Winterhawk

You are wrong! This is a great movie! I watched it again and again. I loved the scenery. And the music was beautiful. I love Dawn Wells and thought she was great in this part. A wonderful story that gives a sympathetic view of the American Indian.

It is set in 1845 Montana, there a Blackfoot Indian : Michael Dante seeks smallpox serum from a nearby trapper camp for his stricken tribe . When he is attacked for his efforts , he takes vendetta by kidnapping two of the settlement's members : Dawn Wells . Then a posse : Leif Erickson , Denver Pyle , Woody Strode , Elisha Cook Jr is formed , going after him . Before the West ever saw the American cowboy..Winterhawk had become a Blackfoot legend . He was the greatest legend the Blackfoot ever had ... and the White Man could never forget .

An agreeable , melodramatic Western movie with trappers , mountain men , Indians and extremely nasty baddies . It packs thrills , noisy action , pursuits and gorgeous landscapes. Exceptional and colorful photography of the gorgeous scenary can't hide the cliched story , in spite of it , resulting to be enjoyable enough . Very marvellous scenary shots of the Rocky Mountains and some pretty soundtrack make up for some of the known , predictable plot . The picture contains a good cast , giving dencent interpretation , with plenty of Western notorious secondaries as Leif Erickson , Denver Pyle , Elisha Cook Jr , Woody Strode , Michael Dante , L. Q. Jones in a really villain role and Arthur Hunnicut's last screen appearance

It packs a sensitive and rousing musical score by Lee Oldridge . Luminous and briiliant cinematography from Jim Roberson and Charles B Pierce himself . This acceptable and in medium budget motion picture was well directed by Charles B Pierce . This craftsman also made similar style westerns such as : Hawken's Breed , Sacred Ground and Grayeagle . Although he also made terror genre as Town that dreaded Sundown, The Evictors , Legend of Bobby Creek , Bobby Creek II and Adventures as Norseman . Rating : 6.5/10 . Worthwhile watching.

While I do admire independent filmmaker Charles B. Pierce for making a western when the western genre was all but dead in American cinema, and I admire him for making a western where a Native American is the central figure - a rarity in westerns - I couldn't come up with much enthusiasm for the finished results, despite the fact that I love westerns and I can be very forgiving of shortcomings in them. For one thing, the character of Winterhawk, as well as the two white youths that he kidnaps and takes on a long journey, are not constructed well. Winterhawk hardly says a thing, and you frequently wonder what he's thinking or feeling. The two white youths don't get much more to say. Actually, the female white youth does have some dialogue, though most of it is done by her narration (cheaper and easier to dub over footage than to shoot live dialogue). Also, the wilderness doesn't look very spectacular, even during the winter shots. While far from the worst western ever made, I think even western fans will feel cheated by the time the end credits roll.

I never finished this picture so this may not be a completely fair evaluation. Seen on AMC it was introduced as a film made in the spirit of Tarentino and others like him where the film maker found his own extras and essentially financed it on a very limited budget. I watched only a half hour and kept dozing off. The actors mostly acted like they had never acted before. No emotion, no realism to what they did or said. And the score! I got so tired of hearing bass voices droning "Winterhawke" in the background that I had to mute it several times. Maybe it picks up further along and gets better. The lead lady was decent in her acting as was her little brother. Who knows, I don't expect to ever go back and find out. 1.5 stars out of 4

RELEASED IN 1975 and written/directed by Charles Pierce, "Winterhawk" chronicles events in western Montana in the 1840s when small pox breaks out in a remote tribe of Blackfoot. The titular chief (Michael Dante) goes to the New Americans to apprehend a remedy, but things don't go well and a movie-length chase ensues. Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island plays the female lead while Leif Erickson plays a mountain man who's friends with the Blackfoot. Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, L.Q. Jones & Elisha Cook Jr. have peripheral roles.

While watching, I was reminded of 1977's "Grayeagle" and therefore wasn't surprised to discover that Pierce made both films. "Grayeagle" is superior, though, and it shows that Pierce learned a thing or two while making this one two years earlier.

The movie has its points of interest, like a notable cast, with great alpine locations and moments of aesthetic wonder. But it's marred by a sometimes draggy vibe with overly syrupy moments and a blaring piano-oriented score that starts to grate due to its booming redundancy. Moreover, Winterhawk (the character) is depicted as excessively mysterious, noble and superhuman, not to mention more time needed spent on his group in the chase for the simple sake of human interest. If you can handle these cavils, however, this is a worthwhile Western.

Some have pointed out that "Winterhawk" is noteworthy because of its respectful view of Native Americans (who aren't really 'native' since their ancestors emigrated from Asia), yet pro-Indian Westerns actually go back to "Buffalo Bill" (1944), "Fort Apache" (1948), "Broken Arrow" (1950) and "The Last Wagon" (1956), not to mention the more contemporaneous "A Man Called Horse" (1970) and "I Will Fight No More Forever" (1975).

THE FILM RUNS 98 minutes and was shot in Kalispell & Browning, Montana, and Durango & Silverton, Colorado.

GRADE: B-