The Indian Fighter

"Only one man has the power to stop a war."

1955 1h 28m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 85

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A scout leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country gets involved with a Sioux chief's daughter.

“Only one man has the power to stop a war.”

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Cast

Kirk Douglas
Johnny Hawks
Elsa Martinelli
Onahti
Walter Matthau
Wes Todd
Diana Douglas
Susan Rogers
Walter Abel
Captain Trask
Lon Chaney Jr.
Chivington
Eduard Franz
Red Cloud
Harry Landers
Grey Wolf / Captain Trask Attaché

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: André de Toth
Writers: Robert L. Richards, Frank Davis, Ben Hecht
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by André de Toth, shot by Wilfrid M. Cline. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Cahoon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kirk Douglas and Elsa Martinelli and Walter Matthau carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Only one man has the power to stop a war.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0048204 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

André de Toth directs. Wilfrid M. Cline behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. Richard Cahoon cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
271 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by André de Toth, shot by Wilfrid M. Cline. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Richard Cahoon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kirk Douglas and Elsa Martinelli and Walter Matthau carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Only one man has the power to stop a war.".
8IMDB entry: tt0048204 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 85 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Wilfrid M. Cline
Original score: Franz Waxman
Editing: Richard Cahoon
Makeup / hair: Lynn F. Reynolds
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Indian Fighter (1955)

Also by

André de Toth

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2021-04-18
★ 8/10
Rip-roaring 50’s Western shot in the heart of Oregon with Kirk Douglas A frontiersman who functions in the region of the Bozeman Trail & Oregon Trail (Kirk Douglas) assists a wagon train and tries to keep the peace between a tribe of Lakota Sioux living in the area and the new Americans, including a fort of soldiers nearby. "The Indian Fighter" (1955) is similar to "The Last Frontier" (aka "Savage Wilderness"), released earlier the same month of December. They’re both Fort & Indians Westerns taking place in the Northwest with Red Cloud & his braves as the antagonists. The assault on the fort in the movie recalls Red Cloud’s real-life siege of Fort Phil Kearney in the shadow of the Big Horn Mountains in the Wyoming Territory where attacks were launched against troops & settlers for two years from 1866-1868. One great thing about this Western is the character played by Kirk Douglas, Johnny Hawks. He’s a robust individualist who refuses moronic sectarianism in the wilderness conflict. He sees beyond mere skin color & culture and focuses on character and mutual benefit while driven by self-interest, albeit not in an ignoble way. He’s brave & confident, yes, but he’s neither a blind hero nor a sullen antihero out for revenge; he’s a nonconformist loner brimming with joie de vivre that doesn’t care if people hate him (unjustly) and absolutely refuses social manipulations. The exciting Oglala attack on the Fort is one of the highlights. It reveals the most practical way to assault a stronghold made of lumber in the wilds. Regrettably, the key Native characters are played by Caucasians, but there weren’t many quality actors of Amer-Indian descent back then. Thankfully, the peripheral Natives appear to be real Amer-Indians. Basically, just pretend that Red Cloud, Grey Wolf and Onahti look more Amer-Indian than they do. Problem solved. This was the first film produced by Kirk and he allowed his ex-wife, Diana Douglas, to play the settler woman from the wagon train who clearly wants him for a husband (obviously an inside joke). This shows that Kirk and Diana had a good relationship despite their divorce in 1951. Meanwhile tall Italian Elsa Martinelli plays the native girl that Johnny aggressively woos, the aforementioned Onahti. Make no mistake, Onahti was attracted to Johnny and he knew it; thus he goes after what he wants. The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in the area of Bend, Oregon, including Smith Rock State Park and also the Deschutes National Forest. GRADE: A-

Production companies