Cutter's Trail

I think this was a good movie…I hope…I guess. In any case it was such a long time ago - I honestly don't know. I do remember being glued to the TV screen while I watched this movie and I know I enjoyed it at the time. Actually I cannot say for sure. What is sad is my judgment jaded by time. I can't say how many times I find that what I remember, is not always the same as what really was. Confused? I am. Anyways, I would like to see this movie again so I can make a clearer judgment. If I remember, correctly it was kind of a cross between, 'The Magniciant Seven' and 'Shane'. The action, if i remember correctly, was pretty good. There was some light humor and some pretty good western type shoot 'em ups.

Cutter's Trail is an unsold pilot seeking to continue the great tradition of CBS's Gunsmoke. But this didn't make the cut. Pretty standard stuff with John Gavin as a New Mexico marshal who is trying to protect innocent townspeople from a band of ruthless cutthroats. Victor French, a perennial Gunsmoke/western villain, does his usual yeoman job, and the rest of the cast is okay, including Manuel Padilla, Jr, famous for playing the jungle boy "Jai" in the Tarzan television series starring Ron Ely. You could easily do worse that to watch this film. It is better than some motion picture westerns that you will find on television.

John Gavin, while not exactly dynamic, does a good job with this story of a lawman going into Mexico to deal with Mexican bandits, an American outlaw and his brother, and in the process finding himself helping a young Mexican boy and his mother escape the grip of a local bully. Although apparently an idea for a Gunsmoke-like TV show, this is actually a remake of an actual "Gunsmoke" episode from the 14th season, broadcast on October 7, 1968, and called "Zavala." Even the young boy, Manuel Padilla, Jr., plays Paco, just as he does in the original "Gunsmoke." Cutter's Trail contains a slightly different ending, but the two stories are essentially the same, with the author, Paul Savage, and the director, Vincent McEveety repeating. Not a classic, but enjoyable, and, at times, pretty exciting.