The Indian Fighter was a good western for Kirk Douglas to show his stuff. Apparently he did his own stunts, riding his own horse, even falling from a horse and breaking his nose in the process although that wasn't part of the script.We got to see Kirk Douglas with his teeth fully clenched and of course we got see Kirk Douglas flexing his biceps and shirtless.
But the best parts were the passionate scenes between him and Elsa Martinelli. Boy they were hot. I can see myself now back in the 1950's at a Saturday afternoon matinée and the theater is packed mostly with kids and there would be a lot of hooting and hollering especially when they rolled in the water. You could call it lust in the dust except they were in the water so lust in the river. But us impressionable young lads weren't supposed to know things like that but it would still have been great fun. Or as some would say darn there they are smooching again. Howls of laughter.
I watched this film recently and given how hot the scenes were between Kirk and Elsa it was not surprising to learn afterwards that the two of them were having a torrid affair on the set. Making it more bizarre was the fact that Kirk was married at the time to Anne Douglas and it was with her that they found Elsa Martinelli and got her for the part of the Indian maiden.Further the other love interest in the film was Donna Douglas playing Susan Rogers a single mother travelling west with her young lad but she was also Kirk's ex wife from 1943-1951 and the mother of Michael Douglas.
Boy the intrigue and relationships behind the movie were better than the movie itself. Not that the film was bad as it was a pretty good duster even literally as a lot of dust was kicked up in the battle scenes. On the plus side this film did a good job of trying to present the Indian in a positive light (Hollywood was starting to figure it out that the Indians were not always the bad guys) and not as godless savages or some such thing as the baddie Lon Chaney declared at one point.
Indeed there was a lot of that as the white men and women would literally go into a panic at the thought of the Indians coming anywhere near them. After all don't the Indians just want to rape (am I allowed to say that?) and pillage and scalp? No they were presented in a positive light and of course poor Kirk was accused of being an Indian lover. But the film turned on the baddies Walter Matthau and Lon Chaney both plying the Indians with drink and looking for the gold. But it's OK as they get theirs in the end after they were responsible for breaking the peace treaty and of course blaming it on the Indians and everyone runs around like chickens with their heads cut off screaming the Indians are coming or some such blather.
There was a pretty good battle scene and overall this film wasn't bad with great fun and some regular western actors like Ray Teal, Walter Abel and Allan Hale. And a great little turn by film noir icon Elisha Cook Jr. The CinemaScope was great even on my 42 inch Samsung with a clear picture seen in its full glory on YouTube. Great fun with the best fun with Kirk shirtless flexing his biceps and frolicking with Elsa in the river. Lust in the river.
But the best parts were the passionate scenes between him and Elsa Martinelli. Boy they were hot. I can see myself now back in the 1950's at a Saturday afternoon matinée and the theater is packed mostly with kids and there would be a lot of hooting and hollering especially when they rolled in the water. You could call it lust in the dust except they were in the water so lust in the river. But us impressionable young lads weren't supposed to know things like that but it would still have been great fun. Or as some would say darn there they are smooching again. Howls of laughter.
I watched this film recently and given how hot the scenes were between Kirk and Elsa it was not surprising to learn afterwards that the two of them were having a torrid affair on the set. Making it more bizarre was the fact that Kirk was married at the time to Anne Douglas and it was with her that they found Elsa Martinelli and got her for the part of the Indian maiden.Further the other love interest in the film was Donna Douglas playing Susan Rogers a single mother travelling west with her young lad but she was also Kirk's ex wife from 1943-1951 and the mother of Michael Douglas.
Boy the intrigue and relationships behind the movie were better than the movie itself. Not that the film was bad as it was a pretty good duster even literally as a lot of dust was kicked up in the battle scenes. On the plus side this film did a good job of trying to present the Indian in a positive light (Hollywood was starting to figure it out that the Indians were not always the bad guys) and not as godless savages or some such thing as the baddie Lon Chaney declared at one point.
Indeed there was a lot of that as the white men and women would literally go into a panic at the thought of the Indians coming anywhere near them. After all don't the Indians just want to rape (am I allowed to say that?) and pillage and scalp? No they were presented in a positive light and of course poor Kirk was accused of being an Indian lover. But the film turned on the baddies Walter Matthau and Lon Chaney both plying the Indians with drink and looking for the gold. But it's OK as they get theirs in the end after they were responsible for breaking the peace treaty and of course blaming it on the Indians and everyone runs around like chickens with their heads cut off screaming the Indians are coming or some such blather.
There was a pretty good battle scene and overall this film wasn't bad with great fun and some regular western actors like Ray Teal, Walter Abel and Allan Hale. And a great little turn by film noir icon Elisha Cook Jr. The CinemaScope was great even on my 42 inch Samsung with a clear picture seen in its full glory on YouTube. Great fun with the best fun with Kirk shirtless flexing his biceps and frolicking with Elsa in the river. Lust in the river.