Les chasseurs de scalps

Wildly entertaining western romp with the still athletic Lancaster (as a frontier trapper) and Davis (as runaway slave) reluctantly teamed against a band of bandits led by Savalas. I noticed this pic as good time fun during a TV showing as a kid, way way before the nice DVD version, and still have fond memories of an easygoing adventure. Lancaster is exuberant in this, despite being well into his middle-aged years; he still comes across as someone who can outfight any man and rassle a grizzly bear on the side. He also presents an iconoclastic character here, supremely content onto himself, with not much use for civilization OR anarchy (represented by the barbaric bandits). Just leave him to do his own thing; if you don't, you're in for a fight - don't matter who you are, as Savalas and his band find out.

Savalas is great as the bandit leader, dangerous blow-hard that he is; though not too intelligent, he's still a lot smarter than the other idiots under his rule (including a bearded Dabney Coleman in an early role). His main squeeze is the cigar-chomping floozy Shelley Winters, hamming it up as much as the otherwise all-male cast. Davis, in an odd contrast, comes across as the most sophisticated of the whole bunch, despite supposedly being a slave his entire life; he also proves to be the most duplicitous; he's not simply honorable and disappoints Lancaster more than once. Maybe director Pollack was sneaking in some commentary on the outmoded superior standing of the white race by this point, though I think it was wishful thinking that Davis could get away with as much as he does here in the 19th century. In all, the actors prove to be good hams to the very end.

I guess we have to look at these films from a generation view point in what the great Shirley Mclain has recently stated in that they should start to make films for the over 50s age groups.

The film of today certainly seem to be targeted for a ' a different generation" as often I have to switch the box over to see if there is something wrong with the stereo settings as all I can hear is music and a very muffled speech.

I find the older films, as in this case, to be irreplaceable and standing in support of the old saying "they don't make 'em like that anymore" With taking anything away from the modern ladies of the screen, were can you find another Shelly, warm, funny, voluptuous with a distinctive class she retained to the end. Ossie Davis, irreplaceable and a gutsy person to play his part with the obvious dedication with which he did.(no wonder he won over hearts and minds) I doubt if the is a black actor with such dedication to that role today as Ossie was then.

Burt and Telly. as usual, delivered first rate parts in what proved to be good all round entertainment value. Amazingly enough my 13 year old son sat through it and thoroughly enjoyed it. Which cant be a bad achievement from our generation of old timers.

This is a watchable and never boring western for sure. It starts out quite strongly with Davis and Lancaster feuding and exchanging their barbed comments as they make their journey. But the movie soon stops focusing on that, and starts to go off in multiple directions, bringing up new characters and themes that never quite seem properly dealt with. Indeed, the climax seems kind of deux ex machina, and then not long afterwards when the credits role you get the feeling that there are still some things that haven't been properly dealt with.

But as I indicated, it passes the time pleasantly enough. Those who have seen screenwriter William Norton's "The Hunting Party" will get some extra interest, seeing how Norton took several elements from his screenplay of "The Scalphunters" and reused them in that other movie several years later.

Trapper Joe Bass (Burt Lancaster) is intercepted by Two Crows and his braves. He is forced to trade all of his furs for an educated slave named Joseph Lee (Ossie Davis). Lee had escaped from Louisiana and captured by one tribe after another. Bass has no use for him as he pursues Two Crows. They track down the Indians and find them attacked by a group of white scalp hunters led by the ruthless Jim Howie (Telly Savalas). The governments are paying $25 for every Indian scalp; men, women, or children. Miss Kate (Shelley Winters) is tired of living on the road with Howie and can't wait to be a Lady in Mexico.

It's a comedic action western. It has its fun. It has its drama. As a buddy western, I would have liked Lancaster and Davis to stay together. I had expected them to run into Two Crows soon after the introduction of the Scalphunters. That's a fun relationship that deserves more time. Sometimes, the comedy is too light. All in all, this is what it is and it's a pretty good western from Sydney Pollack.

A rugged trapper (Burt Lancaster) is forced by a band of Kiowas to trade his valuable furs for an educated runaway slave (Ossie Davis). To get the furs back, they follow the Indians and, then, a band of scalphunters, led by a boisterous bald guy (Telly Savalas). Shelley Winters is also on hand.

What's notable about "The Scalphunters" (1968), besides the cast, is that the entire story takes place in the Southwest wilderness. There are no towns, buildings or teepees in sight. But there's some gorgeous location photography.

While there are entertaining comedic bits, don't expect anything outrageous like "Blazing Saddles" (1974). This is more in the mode of contemporaneous Westerns like "Bandoleros" (1968), "The War Wagon" (1967) and "The Undefeated" (1969). It's not as great as the first or as good as the second, but it's about on par with the latter.

The film runs 1 hour and 42 minutes and was shot in Arizona (Quartzsite, Parker & Harquahala Mountains) and Mexico (Barranca del Cobre, Chihuahua, Durango & Sierra de Organos).

GRADE: B-