''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 Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career, she was known for her strong, realistic screen p ...

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

Led by

First Sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

Clovis Hook, the

US cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The United States Cavalry was formally created by an act of United States Congress, Congress on 3 August 1861 and ceased as a dist ...

captures

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

warriors and torches an Apache village, rounding up the women and children. Cora Sutliff, an unresponsive and silent white woman, is spotted among the prisoners. Cora had been taken captive in a raid nine years before, while travelling to join her rancher husband, Fred. She has a child named Quito. The cavalrymen return to their

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

with Cora and the prisoners. Among the prisoners is Apache Chief Nanchez, Quito's father. Most women at the fort are unsympathetic toward Cora, reasoning that any sane white woman would prefer suicide to being "defiled" by an Indian. Hook is assigned to escort Cora and Quito to Cora's husband. While Hook arranges for their

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

tickets, Cora and Quito wait at the

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. A man insults mother and son, grabbing Quito. Cora hits the man with a shovel, threatening to kill anyone who lays hands on Quito, the first words she has spoken since her rescue. Hook arrives and they set off on a stagecoach. At a picnic rest stop, Cora asks Hook 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 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 war for a ...

in the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

prison at Andersonville, he pretended to be a dog for a month so a dog-loving prisoner, dying and hallucinating with fever, would share his rations with him. Meanwhile, Nanchez escapes, rounds up Apache warriors, and begins tracking the stage. The stagecoach picks up and drops off other passengers, including young Jeff Bennett, whom everyone calls "Cowboy". Others include Señora Sandoval, a Spanish aristocrat, and her granddaughter, Consuela, on her way to an arranged marriage. Rancher Charlie Travers eventually boards, flush with money won in a poker game. At the swing station, Cowboy learns Nanchez has escaped and is likely after Quito. Setting out on a borrowed horse, Cowboy catches up with the stagecoach and warns Hook. After learning why Nanchez is stalking them, every passenger but Travers supports Cora's decision to keep Quito. While marching at a breakneck pace, the stage hits a rock and overturns, its suspension damaged. Nanchez appears and offers a deal: The stage and its passengers will be allowed to proceed if they surrender Quito. Hook refuses the deal. They are forced to spend the night in the desert while the coach's driver, Mr. Trude, makes repairs. Cowboy and Consuela spend time together, becoming mutually attracted. In the morning, Travers offers Cora money to surrender 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 sight of Nanchez, instructing Cowboy to shoot if Hook signals during his parley. Hook informs Natchez that Quito's life will be forfeit if he attacks. Thwarted, Nanchez orders his band to retreat. The stagecoach reaches San Miguel, but Fred is not there to meet Cora. Hook rents a buckboard to take them to Fred's ranch. When they arrive, Fred makes it clear that he is willing to take Cora back, but not Quito. 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. Cora tells Fred that their marriage is over and asks Hook to take her and Quito back to town. Nanchez and his band appear and attack. Hook, Cora, Quito, and Fred pile onto the buckboard and run for it. A chase ensues. Hook drives the buckboard, while Fred rides in the back, firing at the Apaches. Fred kills Nanchez but gets shot and dies. Seeing Nanchez fall, the Apaches give up the chase. Hook stops to bury Fred before continuing to town. Returning to San Miguel, Hook tells Cora that he will be retiring in four months, if she will have him. She asks about the wife and family he has referred to, and Hook explains they are a fiction he invented to get matchmaking wives to leave him alone. The newly made family rides off into the sunset.

Cast

as First Sergeant Clovis Hook *

as Cora Sutliff * Earl Holliman 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 in films from the 1950s through the 1980s. His stark whi ...

as Charlie Travers *

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

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 ...

as Mr. Trude *

Celia Lovsky Celia Lovsky (born Cäcilia Josefina Lvovsky, February 21, 1897 – October 12, 1979) was an Austrian-American actress. On the original ''Star Trek'' she played the Vulcan matriarch T'Pau, and on ''The Twilight Zone'' she played the aged d ...

as Señora Sandoval * Stanley Adams as Heathcliff *Terry Lawrence as Quito * Rodolfo Acosta as Nanchez (as Rudolfo Acosta) * Richard Shannon as Trooper Ryan *

Sheb Wooley Shelby Fredrick Wooley (April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He recorded a series of novelty songs, including the 1958 hit rock-and-roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater", and under the name ...

as Townsman *

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

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 1887 – 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 Anglo-Italian music ...

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

Paul Newlan Paul Emory "Tiny" 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 ...

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 landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

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 English-language Western (genre) films