director lesley selander thoroughly routine outdoor yarn the yellow tomahawk ( 1954 ) pit the cheyenne against the u. s. cavalry with leathery tough rory calhoun in the middle a the seasoned and buckskin clad indian scout who have to lead the survivor to safety . this united artist western be lensed in color but the tv print that turner classic movie air be inexplicably in black and white . the action open with adam reed ( rory calhoun of black spur ) elude several indian and rid up to palaver with his old friend and cheyenne chief and fire knife ( lee van cleef of the good and the bad and and the ugly ) and who have kill on his mind . fire knife warn adam that his cheyenne brave be poise to wipe out a nearby cavalry fort under construction because it violate a treaty that the indian make with the government . on his way to inform stick up camp commandant and major ives ( warner anderson of objective and burma . ) and about the impending indian attack and adam discovers a beautiful wood nymph seductively treading water in a lake . katherine kate bolden ( peggy castle of i and jury ) be another of those silly woman in western that bathe nude in the middle of indian country without a care in the world . castle appear to be genuinely nude in her bathing scene and too and perhaps the most memorable scene of all in this otherwise predictable western . naturally and major ives dismiss adam warn from fire knife until the commander realize that somebody have raid his ammunition dump far outside the fort . this be one of the many question that the richard alan simmons screenplay leaf unanswered in this trim and 82 minute oater . why would the cavalry bury their ammunition at a secret spot in the desert rather than keep it on the premise in the fort . no sooner have they make this discovery than the indians attack and knock out of hero and and leave him a the only survivor . before this attack and a pair of white prospector ride into the fort . sawyer ( peter graf of stalag 17 ) brings in his partner with an arrow in his chest . while adam be get hot water to help in remove the arrow and the greedy sawyer grind the shaft in deeper and kill his helpless partner . later and we learn that sawyer and his partner have strike gold . the question of the dispersal of the gold be also leave unanswered after our hero survive the ordeal . adam and fire knife have one final pow wow and fire knife demand that adam hand over major ives or everybody will die . naturally and adam refuse and the indian begin to whittle down the white . james best in a supporting role a a cavalryman get an arrow in the back for his effort . noah beery and jr. and play a aimable mexican scout pursue by a sexy indian damsel appropriately name honey bear ( oscar win actress rita moreno of west side story ) and robert bray of lassie fame be on hand briefly a the ill fat cavalry officer that kate have plan to marry . the big surprise in this unremarkable western shot on location in kanab and utah and be that the evil cavalry officer ives and who slaughter indian men and woman and and child at the infamous sand creek massacre and have be keep a secret that he be a native american and too . ironically and the taut bow that fire knife give out of friendship to adam at the outset of the hostility be what our heroic scout use to kill the stalwart cheyenne warrior after he have run out of bullet . the yellow tomahawk concludes on an ambiguous note . the survivor reach another outpost and fort elli and where adam and ives furnish their respective report about the issue to an army general and but we never learn the outcome of this meeting . be this artistic ambiguity or yet another unanswered question . producer howard w. koch be no relation to casablanca scenarist howard koch . ultimately and the yellow tomahawk be one of many pro indian western that appear in the aftermath of broken arrow ( 1950 ) where the native american be view a a noble savage unjustly treat by some but not all white . selander and who make dozen of western during the 1950s and the 1960s and make this minor western tolerable despite it thin character and familiar predicament . calhoun stand out of an above average cast a the always serviceable lead man and and good look castle be worth watch for her feminine charm . peter graf play a skunk a be usual in most of his early role . actually and lesley selander do a more satisfactory dramatic version of this movie the year before call war paint ( 1953 ) with robert stack . incidentally and noah beery jr. and rita moreno both go on to become regular on the rockford file .