Trilha Sangrenta

Released in 1970 and directed by Jack Starrett, "Cry Blood, Apache" is a low-budget American Western about a group of white dirtbags with gold fever who murder a camp of Apaches while allowing a squaw (Marie Gahva) to live in order to take 'em to a gold mine. Meanwhile a relative of the captive, a silent brave (Marcus Rudnick), tracks them down and gets vengeance one by one. Jody McCrea plays the only redeemable person of the bunch while the director plays the hypocritical Bible-quoting nutjob. The burly bearded guy was Leif Garrett's father, believe it or not.

This is actually a late 60s/early 70s exploitation thriller in disguise. Some of the Apache's torture methods, like hanging a person upside down in a stream and placing a bag with a deadly snake over someone's head, are rather chilling without being overly graphic. "Cry Blood, Apache" is a barbaric revenge yarn produced by the protagonist Jody McCrea, who enlisted his dad, Joel McCrea, from retirement to play the old-aged version of his character in the prologue and epilogue for (I guess) name recognition.

The director went on to better things, like 1975's "Race with the Devil," but here he was obviously hampered by the low-budget and the movie comes across inept in some ways (like some of the editing, acting, dubbing & dialogue), which will spur a lot of viewers to hit the 'stop' button (or switch channels). But the film has some rewarding elements despite the tediousness and meaninglessness of it all. For instance, you can't beat the gritty realism. The main characters come across as a group of degenerates with gold fever in the desert, with the questionable exception of Pitcalin (McCrea). Their disheveled and torn clothing looks right. And Rudnick is quite credible as the laconic, merciless and torturous Apache warrior. The obvious question is: Why is Pitcalin riding with these moral-less swine? I suppose because he's desperate and needs the money. While he obviously laments the needless murders, he probably "writes them off" as expected collateral damage.

The eight descriptive words in my title blurb are all fitting for "Cry Blood, Apache." It's also unforgettable.

The film runs 82 minutes and was shot in Arizona and Sequoia National Forest.

GRADE: C

Even though he only appears in the movie for scant minutes and scarcely says a word, this has to easily qualify as Joel McCrea's worst film. His otherwise notable career is tarnished by his appearance in this dreadful mess (a favor, one has to assume, for his son who produced the disaster.) The story, if one can even call it that, concerns a band of repugnant, annoying, filthy drifters who terrorize and mostly kill off a small family of Indians. They keep one girl alive so that she can show them to a place where gold exists. The audience can tell that Jody McCrea (utterly lacking in any screen charisma) is the "good guy" of the piece because instead of raping, butchering or torturing any of the Indians, he sits on a rock and watches it all. He develops sympathy for the female hostage as the gritty group fights amongst itself on the way to the gold. Two of the actors in the film also directed and assistant directed it. Starrett apparently couldn't say goodbye to all his extended scenes of himself overacting and meandering around meaninglessly. The whole film has a plethora of shots of people walking or riding endlessly. Meanwhile, a lone Indian, who had been away during the slaughter, tracks the group. This tall native has an interesting outfit. He wears a long-sleeved peasant blouse over a very narrow loincloth that shows practically all of his behind. He lurches through the terrain with all the style and grace of say.......a filling station attendant at a Boron gas station in Columbus, Ohio. One hilarious sequence has him careening into a violent river. The film is uncomfortable to watch for various reasons. The opening scenes are sadistic and thoughtlessly cruel. The bulk of it is just amateurish and badly written, shot and directed. The one rather interesting aspect is the choice of revenge that the lone Indian chooses for his enemies. It is only in these various depictions of the payback he gives each of the men that the movie shows any amount of creativity or life. It is also rewarding for the audience since, by the time the Indian catches up to them, these characters have become positively unbearable. Henley, during his final sequence, is so agonizing that one wants to reach through the TV and kill him personally. The music is also abominable in the movie. The whole thing is ludicrous, trashy, cheap, choppy and worst of all boring.

Poor Joel McCrea who couldn't leave the screen on a high note like Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country. He had to come back to play a cameo in a film his son Jody produced and starred in.

Jody had a minor career in the 60s in those beach films. He had gotten a break playing a deputy in a short-lived television series called Wichita Town that starred his father as a sheriff. He never really established himself and I guess Cry Blood, Apache was a last effort.

IT's just bad all around, bad acting, bad directing, lousy script that god awful music that punctuates all foreign made westerns.

Joel should have just stayed on his ranch.

Poor little programmer of a western, tries to ride in the trail of the Eastwood-Leone "Man With No Name" series and fails. There is an intensely 1960s feel the the performances that make the performances awkward and unconvincing. In addition, the prints have a washed-out look.

Even a graceful opening with Joel McCrea playing the lead character in later years -- the lead is played by his son, Jody -- serves only to make the rest of the movie more awkward.

This film is not as bad as most people have noted. I'm sure they were turned off by the very downbeat story and low budget. Many scenes were also dubbed which does not help. I found the plot delivered especially in the second half of the film. I liked the way the Apache seeking revenge went about tracking down the gang of killers and wiping them out one by one. The methods he uses to kill them off are certainly inventive. The other big plus in this film is the location shooting in Sequoia National Forest in California and other locations in Arizona(the entire film was shot outdoors). You can almost feel the cold wind blowing and taste the omnipresent dust. Performances are mixed. Jody McCrea(who also produced the film) is OK as the "hero" of the film. His motivations seem ambiguous but this did not bother me that much. Joel McCrae(doing his son a favor by appearing in this film) is not on-screen nearly enough but his facial expressions are so subtle that we understand quickly what he is feeling. Director Jack Starrett delivers one very weird performance as the bible-obsessed killer who lusts for gold constantly muttering to himself and to the others. Don Henley (not sure if this is the Don Henley of the Eagles)is quite good as the leader of the gang. Ruthless but more cunning than you think. The character of Billy is probably the weakest. He is supposed to be a ruthless goon but is played at times as a whimpering baby. The others are OK but nothing special. This is best viewed late at night when nothing else is on. Overall I give it 4 Apaches out of 10.