Shalako

SHALAKO is a movie that often appears in peoples least favourite western lists and looking at this page many people have said how much they dislike it but as someone who doesn't like the genre all that much I can't say it's all that bad First of all the premise is fairly simple without being threadbare which while not being a guarantee you'll be watching a great movie is often a guarantee you won't be watching an awful one: A bunch of European toffs on a hunting trip arrogantly wander into an Indian reservation and after being warned to leave by former army scout Shalako decide to ignore his expert advice which leads to some nasty consequences .

It's not a great story but it does allow for some character conflict and some serious violence . It might seem tame today but this movie was produced in 1968 when audiences were still being treated to war films where when people were shot they give a pained expression , clutched their wound and slowly sank to the ground like a dying swan . The somewhat sadistic violence is probably the main talking point of SHALAKO especially the scene with the sand and the necklace , you'll know the scene when you see it

Yeah it's flawed film . One point is the many accents used which makes it rather difficult to understand the dialoguein some scenes which probably annoyed an American audience while many of the characters remain somewhat underwritten , I kept forgetting senator Henry Clarke was in the story until he appeared on screen in an infrequent manner . As for the casting Eric Sykes seems to be doing his comedy routine while Apache chiefs shouldn't be played by African Americans

But all in all SHALAKO isn't as bad as some people would have you believe

This offbeat Euro-Western based on Louis L'Amour novel concerns Shalako (Sean Connery) whose Indian name means ¨he who brings rain¨ . He's an US scout who intervenes to save some European aristocrats on a hunting journey in New Mexico when they are attacked by Apaches circa 1880 .

This is a British Western set in Almeria (Spain) where in the 60s and 70s were filmed numerous Spaghetti or Paella Westerns , as Shalako is a high budget film , but poorly directed . The gun-play , Indian attacks , shootouts are gripping but the movie is just another cold British product . Violent scenes abound as the attempted rape and a creepy murder of one of the protagonists . The casting is frankly magnificent but the film gets an incredible waste of a talented cast like happens with Sean Connery , though the first choice by the producers was Henry Fonda . There appears various notorious main and secondary actors that are usual in Western genre . Gorgeous Brigitte Bardot who played with Jeanne Moreau ¨Viva Maria¨ and with Claudia Cardinale ¨The legend of Frenchie King¨ . Stephen Boyd played Western as ¨Hanna Coulder¨ and ¨The Bravados¨ . Woody Strode at one of his habitual Indian roles as ¨Winterhawk¨ , ¨Loaded gun¨ , ¨The Gatlin gun¨ ,¨Keoma¨ , ¨Once upon a time.¨ . Julian Mateos , a famed Spanish actor , player in US Western as well as Spaghetti such as ¨Hellbenders¨ , ¨Four rode out¨ , ¨Catlow¨ , ¨Return of seven magnificent¨ . Honor Blackman , pairing with Sean Connery in ¨Goldfinger¨ , here also makes love in a straw loft , this time with Stephen Boyd . Ernie Sykes playing a servant like in ¨The others¨ and Don Red Barry from Republic Pictures serial : ¨Adventures of Red Ryder¨.

Lively and spectacular musical score by Robert Farnon . Colorful cinematography by Ted Moore , he's the cameraman of most classic period in James Bond series : ¨Diamonds are forever¨ , ¨Goldfinger¨ , ¨From Russia with love¨. The motion picture was regularly directed by Edward Dmytryck who also made other Westerns as ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨ Warlock¨ , ¨Broken Lance¨, ¨Raintree County¨ . For somebody is a monumental bore but I think is a fairly watchable European Western , nothing more . Succeeds only in waste a lot of talented actors , onlyf or Brigitte Bardot and Sean Connery fans .

Brigitte Bardot went on to Hollywood but did not fare any better... 'Shalako,' a British-produced Western directed by Edward Dmytryk, teamed her with Sean Connery and Stephen Boyd (her partner in 'The Night Heaven Fell') in a smoldering relationship charged with tension and passion...

