Fort Ti

Fort Ti  There have hardly been any films made in the United States about the French and Indian war period. It boasts attractive and laid back George Montgomery as a Jed Horn, frontier ranger, the fine classical actor Howard Petrie as Robert Rogers, the Rangers’ Chief, Irving Bacon as Montgomery’s capable and comical sidekick, very good actor Lester Matthews as General Amherst, Phyllis Fowler as Running Otter, in love with Montgomery, James Seay as Montgomery’s brother-in-law, gorgeous and able Joan Vohs as Fortune Mallory, Ben Astar as his friend Francois, Louis Miller as a French spy and Cicely Browne as Montgomery’s sister.  Horn and his partner take reports to General Amherst from Rogers, and soon pick up new recruits and march north, to help stop a French-lead Indian attack. An added problem is the capture of Horn’s sister, a coercion by a French spy aimed at forcing his brother-in-law to betray secrets of the Rangers’ and the British army’s movements. Horn and his partner rescue lovely Fortune Mallory from a lecherous brave and take her to be left with Francois, his trapper friend and with his wife, who’s in love with Montgomery. She says she escaped from the fort; but he does not believe her. The brother-in-law takes a false report to the Fort as planned, to French General Montcalm and his spy master, then accuses Horn when he is noticed sneaking back of being inhuman, only caring about killing. Rogers tells Horn that after the war, he will be fine again. The spy master had also offered the brother-in-law $5000 to kill Rogers. Next day, the Rangers attack new but misplaced French cannon and outworks; and Horn saves his brother’s life. Horn and his friend Wash escort Fortune to stay with Francois, and we learn the man is a patriot running a supply operation vital to Rogers’ men. Horn finds himself falling in love with Fortune. Running Otter begs him to let her be part of his life; he refuses. In anger, she goes to the Fort and betrays their operation, then accuses Fortune of having been the traitor. She of course later swears she did not tell. Horn and Rogers come back and note that the house dog has not barked at all. They get seven or eight men to play drunken Frenchmen and approach Francois’s house. Once inside, they overcome the French soldiers there and free their people. Francois tells Running Otter he forgives her, and says they can start new somewhere else; but she kills herself and he is grief-stricken. Horn and Rogers find the information supplied to the French has misled the enemy, but they are now trying run a cable across the river to prevent Amherst’s boats from approaching Fort Ti, their prime target. They attack the party and stop the French operation cold. Then Rogers lets Fortune lead the partner and a still-doubting Horn to the Fort. They are able to sneak in, free his sister and the children captured earlier, and engineer a mass escape of English prisoners. Chased to an Indian burial ground, they hide by night. The climax comes as French soldiers attack them. Will Rogers arrive in time to save them? Will he be able to take Fort Ticonderoga? You will have to watch to find out. But this film also led to a spate of colonial films in the 1950s, and the great series “Northwest Passage”, on TV. shortly afterward; so it has been very influential, and incidentally helped the careers of Vohs and Montgomery for several years thereafter. A personal favorite.