''Trooper Hook'' is a 1957 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

as the title character and Barbara Stanwyck as the woman he frees from the Indians. The fact that during her captivity she has had a son by a much-feared chief makes her situation very difficult.

Plot

Apache Chief Nanchez orders the massacre of a

US cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...

troop surrounded by his warriors. Cavalry reinforcements arrive, and Sgt. Clovis Hook takes Nanchez and most of his men captive, though a few escape. The soldiers then torch the Apache village, rounding up the women and children. A soldier spots a white woman. The woman possessively clutches a small child named Quito. She is Cora Sutcliff, taken captive in a raid some years before while travelling to join her rancher husband, and she is the mother of Nanchez’s son. When they reach the

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, the general feeling is unsympathetic toward the woman, the reasoning being that any sane white woman in her shoes would have killed herself before allowing herself to be "defiled" by an Indian. The commanding officer's wife alone expresses sympathy, feeling that she may have done what Cora did to survive. Hook is assigned to escort Cora and her son to her husband. The next day, Cora and Quito wait for him at the general store. A man insults Quito and Cora and grabs Quito. Cora hits the bully with a shovel, threatening to kill any man who lays hands on her son, the first words she has spoken. Hook arrives and they set off on a stagecoach driven by Mr. Trude. At a stop, Cora and Quito are barred from Wilson’s restaurant by its owner, so Hook buys cheese sandwiches and they have a picnic. Cora asks him if he can understand wanting to live so much that you will put up with any humiliation. Hook reveals that as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

in the Confederate prison at Andersonville, he pretended to be a dog for a month so that a dog-loving prisoner, who was dying and hallucinating with fever, would share his rations with him. Meanwhile, Nanchez escapes, rounds up his remaining braves, and sets out to take back his son. The stagecoach picks up and drops off other passengers, including a young cowboy, Jeff Bennett, whom everyone calls simply “Cowboy.” Cowboy is courteous toward Cora and Quito, before getting off at San Miguel. Next, the stagecoach takes on an aristocratic elderly Spanish woman, Senora Sandoval, and her granddaughter, Consuela (sic), who has left her convent school for an arranged marriage. Rancher Charlie Travers, boards, carrying a large sum of money he has won in a poker game. Back in San Miguel, Cowboy learns that Nanchez has escaped and is likely after his son. Cowboy sets out on horseback to catch up with the stagecoach. Cowboy manages to slip past Nanchez’s men and warns Hook. Hook tells his fellow passengers why Nanchez is stalking them. All but Travers support Cora’s decision to keep Quito. As Trude drives the stagecoach at a break-neck pace, it hits a rock, overturns, and breaks a wheel. They are forced to spend the night while Trude makes repairs. Cowboy and Consuela get acquainted, and an attraction develops between them. In the morning, Nanchez sends word that he will attack unless his son is returned to him. Travers offers Cora money to give up Quito. When Cora remains undeterred, Travers sneaks off to try to bribe Nanchez to spare the group. Nanchez kills him, leaving his money untouched. Surrounded, Hook has Trude restrain Cora and makes Cowboy hold a gun to Quito’s head within full sight of Nanchez, instructing him to shoot if Hook drops his arm as a signal during his parley with Nanchez. Hook tells Natchez that his son’s life will be forfeit if he attacks. Thwarted, Nanchez orders a retreat. The stagecoach reaches their destination, but Cora’s husband Fred is not there to meet her. Hook rents a buckboard to take them to Fred's ranch. When they arrive, Fred makes it clear he is willing to take Cora back, but not her son. Cora decides to leave with Quito. Fred points a rifle at Hook, affirming that Cora belongs to him, but that he and Quito can leave. Then Nanchez and his band appear. A chase ensues. Hook drives a buckboard hellbent for election, while Fred rides in the back, firing his rifle at the pursuing Apaches. Fred kills Nanchez, but is himself shot and killed. Seeing Nanchez fall, the Apaches give up the chase and leave. Hook stops long enough to bury Fred by the road. Heading back to the fort, Hook tells Cora that his enlistment is up in four months, if she will have him. He then slips his arm around her, and they ride off into the sunset with Quito.

Cast

as Sgt. Clovis Hook * Barbara Stanwyck as Cora Sutliff *

Earl Holliman Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film ' ...

as Jeff Bennett *

Edward Andrews Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films from the 1950s into the 1980s. His stark white hair ...

as Charlie Travers *

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

as Fred Sutliff * Susan Kohner as Consuela *

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...

as Mr. Trude *

Celia Lovsky Celia Lovsky (born Cäcilia Josefina Lvovsky, February 21, 1897 – October 12, 1979) was an Austrian-American actress. She was born in Vienna,Stanley Adams as Heathcliff *Terry Lawrence as Quito *

Rodolfo Acosta Rodolfo Pérez Acosta (July 29, 1920 – November 7, 1974) was a Mexican-American character actor who became known for his roles as Mexican outlaws or American Indians in Hollywood western films. He was sometimes credited as Rudolfo Acosta ...

as Nanchez (as Rudolfo Acosta) * Richard Shannon as Trooper Ryan * Sheb Wooley as Townsman *

Jeanne Bates Jeanne Bates (May 21, 1918 – November 28, 2007) was a retired American radio, film and television actress. After performing in radio serials, she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1942 which began her career in films both in bi ...

as Weaver's daughter *

Patrick O'Moore Patrick O'Moore (1909–1983) was an Irish actor who appeared in a variety of American films and television shows. Keaney p.445 A character actor, he appeared in a number of Hollywood's British-themed films during the 1940s and 1950s. Selected fi ...

as Col. Adam Weaver *

Cyril Delevanti Harry Cyril Delevanti (23 February 1889 – 13 December 1975) was an English character actor with a long career in American films. He was sometimes credited as Syril Delevanti. Early years Delevanti was born in London to the Anglo-Italian mus ...

as Junius *Rush Williams as Cpl. Stoner *Alfred Linder *

Paul Newlan Paul Emory Newlan (June 29, 1903 – November 23, 1973) was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series ''M Squad'' and for his roles in films incl ...

as Mr. Wilson *Dee J. Thompson as Tess (as D. J. Thompson) *Mary Gregory * Charles Gray as Soldier *

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Kanab Canyon, Three Lakes and the Gap in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

References

External links

* * * {{Charles Marquis Warren 1957 films 1957 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Western (genre) cavalry films Apache Wars films Films shot in Utah American black-and-white films Films directed by Charles Marquis Warren United Artists films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films