The 1950s were not especially great for Barbara Stanwyck. The once A-list actress was now older and was no longer being offered the same roles that made her famous. Now, instead of love stories or comedies, she now was given roles in westerns--popular films, yes, but certainly not prestige films. Some of the westerns were pretty good--most were just okay. However, "Trooper Hook" was one of her better films from this period--made better due to a good script as well as an exceptional co-starring performance from Joel McCrae. While Stanwyck was 'slumming it' in westerns, McCrea's career actually went through a resurgence. As an older actor, he gracefully moved from handsome leading man to a tough and likable western star. Together, they made a dandy film in "Trooper Hook".

The film begins with a group of renegade American Indians killing a squad of Cavalry men. Only moments later, reinforcements arrive and the Indians are killed or captured. In the process, a white woman (Stanwyck) is found among the tribe. Apparently, nine years earlier she'd been taken prisoner by them and in the interim, she became the wife of their leader. Now, the leader is captured and it's up to the Sergeant (McCrea) to take Stanwyck and her young child back to her original husband. But, the child is not his--and who knows how he'll react to having a child who is half Native American. Considering how badly many in the film react to the kid, you assume the reunion won't go very well.

While the story is good, the way the story is constructed is even better--as is the direction and acting. In fact, there isn't a lot to dislike about the film. It manages to treat the Natives reasonably fairly and is NOT just another 'bad Indian' film but has some real depth. Well worth seeing. I'd give it a 9 except that the ending happened too quickly and seemed to work out a bit too perfectly.

By the way, the singing in the film is done well by Tex Ritter (who also provided music for "High Noon" as well as in many of his starring roles). I was actually a bit surprised by this, however, as Sheb Wooley was in the film and he also was an accomplished singer and could have sung the songs. I am not complaining....just surprised.

The film had me pretty intrigued with the dynamic between Trooper Hook (Joel McCrea) and the Chiricahua Indian Nanchez (Rudolfo Acosta),but when they squared off in that deadly showdown with the chief's son caught in the middle with a gun at his head, well, that was one of the most powerful confrontations I've ever seen in any movie. Hook admits he would have given the signal to shoot the boy if Nanchez didn't back down, and I thought to myself - what if Nanchez was as hard-headed as Cora Sutliff's husband (John Dehner)? And what about Earl Holliman's character, do you think he would have gone all the way? All intriguing questions if the story went in a different direction.

But since it didn't, I thought the resolution made a huge concession to coming up with a happily ever after ending. With Sutliff and Nachez shooting each other during the chase, the ending was just a little too pat for my consideration. It made sense within the context of the story line, but Hook and Cora Sutliffe (Barbara Stanwyck) were reconciling to a life long commitment without really knowing each other.

I thought the picture had an interesting lineup of supporting players. I never recognized Royal Dano though with all that chin fuzz. He really got my attention when he had that minor blow up with Jeff Bennett (Holliman) over the fare for the stagecoach ride, admonishing Bennett for being 'deafer than a woodpecker in a hailstorm'. The imagery of that line was classic, I'm going to have to remember to put it to good use some day.

Edward Andrews shows up as a fellow stage traveler as well, playing the kind of slimy character he got to do a lot of in movies and various TV series. The creep tried to buy off Nanchez or convince Cora to give up the kid, deserving his fate for playing both sides against the middle. Sheb Wooley also had a brief scene in which he portrayed a vicious racist when Cora showed up with Quito (Terry Lawrence). He didn't last long with the Trooper around.

So over all not too bad a story, but closing out in conventional fashion that audiences of the era probably found favorable. One other side note that I thought made the story a little off beat was not finding out the name of Earl Holliman's character till the end of the movie.

One of Joel McCrea's better westerns is Trooper Hook the story of a man given a mission to deliver a recent captive of the Indians back to her family.

This is no ordinary captive. Barbara Stanwyck has been with the Apaches for several years and has been the squaw of Chief Rudolfo Acosta and has had a son by him. After an a raid on Acosta's village she's discovered by the cavalry and identified. She and her little boy are taken to the fort and McCrea is given the assignment of taking her back to husband John Dehner. But this is going to prove a difficult journey on many levels.

Had Trooper Hook been directed by someone like John Ford it would have gotten far more acclaim than it did. There are elements of Ford's Stagecoach, The Searchers and Two Rode Together in Trooper Hook. And Rudolfo Acosta as Chief Natchez seems to be continuing the part he played in Hondo.

One thing I've always liked about westerns they certainly give the more mature among us the chance to be heroes. And the movies never had a better straight arrow hero than Joel McCrea. It's mentioned he's a career soldier and 47 years old. He needs every bit of that experience for the job at hand.

Stanwyck has a tough road to hoe in this film. A lot of very self righteous people wonder why she just didn't kill herself rather than submit to Acosta. McCrea understands however, the scene where he tells her of his experience in Andersonville prison during the Civil War is the most effective in the film.

Lots of western regulars fill out the supporting roles. In addition to those mentioned look for Earl Holliman as the sympathetic young cowboy who hitches a ride on the stagecoach, Celia Lovsky and Susan Kohner as grandmother and granddaughter, Edward Andrews as a sniveling rat who will make your skin crawl, and Royal Dano as the stage driver.

Rape, Illegitimate birth, Miscegenation and kidnapping were usually not subjects for the Saturday afternoon kiddie crowd who saw westerns. But the Fifties was the decade of the adult western and Trooper Hook is a prime example. In fact on her Big Valley television series, Stanwyck had a similar story line with Michael Burns about a young boy who was born to a white woman captive and later returns to white society. Only the story was from the kid's point of view.

Trooper Hook is the sixth and last film Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck made. It might very well be the best of them. Though director Charles Marquis Warren was obviously influenced by John Ford, I doubt very much if Ford himself could have done a better job. Trooper Hook is an undiscovered masterpiece in need of reevaluation.