I'd never heard of this movie and as soon as I saw it sitting on a store shelf I knew I had to see it.
Andre de Toth directed this film starring Kirk Douglas as Johnny Hawks, a former Indian fighter who is now a scout who is helping a wagon train across the west into Oregon.
Hawks has trouble with greedy white men who want to destroy the land in order to get gold, and the Indians who want to stop them as well as falling for the Sioux Chief's daughter Onahit (Elsa Martinelli in her 3rd movie but her first credited role).
One night Hawks disappears from camp to spend time with Onahit and two men, Wes Todd (Walter Matthau) and Covington (Lon Chaney) kill some Indians that have come to their camp for trading. This action sets up a potential massacre of the white settlers as well as Indians.
Johnny Hawks must come up with a way to stop it before it gets out of hand. de Toth handles the material with his usual excellence and the cast is perfect for this kind of film. It also includes Alan Hale, Jr., Frank Cady, Diana Douglas, Elisha Cook, Jr., Ray Teal and Eduard Franz as Red Cloud.
This movie seems to be somewhat neglected but it is a great little film, and the overt sexuality between the two leads caused a little bit of a stir for conservative audiences back in the day. If you like westerns, I recommend you check it out.
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