of Winter. In 'The Indian Fighter', De Toth's concerns manifest themselves in his most lyrical and sensuous work. He thereby creates a film which, in emphasis, is in direct contrast to most other 50's Westerns.This is ostensibly a tale of a famous frontiersman Johnny Hawks (played with usual lusty gusto by Kirk Douglas), back from the wars. Ultimately he has to redeem his reputation, discovering balance within the indigenous people he has previously warred against. Gold has been discovered on Indian land, and the bad guys (a marvellous performance by Walter Matthau, ably supported by Lon Chaney, Jnr) are out to kill and cheat to secure the riches. This, and the related fear of a tribal uprising, provide the main action point of the film. As the Indian fighter of the title, ironically the first thing we notice about Hawks is his reticence. In fact he hardly fights at all - only when he is obliged, or when called upon to at the climax of the film. For him, combat is not a prerequisite, although he is not slow to react when needs be. A comparison with the bitterness of Ethan Edwards, say, in Ford's 'The Searchers' is revealing. Edwards loathes the Commanches, with a bitterness entirely absence from De Toth's hero. As Hawks' opponents observe, he is more of an Indian lover than fighter. And, of course, in the most obvious way, they are right. Almost more important to the hero than his professional reputation is his preoccupation with the Indian maid Onhati. His single-minded pursuit, and later dalliance, with her initiates the main crisis of the film, as he leaves the wagon train to be by her side, after taking it 'two days out of my way and half way up a mountain'.This is a film full of sensuality, placed in contrast to 'duty', the calling of action. We are constantly reminded of the cool pools, green foliage, closeness of the earth, just as much as of the teachery and turmoil of the frontier. Franz Waxman's score is lyrical and evocative, frequently idyllic. The glorious cinematography gives nature's perpetual garden a pantheistic gloss, sometimes intense, and always resplendent. Just as the main film captures these images, so in mimicry does Briggs, a supposed protégé of civil war photographer Matthew Brady, who frequently accompanies Hawks. He is eager to capture the grandeur around him. His camera is as significant to us as it is to Hawks, who makes a point of rescuing it at one point (during the battle at the fort). An important minor character, Briggs emphasises the appreciation of the sublime and beautiful that the film invites. A couple of times De Toth pauses the action (once at the fort and then at the wagon train), to pan his camera for long seconds along sets and people, recording their place in the Oregon landscape. Like Briggs he wants to admire, and record.A circular film, 'The Indian Fighter' begins with Hawks gazing at Onhati bathing naked in a pool. It ends with him joining her in the water, forming a happy couple. The whole world of action is thus enclosed by their bonding, their sensual preoccupation usurping the violent demands of Indian-white conflict. The scenes between the two lovers caused a murmur at the time. Considered 'risque' for the conservative 50's Western, De Toth simply inserted them, and their sexual self-absorption, as entirely fitting his plan of things. What is more eyebrow-raising today is how he allowed the encounters between two lovers to backstage the expected intrigues of masculine action, and actually assume greater significance, reversing regular audience expectations. This stress, an essentially feminine one. is completely uncharacteristic of the Western at this time. Add to that a sympathetic view of Indians and nature conservation (the Indian Chief's environmental concerns are a main reason for his refusing to exploit the land with mining) and you have an excellent film - a career highlight of this greatly underrated director.