Trooper Hook

Another good oater with Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea was a natural as a Western actor. Despite his great successes in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, and in several other dramas of the late 1930s and early 1940s, it was the Western genre that he really loved. And he made some extremely fine ones, capping his long career and partnering with Randolph Scott in Sam Peckinpah's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (1962), arguably one of the finest Westerns ever made. TROOPER HOOK is a slightly lesser effort from the late 1950s, but still a well-acted vehicle for McCrea and co-star Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck is a white woman, captured and "married to" an Apache chief, and more, she has a son by him. McCrea is charged with rescuing her and returning her "home." And therein lies the source of a series of mishaps, battles with her Apache "husband," and other complications. Edward Arnold and Earl Holliman add to the fine cast and resulting action.

Now that MGM/UA have released several McCrea vehicles, it is time that...

TROOPER HOOK
This movie was first released in 1957(2011) in B/W, fullscreen and runs 83 minutes. The sound and picture quality are good and there are no extras. The film starts with Apache messacre of some US Army soldiers on top of a rocky hill. Soon the US Army attack the Apache, lead by Sergeant Clovert Hook(JOEL McCREA). The army burn the village and round up the Indians. Chief Nanchez(RUDOLFO ACOSTA) is captured alive. Amongst the prisoners, they find a white woman, Cora Sutliffe(BARBARA STANWYCK) with her son Keto, whose father is Nanchez. They all head back to the Fort. When questioned by the Colonel, they find that Cora had been attacked by the Cherokawa Indians and her husband was missing. Nanchez was to be sent to Saint Carlos Reservation. Fred Sutliffe(EDWARD ANDREWS)is traced running a ranch near Tuscan. Orders are given to Trooper Hook to take Cora and Keto to that ranch. After receiving hostility at the first town, Trooper Hook takes a stagecoach for Cora and Keto. At the next town...

Trooper Hook
Trooper Hook has a well crafted and believable plot with McCrea's character development allowed to be fleshed out. Although not a big fan of Barbara Stanwyck, her performance certainly adds to "Trooper Hook" with the role given. Picture and sound quality is good. As a vehicle for Joel McCrae "Trooper Hook" ranks alongside "Fort Massacre", as they both warrant more than one viewing.

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