Die Bestialischen

I've never understood why well established pros like Keenan Wynn and Henry Silva would have accepted the script of this Dick Bakalyan low budget western that looks more like a porn western or why the late actress-model Michele Carey, who worked with Elvis, John Wayne and Ben Gazzara, would agree to play a gang rape victim in a sick, brutal piece of junk. Wynn looked like he really enjoyed playing a sadistic killer and rapist. Sometimes I wonder if actors are genuinely embarrassed by some of the films they make. Silva, an engaging actor, plays a rare good guy who helps Michele get revenge. A really unpleasant movie that has numerous titles.

Schoolteacher Alice McAndew (Carey) has the misfortune of sharing a stagecoach with prisoner Pudge Elliott (Wynn). When Pudge's friends arrive to rescue him, they don't stop at simply robbing the stage. All aboard are killed except Alice. Her intended fate is far worse. She is hauled into the desert to be repeatedly and brutally raped and left for dead.

The outlaws' plan goes awry when an Apache (Silva) saves Alice from a cruel death from shock and dehydration. He nurses the young woman back to health. Before long, the two start hunting down the killers.

By 1970 standards, this is a fairly extreme western. The rape scene is not lingered on, but is filmed in such a way as to instill shock in the viewer. The film has a few rare humorous elements, but is otherwise a deadly serious tale of revenge. Henry Silva's character has little dialogue and virtually no knowledge of English. The filmmakers rely instead on imagery and expressions to tell the story more than the spoken language.

For me, the film was passable. I personally couldn't find much to fault in the approach taken. Some plot elements are strong, but cannot be stated here without becoming spoilers. The cast is good and consists largely of veterans of the western genre. The minimal dialogue was a good choice. The rape scene is not exploitative. Perhaps it is because this vengeance theme has been done so much that I couldn't really get into the film. For western traditionalists, this might be one to avoid.

...this might have been a decent western. The story, of a school teacher captured, raped and left for dead by thugs, whose then saved by a lone Apache she forms a bond with is nothing new. And neither is this rather dull movie. The ending is entirely predictable (again, in the hands of a more imaginative director, perhaps this would have been avoided). The saving grace is the beautiful Michele Carey, who actually shows some skin and Henry Silva as the Apache, Chatto. Keenan Wynn is surprisingly good as the lead villain, but the set ups are almost bad enough to be TV westerns and again, the story fails in the end.

Five Savage Men (1970)

** (out of 4)

Michele Carey plays a school teacher heading out West who just happens to be on the same stagecoach as criminal Pudge (Keenan Wynn). Sure enough Pudge's four goons attack the coach to get him off and of course they take the teacher hostage. Later that day they all gang rape her and leave her for dead but she's nurses back to health thanks to an Apache Indian (Henry Silva). He also teaches her the Apache way and trains her to go kill her attackers. This Western is also known as THE ANIMALS and THE DESPERADOS but no matter what title you saw it under at the drive-in, the end results aren't as good as one would wish. I swear while watching the film I thought this was an Italian movie but apparently it was made in America, which struck me as strange because it's obvious that a lot of the dialogue has been dubbed. I'm not sure how on Earth dubbed Carey but her voice sounds horrible here and is way too high-pitched. It sounds as if someone wanted to play a teenage cheerleader and I'll apologize in advance if that is her real voice. The movie is pretty much a pre-clone of DEATH WISH but the screenplay doesn't give the teacher that much to do. She seems to get over her ordeal fairly quickly and we're never really explained anything she's doing. We never really get to understand why she wants this revenge or why she doesn't seem to have any effects of the rape. The screenplay also doesn't give the Apache too much to do as he pretty much just stands by doing his own thing and this includes at the start of the rape. Those expecting graphic violence are going to have to look elsewhere as none of the shootings are all that graphic and the rape scene isn't shocking either. The rape sequence was shot in an interesting way and it appears the director wanted it to be psychedelic with its strange visuals and zooms. Carey is just way too bland in the title role and Silva appears to be wishing he was somewhere else. Wynn, on the other hand, delivers a terrific, if over-the-top performance that at least keeps you watching. The ending is a pretty effective one and has a clear message through the rest of the film's short-comings but at least it does end on a strong note.

Henry Silva has been a long time favorite actor for years. I first saw him in an exceptional film called 'Johnny Cool.' In this western, originally called " Five Savage Men ", now entitled " The Animals " offering he plays Chatto a well known Apache warrior who comes across a motley group of bandits who have robbed a stage, murdered it's passengers and kidnapped a schoolteacher. Having had their way with the hapless school ma-rm, the gang splits up and go their separate way. Helped to recover by our Hero (Its nice to see Silva as the good guy), Alice McAndrew(Michele Carey) sets out to exact revenge against the five men. With an experienced Lawman Allan Pierce (John Anderson) and posse hot on their trail, the gang led by Pudge Elliott (Keenan Wynn) each take different trails. This movie plot is not unique as later mirrored by the succeeding film Hannie Caulder. What is unusual is that despite his commanding presence, Silva as Chato is seen as restrained in his role and the movie is hampered by the snail pace directing of Ron Joy. Still, it's a rather dramatic change to see a gun-toting female seeking violent revenge on her attackers. In addition, the formula of Whites against Indians does put a damper on the outcome and experienced audiences will guess the ending. ***