Grayeagle

When a homesteader (Ben Johnson)'s daughter (a gorgeous Lana Wood, Natalie Wood's sister) is abducted by a Cheyenne Indian (Alex Cord), one of the greatest Cheyenne warriors who ever lived , the father launches a search for her recovery . He's is accompanied by an Indian friend (Iron Eyes Cody) and a frontiersman (Jack Elam). They spend time doggedly pursuing his kidnapped daughter when are attacked by a bunch of nasty Indians and then the hard-hearted trapper takes revenge .

This nice and well-paced Western contains adventure , interesting characters , romance , shootouts and spectacular fights . Action Western is pretty good , stylishly developed , a first-rate story and powerful told too . A great featured-role acting by veteran Jack Elam leads some eye-catching supporting performance along with Ben Johnson and Paul Fix . Appears relevant secondary actor named Iron Eyes Cody , usual player Indian roles (¨Great Sioux Massacre¨, ¨Sitting Bull¨, ¨A man called Horse¨) , though actually of Sicilian origin . Full of wide open spaces with breathtaking landscapes exceptionally filmed ; however it is necessary an urgent remastering because of the film copy is worn-out . The flick was well directed by Charles B Pierce who even appears credited in a brief role . He's an expert on terror genre (¨The Evictors¨ , ¨Boggy Crek¨ I, and II , ¨The town that dreaded sundown¨) and Western (¨Hawken's breed¨, ¨The winds of autumn¨, and ¨Winterhawk¨ realized in similar style to ¨Grayeagle¨). This big-scale adventure will appeal to Indian Western fans because you will find impressive battles and an ending haunting or over-melodramatic according your tastes . Rating : Good , worth a look for fans of Western.

This tale features the corny professionalism that makes American International Pictures so fun to watch. Although politically incorrect and revisionist, it touches the heart. The viewer sees the late Natalie Wood's sister giving it her all. Alex Cord goes against type to be genuine in his depiction. Western fixtures Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Paul Fix, Charles Pierce, etc., enhance any horse opera. Critics, use your free rental coupon to watch 'Dances with Wolves'. Fans of Samuel Z. Arkoff, get the popcorn ready. You'll also need a handkerchief and a strong stomach for the implied violence. Just sit back and enjoy the show.

This poorly-made movie has a surrealistic tone to it that numbs the mind. Details of why crucial events are unfolding seem sketchy and unfinished. Perhaps that was the director's intent, except for the fact that the whole film lacks any semblance of direction. Nor is there much in the way of acting, dialogue, plot or cinematography. The resolution is out of focus and painfully obvious political correctness abounds, typical for its time frame. In fact, Grayeagle seems like a lousy hallucinogenic drug trip, especially when viewed at three AM. One of Alex Cord and Ben Johnson's worst efforts, and I'm a fan of both actors---a real waste of their talents and of the viewer's time.

Grayeagle is entertaining. Jaime Mendoza-Nava made a fine music score. Nicely shot landscape panoramas give the impression of the Big Country. The outdoor reminds me of the movie Dances With Wolves. Alex Cord is a feast for the eyes with his costume, his body paintings and his decorated horse. He plays a decent fellow and is active as an indian warrior in full proud colors who is kidnapping the daughter of Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson automatically assumes the cliches, that a young woman can only be kidnapped by hostile indians to be disgraced. Therefore he eagerly tracks the enemies and gets into a lot of selfmade trouble. Persons of different cultures get acqainted. The kidnapping is disclosed as a friendly forced invitation for the daughter to meet her biological father who is the chieftain of the tribe. Alex Cord and his fellows have the best intentions to escort him through his few left final hours until he dies of old age. Furthermore they try and succeed to make him feel happy and to be in party with his people while he passes away. This movie creates a warm human feeling.

It's rather Revisionist Western answer to this movie. It's as much of romance as adventure/drama/whatever, and actually I enjoyed it much more (which was't that hard, since I didn't enjoy The Searchers at all).

I don't remember this movie clearly because I've only see it once and quite long tim ago, but I thought it was pretty good for 1977 a western, at least back then. Some people here compared this film to Dances With Wolves, but for me it reminded me rather more of Soldier Blue, actually (no, there was no violence against women and children, and no soldiers for that matter). It's a little flick and I don't remember no mass scenes, and this reminded me of 84 Charlie Mopic. The actor playing the titular character was probably the most persuading white-guy "Indian" I've seen... maybe because he's so heavily body-painted and hardly spoke at all?

Frankly, I don't know why so low general rating just under average. I gave it strong seven, and it's a sincere rating of this movie as a whole. I'd like to see it again.