Aquila Grigia il grande capo dei Cheyenne

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.

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.

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.

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.

RELEASED IN 1977, "Grayeagle" is a Western about a settler in the 1848 Montana region (Ben Johnson) whose daughter (Lana Wood) is kidnapped by a Cheyenne brave (Alex Cord). He teams-up with his Native partner (Iron Eyes Cody) and a friend (Jack Elam) to get his daughter back. Along the way they must tangle with a Shoshone hunting party, including a crazy brave named Scar (Jacob Daniels).

While the plot is reminiscent of 1956's "The Searchers," it's different enough to not be a rip-off. "Grayeagle" may be far from a big-budget Western, like "The Searchers," but I like it better. It genuinely surprised me for a number of reasons. For one, it's not a typical Western; it's just as much a Native American film as it is a cowboy/settler Western; and the Natives are portrayed quite well, considering the time period.

Secondly, everything about the movie is over-the-top, like the acting, the (melo)drama and the blaring score. Speaking of the score, it plays like the bombastic music of the original Star Trek TV series, but updated to the mid-70s and fitted for a Western. It's quite good, sometimes even moving, albeit decidedly dated.

The plot similarities to "The Searchers" is interesting in that Lana Wood's sister, Natalie, played the kidnapped girl in that film. Speaking of Lana, she's just gorgeous. You might remember her as Bond girl Plenty O'Toole in 1971's "Diamonds are Forever."

The annoying, half-crazy character Bugler was played by the director, Charles B. Pierce, who made the similar "Winterhawk" (1975). You might remember Iron Eyes Cody (aka Standing Bear) as the American Indian shedding a tear about litter in one of the America's most famous television public service announcements, "Keep America Beautiful," from the early 70s. While Cody certainly looked Native American and claimed his father was Cherokee (and his mother Cree), he offered conflicting data on his heritage. Evidence shows that he was a 2nd generation Italian-American based on an interview with his half-sister and documents, which included a baptismal record. But Cody denied the claim. He was likely part Native, but who knows?

Shot in the Helena National Forest Northeast of Helena, Montana, the landscapes are picturesque. "Grayeagle" is full of gusto and reminiscent of the later "The Mountain Men" (1980). It must be respected because the creators gave it their all to entertain the viewer; in fact, I include it on my hallowed "Favorite Westerns" list, perhaps as more of a guilty pleasure since the flick is so overdone that it sometimes borders on ridiculous. So I can see why some people don't like it. While it's often supremely entertaining, the sacred words are fitting: "Just because you like a movie doesn't mean it's good."

THE FILM RUNS 104 minutes.

GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)