Santee

Glenn Ford who was associated with some of the best westerns ever made has his last starring role in the genre in Santee. Although he would do more westerns up to almost the end of his career, he would no longer be the leading man/action hero in any of them.

Ford was 57 when he made Santee and even in this one he's transitioning to be a father figure, much the same way John Wayne was in films like Big Jake, Rio Lobo, and The Cowboys.

Unfortunately Santee takes it's plot from a combination of Henry Fonda's The Tin Star and Robert Mitchum's Young Billy Young. Ford is a former lawman, turned bounty hunter who decides that marshaling doesn't give him quite the latitude he needs to deal with bad guys. It also doesn't pay as well. But having his son shot down by John Larch and his gang was enough to turn him bitter.

He's also forced to kill Robert J. Wilkie another outlaw who has a son in Michael Burns. But he takes Burns into his home. Truth be told there wasn't much attachment there anyway, Burns hardly knew him.

Jay Silverheels has the best part in the film as Ford's loquacious ranch foreman. I do believe he had more dialog here than in over 200 episodes of The Lone Ranger. Dana Wynter has a few scenes as Ford's wife and makes them count.

But Santee is just a tired rehash of a pair of better films. Glenn Ford fans will like it though.

A bounty hunter (Glenn Ford) takes in the son (Michael Burns) of a man he killed.

I have never been a huge fan of the western genre. Some are incredible, but most seem to be rather blah. One could say that about any genre, I suppose. I mean, heck, I love horror and I would be the first to admit that most of it is garbage. But it is garbage that still generally entertains me. The western, for the most part, is not something I understand.

This one is alright. Adopting a kid (who is really more of a young adult) in the west is a good story, and Glenn Ford is a decent actor. As far as the genre goes, this is very much middle ground.

This unknown movie Western deals with a relentlessly obstinate bounty-hunter named Santee (Glenn Ford). He's the best tracker in the west, but sometimes justice can be hard to find . As the bounty hunter takes in the son of a man he killed . Santee develops a paternal relationship with the son named Jody (Michael Burns) of a man (Robert J. Wilke) he killed . Santee takes him for his ranch named Three Arrows where live his wife (Dana Wynter) and his Indian foreman (Jay Silverheels). Santee and his wife take Jody in and a father-son relationship begins to grow . But bandits led by a nasty villain named Banner (John Larch) arrive in the little town killing and robbing bank , then Santee helped by Jody take the law on their own hands .

This average Western contains action , drama , shootouts , riding pursuits and an enjoyable father and adopted son relationship with tragedy included . Fine acting by veteran Glenn Ford supported by attractive Dana Wynter and a newcomer Michael Burns . Good support cast such as Robert J Wilke , Robert Donner , John Larch and Tonto's Jay Silverheels . Colorful cinematography with glamorous landscapes by cameraman Donald Morgan . Catching musical score with agreeable song at the beginning and the ending . Spectacular final gunplay plenty of shooting and death with dramatic final . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Gary Nelson . He's an usual TV director as episodes (Disneyland) as long time television movies (Murder in Coweta County , his best film) and occasionally cinema director (Allan Quatermain in the lost city of gold) ; his most known and successful film was 'The black hole' .

Few people remember that SANTEE was one of the very first feature films (and almost definitely the first Western) shot on videotape. Noted character actor Ed Platt, famous for his role as "The Chief" in the TV series GET SMART, reportedly invested his own money in this film, intending to champion the concept of shooting movies economically on videotape.

The process used portable Philips (aka Norelco) video cameras and primitive Ampex 2" videotape recorders, which they powered via batteries while shooting on-location the desert and in and around California and Nevada. A 1973 issue of AMERICAN

CINEMATOGRAPHER covered the work done by director of photography Don Morgan and his crew, and went in-depth on the differences between shooting on film and shooting on video. Sadly, SANTEE was a flop in theaters, and Ed Platt lost his money and died less than a year after the movie was released.

Three decades later, innovative filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez and George Lucas are using digital video gear to shoot movies. Ed Platt was definitely ahead of his time on SANTEE; sadly, he never lived to see the technology get to the point where it would work.

I spoke to Ed Platt in early 1974, not long before his death. If he was troubled by the financial failure of "Santee," he didn't show it; he was warm and unpretentious. We had a common interest in video production, which probably helped him open up. In any event, I didn't see "Santee" for more than 35 years; I must say, Ed's innovative use of video to film hurt the movie; and, as a relatively novice producer, Ed should have played it safe and stayed with film. The interior shots appear horribly lit, and the initial scenes are cluttered and almost tedious. However, after Glenn Ford shows up, the movie loosens up, and we get a pretty well written, expertly acted movie. The casting, particularly of Ford, Michael Burns, Harry Townes and Jay Silverheels is especially inspired. Dana Wynter seems an odd choice, especially since the reddish lighting makes her look Native American, and she can't completely disguise her British accent. However, Wynter's chemistry with Ford and Burns is downright terrific, and she dominates every scene.

"Santee" needs more fleshing out, and the money spent on the flashback could have been been spent building Ford's relationship with Burns. The ending comes too soon and too abruptly. Nonetheless, "Santee" is one of Ford's better westerns, certainly better than "A Time for Killing," "Day of the Evil Gun" and "The Last Challenge." As Ford's last starring western it is a flawed, if fitting tribute to one of the great cowboy actors.

I give "Santee" a "6".