“This is the territory of Wyoming. The year: 1866. On this soft, solitary day of early summer, men from two different worlds have come together to talk. There is bitterness here, suspicion, and distrust. You remember your friends and loved ones who have been killed. You’ve seen the bleached ribs of their wagons. And still they come, pushing west with a vision, a vision of farms and of towns of land they can call their own. They come by the hundreds to reclaim the wilderness under your protection, the army of the United States.”
George Sherman was one of the most prolific filmmakers in American cinematic history. Between 1938 and 1973, he made over 100 such films, including classics like Big Jake (director) and The Comancheros (as a producer), both with John Wayne, as well as episodes of television westerns like Rawhide with Clint Eastwood and Daniel Boone with Fess Parker in the iconic role that made coonskin hats a fad at the time. He was great at using little known locations to squeeze out extra production value with a limited budget and the real skill of making smaller films; he worked fast and usually ahead of schedule. While Tomahawk might not be one of his better known films, it’s actually quite a gem and worth checking out.
“And in your hearts and minds, there is also bitterness and hatred, because you also have a vision of sacred hunting grounds, silent and empty, of buffalo, elk, and beaver: your food, clothing and shelter. Vanished forever. There is starvation and sickness where once there was plenty. This is the Laramie Conference, a powder keg that may explode at any moment. It would take little to light the fuse. There are important and powerful men here. On one side the leaders of the Sioux Nations. On the other representatives of the United States. But on this day, it will take a great man to see both sides. Jim Bridger, a pioneer, trapper, and scout, is such a man.”
That man is James Bridger, played here by Van Heflin. The United states wants to open what will be known as the Bozeman Trail to the many settlers heading west. The problem, as Bridger points out, is that the trail cuts through important Sioux territory, and particularly their sacred hunting grounds. The other problem is that the Americans are not negotiating in good faith. They have already begun construction on the fort that will protect the trail. Red Cloud, played by John War Eagle, isn’t happy with the disclosure and ends the conference with a promise that the peace will not be broken by the Sioux, but if even one Sioux is killed, there will be blood. It’s the closest anyone is going to come to a deal, and that’s where matters are laid to rest … for the time being.
Col. Carrington (Foster) offers Bridger a scout job to help keep the peace. He at first declines but accepts when he is informed there is a soldier, Lt. Rob Dancy (Nicol), who has already participated in a Sioux massacre, and later he ends up shooting a Sioux youth he caught playing around with his horses. The news is reliable, as it comes from Monahseetah (Cabot), a young Cherokee woman who Bridger had adopted as a ward. Of course, Dancy’s actions lead to attacks by the Sioux, which he tries to pass off as unprovoked. When the young Sioux was killed, he was escorting a wagon to the fort. The wagon is driven by a vaudeville company that’s basically Dan Costello (Tully) and his attractive niece, Julie, played by Yvonne De Carlo. Dancy is trying to impress the young lady, but she has eyes for Bridger, who saves her uncle’s life when he is struck by an arrow in a tough place, and only Bridger was willing to try to remove it. Dancy lies about Bridger and tries to get Julie to believe that the Cherokee girl is really his wife. With the Sioux on the verge of war, Carrington orders no one is to leave the fort. You guessed it; Julie leaves, and her peril forces Bridger to kill Red Cloud’s son. It’s all leading up to a final confrontation. Dancy, who is aching for a fight, sees that Lt. Fetterman (Space) is like-minded, and the two lead the men into a massacre. A second wave begins with new modern guns smuggled into the fort with the Carrington men, who did not join Fetterman, and a last minute truce is called as word is reached the government was giving up on the trail and the fort. Dancy gets his in a confrontation with Bridger and a Sioux arrow.
James Bridger (1804-1881) was a real historic figure. He was the first white man to see the Great Salt Lake in Utah. He was indeed a renowned pioneer and often liaison with native tribes, but he wasn’t actually a part of the Sioux uprising of 1866 that is depicted in the film. It was Col. William Fetterman who was witness to the historic event, and there were no survivors on the American side, so that these events are going to have to be speculation, and isn’t that how Hollywood always covers such events? There would be hearings to decide if Fetterman was obeying orders during the uprising, and he is often considered somewhat of a scapegoat to the events pictured in the film, much as he is portrayed here, to be sure. To the film’s credit, it was considered one of, if not the first westerns to truly give an American Indian point of view in the story many decades before Dances With Wolves. The film was actually praised by an American Indian organization at the time for “contributing greatly to the program of the Association on American Indian Affairs”.
The film has its own historical significance with the treatment of American Indians and therefore a nice study to have in any western film collection. Kino Lorber gives us the opportunity to check it out for ourselves with this Blu-ray release. It stands somewhat apart in a genre that was still using the indigenous populations as the bad guys. “It’s a mixed up business.”
