Ambush at Tomahawk Gap

Ambush At Tomahawk Gap starts with four prisoners, John Derek, John Hodiak, Ray Teal, and David Brian all released from Yuma prison and out looking for the loot that was stashed by one of them before they were caught at the town of Tomahawk Gap. Only one of those prisoners is a ringer. John Hodiak was a total stranger and the other three made him a patsy so the real fourth guy could stash the loot. Only he got killed and Hodiak did his time in the joint.

You can understand why he wants in on the split. Only the Apaches are on the warpath and Tomahawk Gap is now a ghost town. If it's up to them no one's going to live long enough to spend any of it if they can find it.

This one is a crackerjack B western in which most of the cast is killed. The Apache attack is really staged well and ensemble cast gives some great performances.

As for the stolen money. There is an ironical twist in the end worthy of Alfred Hitchcock or Billy Wilder.

And also thanks to the producer Wallace mc Donald, because if the producer had been Sam Katzman, believe me, the result would not have been the same on screen. This is a gritty western, very surprising for such a bland director. Fred Sears gave us all kinds of films; all kinds: westerns, war, crime, comedy, dramas and only EARTH VS FLYING SAUCERS is the most famous, because of Ray Harryhausen special effects. So, back to this one, yes, this is a pretty solid movie, showing a scheme rarely seen before and after, a scheme where there is not good or villains, only men fighting for their own interests. My favorite from Fred Sears.

Four released convicts go back to the ghost town of Tomahawk Gap searching for the Army payroll they stole several years earlier. Not only did they have trouble finding the money, but they had to deal with a horde of mean, bloodthirsty indians and a couple of conniving white men intent on getting the money or themselves. Typical western with plenty of gunplay, horses, and action.

This film is a rugged Western with plenty of action. The premise is that four men are released from prison and set out to find the loot they were arrested for stealing. The fact is that one of the four (Hodiak) was actually just an innocent bystander and happened to get mistaken for the fourth gang member while on his horse on honest work. He has to fight his way through years of jail time with the other three, and joins them on their quest, figuring he has a right to the money now. Hodiak represents the heroic Everyman, dealing with the situation. The other characters are very well drawn, and Derek is perfect as the rebel without a cause kid, who struggles with the three different adults in his life-two who are helpful(Hodiak and Teal, representing the "Sgt Lyle" character more) and Brian (defintely the "Sgt Barnes" character). To watch it today, you would think "Platoon" had some roots in this movie. I won't give away the end, but self sacrifice is involved, and a great twist in the overall quest.

An enjoyable Western with a small cast of white characters and rather more Indians, who follow the routine of seemingly being willing to take many casualties for relatively small gain. Another cliché is the improbable Indian girl played by a non-Native American, in this case a Mexican,María Elena Marqués. It appears from the plot that Navajo girls get taught to use the bow and arrow, but this apart the character might as well have been a Mexican anyway.

Hodiak, in one of his last films before his premature death, is suitably rugged, and Ray Teal gets a fuller role than usual; in fact he's the nearest to a good guy among all the men in the film, and even then he's served time in Yuma Prison and is still greedy for the loot.