Fort Ti

George Montgomery is a jerk again in this 3-D silliness about 'rangers' (that's guys who run around in Robin Hood costumes fighting anybody who comes down the path).

You've seen it all before in 'Northwest Passage' which was a lot better. That film had Spencer Tracy. This one has grumpy George Monty. Was that guy ever happy?

Fort Ticonderoga or as it was originally known Fort Carillon when the French built was the focal point of a lot of military action in both the Seven Years War and the American Revolution. In fact this film is factually wrong on the face because it was Fort Carillon and became Ticonderoga only after Lord Jeffrey Amherst took it with the help of Roger's Rangers.

A film about the military action would have been far more interesting than what we got here in Fort Ti. The action scenes are fine, but the writers stuck in a rather stupid love story involving George Montgomery and two women.

Montgomery has other worries though. His sister and her two children have been taken by the French to insure that her husband James Seay does a good job spying for the French. While Amherst and Rogers are taking the strategic fort, Montgomery has to affect a rescue of captives including his sister and nephews.

This film could have used A treatment and a kind of colonial Longest Day plot. For a B film it was nicely photographed and the battle scenes are good.

But it could have been so much better.

This Fort Ti (1953) results to be a quickie with lack luster and low budget but it manages to be at least an enjoyable adventures movie because packing action enough , spectacular battles , sensational outdoors and outlandish cliffhanger situations abound . Exciting picture with open-air spectacular scenes starts depicting in a foreword : ¨This is a story of our early America..of the century of conflict with French and Indians .. when necessity made simple men, unknown to history, into giants in daring and endurance ¨. Set against the backdrop of the French and Indian war in colonial America, during Seven Years War , when the British soldiers attempt to route the French Army from Fort Ticonderoga. Meanwhile , General Amherst (Lester Matthews) and Major Rogers (Howard Pretie) , the Rangers' Chief, are taking the strategic fort , Capt. Jed Horn (George Montgomery) has to carry out a dangerous rescue of prisoners including his sister (Cicely Browne) and nephews . Along the way , Jed Horn in love with two gorgeous girls : Running Otter (Phyllis Fowler) and Fortune Mallory (Joan Vohs). You live it all ! 3 Dimensions . From the first kiss to last killing you live it in 3Dimensions . The first great outdoor epic in 3-Dimensions . The Frontier Flames ! .....as Roger's Rangers ride, fight and love...at the savage siege of Fort Ti! . Amazing Thrills in Color by Technicolor !

This stirring picture is packed with breathtaking battles , heroism , heartbreaking scenes and blood-letting deeds . These events describing the troop of Rogers' Rangers battling the hostile Indians and French Army were previouly depicted in the historical Northwest Passage (1940) by King Vidor based on the novel by American author Kenneth Roberts, portraying the happenings of Rogers' Rangers' raid on the Abenaki town of St. Francis . In this Fort Ti (1953) also appears the Roger's Rangers and their khaki green outfits, but we already knew them thanks to King Vidor who had made them the main characters in his film with Spencer Tracy who played Major Rogers , a role held here without much conviction by Howard Petrie . It is therefore better to turn again to this film in a completely different scale , that's why William Castle hasn't an epic meaning , neither rigor , whether in terms of writing or directing , the most obvious evidence being the regarding the Passage in a few sequences and from one shot to another , from one set piece to another without being ellipses, at all . Despite all this, we can nevertheless smile at the extreme naivety of certain scenes , at the sight of totally grotesque special effects like the lousy bats , or the botcher stuntmen sometimes seeming to jump on trampolines during action sequences lamentably filmed . And embarrassing in listening to the sharp accent of French soldiers or even the functional settings , made on the leftover sets from previous movies . In fact , the producer Sam Zimbalist (Robot Monster, Cat women of the moon ) is known for short-budget productions. He fashioned a group of films using stocks originally shot since former films . The brave starring is the good-looking George Montgomery, a famous actor of B movies . He was born to Ukranian immigrants and was a heavyweight boxer previously becoming a player . Plus was an excellent craftsman and built and designed homes, besides a self-taught artist creating bronze busts for notorious actors . He starred films around the world and diverse genres : Adventures (this one and Steel Claw) , Warlike ( Battle of Bulge and Hell of Borneo ) and especially Western ( Seminola, Fort Ti, Last of badmen, Durango) . The main cast and secondary support giving passable performances with special mention for prolific secondary Howard Petrie as Robert Rogers , Irving Bacon as Montgomery's sympathetic and hilarious colleague , capable actor Lester Matthews as General Amherst, James Seay as Montgomery's brother-in-law and Ben Astar as his friend Francois Leroy , Louis Miller as a French spy and the eye candy at the sight of the very pretty actress Joan Vohs , the only real compensation/consolation in front of so much mediocrity.

The motion picture was regularly directed by William Castle , holding a historical interest : to be the first film to be given a television screening in 3-D . Filmmaker Castle was an expert craftsman with some of the all-time great schlock names serving as the producer Sam Katzman and fondness for gimmicks as proved in his successful terror films such as : House of haunted hill , The Tingler , Mr Sardonicus , Strait-jacked , Homicidal , Macabre and 13 Ghosts . Castle emulated Alfred Hitchcock , this included the practice of appearing in the trailers, and even making cameo appearances in his films . In addition , he made several Westerns , such as : 1955 Duel on the Mississippi , 1955 The Gun That Won the West ,1955 El Americano , 1954 Masterson of Kansas , 1954 The Law vs. Billy the Kid , 1954 Jesse James vs. The Daltons , 1954 Battle of Rogue River , 1953 Fort Ti , 1951 cave of outlaws. Rating : 5.5/10 . Average but passable and acceptable.

As a French, I have always been amazed, amused, to see the French as the bad ones in an American movie. Far before MASTER AND COMMANDER, there were some westerns as this one, taking place during the Independance war, where the Indians were not the only villains. The most terrific will of course be Sam Peckinpah's MAJOR DUNDEE, but that doesn't concern the independance war, rather the Mexican one. Anyway, from this Sam Katzman's production, do not expect anything great. Only the 3D aspect can be worth for a common viewer. For the rest, really nothing to expect very exciting. Some lousy, lame action scenes, even if you don't watch too closely.

"Fort Ti" starts off well enough, with an interesting plot, which then starts to fall to pieces, with some unconvincing elements. The main female lead, Fortune Mallory, retains her glamour and an ornate hair-style despite her privations, the Rangers twice attack the French without the latter noticing their quite visible approach until the last moment, and there's some very rapid reloading of muskets off-screen during the short siege of the cave.

There's also an unnecessary three-cornered romance.

The version I saw, courtesy of Youtube, had some poor editing mid- film, with a couple of sudden leaps; this may have been due to whoever posted it messing around a bit.

In quality, well behind other films portraying the same period that come to mind: "North West Passage", "Drums along the Mohawk" and two versions of "Last of the Mohicans". But a bit better than "Mohawk".