MOHAWK

MOHAWK (1956). Director: Kurt Neumann.

Unless you have a mania for westerns, there's probably no good reason to see this unless it's to see how Allison Hayes (pictured with Scott Brady), star of the "classic" Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, comports herself in a more "serious" film. Hayes wasn't so hot in Zombies of Mora Tau, but she isn't half-bad in Mohawk (though no Kate Hepburn). Scott Brady plays John Adams, a painter who works out of an Army fort. Hayes is his zesty model, Greta, but he also has a fiancee named Cynthia (Lori Nelson) who shows up unannounced at the fort with her peppery Aunt Agatha (Vera Vague) in tow; Nelson once again proves what a mediocre actress she is. While juggling these two babes, Adams discovers that there's also an Indian wench, Onida (Rita Gam), who has a hankering for him, and vice versa. Meanwhile, some renegade Indians are planning an attack on the fort. Supposedly all the action footage comes from John Ford's Drums Along the Mohawk, but none of it is very convincing. John Hoyt is Butler, the white villain of the piece, and Tommy Cook does a nice turn as the doomed Indian lad Keoga. It's a pleasant surprise to see who Adams winds up with at the end. Handsome production is well photographed by Karl Struss and has an effective score by Edward L. Alperson, Jr.

Verdict: See it for saucy Hayes if you must. **.