Overt references to the passing of the West are a central theme in "The Indian Fighter", sadly lamented by Kirk Douglas' character, particularly in the scene with photographer Briggs (Elisha Cook). It was interesting to me that Johnny Hawks didn't attempt to stop Briggs, realizing that the sweep of civilization was inevitable, and that he couldn't delay it's coming. As a pioneer, Hawks certainly wasn't in denial over the future of his frontier.
Johnny's first encounter with Onahti (Elsa Martinelli) puzzled me somewhat. Taking her by force didn't seem to be the wisest thing to do right in the middle of Red Cloud's camp. I don't think that's something a white man could get away with, no matter how honorable his long range intentions.
Even with some great cinematography and majestic landscapes, I found myself only nominally interested in the story. There seemed to be something just a bit missing to the plot development; perhaps it was Johnny Hawks' disconnect from the villains of the piece, Lon Chaney and the oddly cast Walter Matthau. (Maybe only odd in hindsight, as most of my experience of Matthau has him in somewhat comedic roles.) It seemed to me that the early set up of Wes Todd's (Matthau) save in the Sioux camp would have put Hawks in closer proximity to the two gold seekers, but then it appeared like Onahti distracted Hawks from a lot of things. I wonder if anything was going on off camera.
With a title like "The Indian Fighter", the picture doesn't seem to dwell on that preoccupation much. Kirk Douglas does go one on one with warrior White Wolf early on, and plays a part in the attack on the Army fort later in the story. Overall however, his role in the story makes him a much more even handed character, someone who values the Native way of life as more honorable than most of the white brothers he has to deal with throughout the picture.
Johnny's first encounter with Onahti (Elsa Martinelli) puzzled me somewhat. Taking her by force didn't seem to be the wisest thing to do right in the middle of Red Cloud's camp. I don't think that's something a white man could get away with, no matter how honorable his long range intentions.
Even with some great cinematography and majestic landscapes, I found myself only nominally interested in the story. There seemed to be something just a bit missing to the plot development; perhaps it was Johnny Hawks' disconnect from the villains of the piece, Lon Chaney and the oddly cast Walter Matthau. (Maybe only odd in hindsight, as most of my experience of Matthau has him in somewhat comedic roles.) It seemed to me that the early set up of Wes Todd's (Matthau) save in the Sioux camp would have put Hawks in closer proximity to the two gold seekers, but then it appeared like Onahti distracted Hawks from a lot of things. I wonder if anything was going on off camera.
With a title like "The Indian Fighter", the picture doesn't seem to dwell on that preoccupation much. Kirk Douglas does go one on one with warrior White Wolf early on, and plays a part in the attack on the Army fort later in the story. Overall however, his role in the story makes him a much more even handed character, someone who values the Native way of life as more honorable than most of the white brothers he has to deal with throughout the picture.