A Ticket to Tomahawk

Tongue-in-cheek western that's better than it had any right to be. That's mainly because TCF went to the expense of filming in southwestern Colorado, arguably the state's most scenic part. Plus, the lead actors come through in vivid fashion—a charmingly affable Dan Dailey, a spunkily convincing Anne Baxter, and those two grand old grouches Walter Brennan and Will Wright. And shouldn't overlook Chief Yowlachie as the superbly deadpan Indian manikin.

Then too, the story's just wacky enough to separate from the oater pack. Seems a new railroad has to get to Tomahawk to qualify for an exclusive contract. Trouble is this would cause the stage line to go belly-up, so guess who's sabotaging the rail line's effort. And that's along with hostile Indians and 40 miles of missing track. Good thing toughie Baxter's along with her gunslinging skills, along with a pack train of sturdy horses.

I love dad Wright's effort at explaining the birds and the bees to his flummoxed daughter Baxter. Too often the actress over-emoted in her parts, but not here. She's near perfect as the thoroughly virginal tomboy, that is, until the winning Dailey teaches her how to "buss".

I guess my only reservation is with the Indian attack. It's much too conventional for a movie like this, and should have been finessed in slightly humorous fashion. Looks like it might have been included as a concession to audiences expecting something more traditional. Anyway, catch Marilyn Monroe in the fluffy yellow outfit among the four dancers getting a brief musical number. Overall, the elements come together in generally delightful fashion, making the movie something of a minor sleeper, thanks mainly to TCF's handsome budgeting and an outstanding cast.

This western, directed by a non western film maker, a director whose it is the only western, is not bad t all, and far better than its reputation of being a supposed comedy western flick. It is full of charm but of course it is not a gritty story, not the kind of western that, for instance, Henry Hathaway, Joseph Newman or Nathan Juran would have given us. It is full of action, with a beauticul color and it is not too long. I watched it long ago and still thought it was a Richard Bare's film, and not Richard Sale.... I have always confounded both directors names, that's why. But no, it's a true western, even better than a Disney Production stuff.

A fun movie. Marilyn Monore had a bit part as a dance-hall girl. Colorado mountain colors were beautiful. Need more movies like this.

As the railroad is set to make its maiden voyage through the Colorado Rockies in 1876, stagecoach saboteurs are determined to halt the progress; meanwhile, a horse caravan is needed to help pull the locomotive after its discovered there's an absence of track. Anne Baxter is wonderfully bold as the sheriff's no-nonsense, deputized granddaughter (she shoots like a man but longs to be "bussed" like a woman!); Dan Dailey is the salesman and train passenger needed to make the trip a legitimate success; Rory Calhoun is the "pretty" double-crosser on-board; and Marilyn Monroe turns up uncredited as one of the showgirls along for the ride (she doesn't have any lines--and her bit of singing appears dubbed--but she's prominently placed most of the time). After a sluggish, corny start, co-writer and director Richard Sale shakes the lead out and delivers a high-spirited western adventure with Indians, fireworks, flaming arrows, and Walter Brennan as the indefatigable lover of his railroad car! Screenwriters Sale and Mary Loos received a WGA nomination for Best Written American Western. *** from ****

While Blazing Saddles was one of the Western genres most successful comedies, A TICKET TO TOMAHAWK could have been a precursor to it. While the Mel Brooks blockbuster was stuffed with corny jokes, Tomahawk's humor was more subtle. And its writing therefore to me was more impressive, especially when you least expected it. When Dan Dailey kept shouting at his Indian chief friend, Crooked Knife, during an uprising, trying to identify himself, the Chief continued to shoot arrows at him. Character Madame Adelaide asks him--in the line of battle--"A friend of yours?" He replies, "Fair weather." This title tries to suck you in and use Marilyn Monroe's name value, but of course she had a very bit part. It had a fun cast, and besides the action and comedy, the bonus was the gorgeous Colorado scenery. I'd watch it again for all of that.