The idea is cute and unbelievable: A party of European aristocrats are on a hunting safari in New Mexico in the 1880's... They are traveling with full equipage including butlers, maids, fine linens and vintage wines...

When their safari is led upon an Apache reservation, the Indians become annoyed, and Countess Irina Lazaar (Brigitte Bardot) is attacked by a savage Apache... Shalako (Sean Connery), a scout for the U.S. Army, bravely attempts to save her and leads the aristocrats away from imminent annihilation... With the Indians determined to attack, each member of the hunting party faces the greatest peril of their lives...

Edward Dmytryk seems to have attempted to recapture the freshness and essence of the 'B.B.' that Roger Vadim had helped to shape... But the re-creation escapes him, despite the careful choice of Louis L'Amour's novel and the casting of international stars as Jack Hawkins ('Lawrence of Arabia'), Peter Van Eyck ('The Longest Day'), Honor Blackman ('Goldfinger'), Woody Strode ('Spartacus'), and Valerie French ('Jubal').

The film never becomes exciting despite incidental brutalities...

I was able to watch Sean Connery & Bridget Bardot in a movie from a Louis Lamour western novel "Shalako" (1968).

Shalako Carlin (Connery), meets Countess Irina Lazaar (Bardot) as he is rescuing her from an Indian attack. She is part of a European hunting part that has strayed on to the Apache reservation. As they try to return to her hunting party, they are stopped by Apache's with death in their eyes. In order to save the group Shakalo promises Chief Chato (Woody Strode) they'll be off the reservation by morning. The Countess also gives her word.

When they arrive at the camp Baron Frederick Von Hallstatt (Peter Van Eyck) hears their story & gets a good laugh (as does the rest of the party). Why should they do what a bunch of savages want them to do? Bosky Fulton (Stephen Boyd), their head scout, refuses to turn the party around. The rest are in agreement. Of course the Apaches won't be. Shakalo sets up a safe area for them to hide & goes for help.

Morning comes & charming-as-a-rattlesnake Fulton & his men take off with the water, supplies, most of the guns & ammo, plus money & jewelry. He also takes off with one of the 'ladies'. On their way out the scoundrels run off the horses. (One would think the outlaws wanted to prove dead men...& women...tell no tales.)

Shakalo is forced to return to find this group of mostly arrogant fools in quite the predicament. How are they going to get out? Will this diverse group be able to co-operate & combine their knowledge & talents to escape their enemies? That's a really good question!

The rest of the cast includes:

Jack Hawkins as Sir Charles Daggett, Honor Blackman as Lady Julia Daggett, Alexander Knox as Sen. Henry Clarke, Valerie French as Elena Clarke.

It's not a class 'A' western but it's not terrible. The song over the opening & ending credits is just plain awful but the scenery is beautiful. I'd give it *** out of 5 for the scenery alone.

The idea behind Shalako is not as preposterous as it sounds. Lots of European nobles came here for hunting parties during the American wild west period. As was pointed out in the beginning of Shalako among others was the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia where Buffalo Bill served as a guide to his party.

That being said I'm sure none of them were as dense as Peter Van Eyck who when warned of Indian danger, refuse to leave an area. Quite frankly those Indians should have wiped those blockheads out and would have if not for the efforts of intrepid Indian scout Shalako, played by Sean Connery in a cowboy suit.

Connery looks real nice, but if he wanted to play a western a better script would have done for him. Sean knows this thing is a turkey, but if you had the opportunity to work with Brigette Bardot, would you pass it up.

Stephen Boyd is the best one here as the turncoat guide of the Europeans. Boyd was a good looking man with a trace of arrogance in his screen persona that made him right for a part like Messala in Ben-Hur, but wrong for Livius in The Fall of the Roman Empire. He's back in his proper element.

And I can't give the ending away, but folks take my word for it, it is ridiculous.

Still if you want to see some unfamiliar faces for westerns, this is a good movie to see.