Winterhawk

I have been watching westerns since I was in grade school. I often laugh at the inaccuracies found in these westerns. Caucasions playing native americans, etc. This is one of those westerns. Winterhawk is obviously riding a horse with a saddle hidden by a red blanket, stirrups are visible. Most of the other indians are correctly riding bareback as it should be.

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

Love the scenery, cuz it is in our backyard!!! It was also cut down from the three hour epic that Charles Pierce wanted to make, as we have looked for lots of our friends who were extras is various scenes and they did not make it into the final 98 minutes.

The film also had a sizable budget for that period of time, so I think the issue is more related to the parts that landed on the cutting room floor.

Michael Dante was also extremely arrogant and was hard to work around. Dawn Wells was very nice, as was Denver Pyle who loved the Flathead Valley.

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-