Classic Indian Western
Very good movie. Good glimpse of indian life back in the Old West. The romantic twist with Kirk Douglas' character and Elsa Martinelli's character keeps it interesting.

Highly recommended.

Great Kirk Douglas Western
The Indian Fighter was blessed to have two great things going for it when it was made - one was Kirk Douglas, who was a standout in a number of Westerns, including Gunfight at The OK Corral, Last Train to Gun Hill, Along The Great Divide, Man Without A Star, and a number of others. The second was director Andre de Toth, who directed some great Westerns, including Ramrod, Springfield Rifle, and Riding Shotgun.

Together, they tell the entertaining story of Johnny Hawks, "The Indian Fighter," a legendary soldier who nows scouts for a living. As he tries to guide a wagon train to Oregon through Indian territory, Hawks gets in the middle of warring Indians and a defenseless fort. The Indians are upset because white men are trying to steal gold from their land, and the fort's commander is ready to fight, even if it means the death of everyone in the fort. Add Hawks' budding romance with the Indian chief's daughter, and you have lots of excitement.

This is a film that should get more attention than it does, and I hope that the DVD release will open it up to a much wider audience. The Indian Fighter is a very enjoyable Western.

A simple-minded Western with touches of philosophy and not much drive...
Filmed in Oregon, Andre De Toth's film is a frontier adventure tale of the Great Sioux Nation whose heritage and culture run through the silver screen like a strong steady stream...

The motion picture touches up new ground by giving Indians a little sex appeal... Douglas, as a vigorous frontier scout, tries to attract the Indian maiden Onahti, played by the attractive brunette Elsa Martinelli... The Italian actress is seen bathing in the fresh waters of a river and later captured nude in a transparent voluminous stream...

"The Indian Fighter" concerns the efforts of a wagon train heading for Oregon in 1870... The train stops at a small frontier fort when the Sioux forbid them to pass through their territory... A seasoned scout and Indian expert, Johnny Hawks (Douglas), is assigned by the army to aid them...

Hawks rapidly goes to the camp of the dignified Chief Red Cloud (Eduard Franz) who explains that the trouble was started by white whiskey traders, trying to rob the Indians of their gold...

Hawks promises to settle th situation and the Chief agrees to appear at the fort to sign a peace treaty... However, his aggressive brother Grey Wolf (Harry Landers) repudiates peace talk because he despises all white men as dishonorable...

Douglas' portrait of Hawks is suitably vigorous and possibly comes close to depicting the actual character of such a man - Hawks is a jealous self-confident man who considers the West as his milieu... He declines to open up the West for civilization... He considers the West as 'a beautiful woman' and refuses to share her with anybody... He is a brave warrior who fights Sioux-style, and a shooter who never miss a snake... He respects the Indians as vanquished valiant enemies who deserve to be treated as human beings...

Indian Fighter
I was very disappointed with this movie.
I saw the original television broadcast airing of this movie in 1962. Over those 40 years, I still remember scenes from the movie, which were not part of this copy. For example, there was a statement at the beginning of the movie, much like the discalimers of today, which indicated that the Indian would not be speaking in their native tongue so the audience would be able to understand the movie better. In addition, I remember that in the end, a soldier (the bugler), silhouetted by the dusk light was standing on a hill embracing a girl as they kissed.
The story line was weak, nearly uninteresting. I felt fidgety watching this poor film. The only thing, which kept me watching, besides the fact that I just threw away good money on this new release, was the fact that I had fond childhood memories of the Indian Fighter. But, in all honesty, I have pulled better movies out of Wal-mart's $5.88 bins.
The movie DID appear to be choppy in its story line, as though it might have been pieced together, as if the original film had some damaged parts which were left out. Also, the movie ended abruptly, leaving me feeling cheated. There were several scenes, which looked grainy, as though they might have been 3rd generation copies.
I want a refund! If I had seen this movie in a theater, today, I would have walked out and demanded back my ticket price.

THE INDIAN FIGHTER
Have no idea what the guy who complained about the picture being fuzzy, shifting quality and looking chopped up was drinking the night he viewed this movie. Picture quality was excellent and saw no sign of it being chopped up. An excellent western.