Macho Callahan

source: Macho Callahan

source: Macho Callahan

This is a story of someone who struggles with his behavior. Haven't seen it in a while but i REMEMBER now! The dude lives a misunderstood situation throughout and does a bunch of ignorent stuff to people. Mostly just points a shotgun at people and doesnt talk. It actually turned into a bit of a half loaded romance. Face off with the 2 snakes on either side of him was probably the best part. Guy did the splits and each snake took a boot to the face.

***SPOILERS**** Somewhat mildly interesting western with a grizzly and bearded looking David Janssen as Diego "Macho" Callahan who's life has been royally screwed up since he joined the Union Army at the urging of enlistment agent Duffy, Lee J. Cobb. It was Duffy who promised Callahan it would pay for his collage education-Macho wants to be a CPA-when he fulfills his obligation to stay in it until the Civil War is finally over. Callahan was instead caught by the rebel forces where he finally ended up breaking out of the confederate POW camp in Texas that he's a prisoner in. While on the lamb Callahan gets involved in a shoot-out with one armed confederate officer Maj. David Mountford, David Carradine, over a cheap bottle of .champagne thus killing him. It's now the late David's wife Alexandra, Jean Seaburg, who's determined to get her husband's killer whacked with a $1,000.00 bonus to anyone who can finish Callahan off. This as were soon to find out isn't as easy as it looks. Callahan for his part want's nothing of the trouble that he gets himself into in the movie but it follows him wherever he goes and keeps sticking him in his behind. It's finally at a Texas town saloon that Calallhan runs into Alexandera who incites the drunken patrons lead by hot blooded Yancy, Bo Hopkins, to work him over only for Callahan to escape during the carnage and take off into the wild with his Mexican friend Juan, Pedro Armendanz Jr. It's there where Callahan ends up saving Alexander's-who got herself lost- life from a wild and ferocious mama bear who's cub the kind loving and feeling Macho Callahan adopted as his pet. The thanks the Callahan gets for saving Alexabndra from being a meal for the 400 pound she bear is her attempting to murder him where in return Callahan ends up busting her jaw and cracking her skull and then before he's finished raping her. ****SPOILERS**** Alexandra who at first wanted nothing but to kill Callahan, for him killing her husband David, falls madly in love with him which creates a problem for her boyfriend back in town the bar owner Harry Wheeler, James Booth,who has rustled up a 15 man posse or lynch mob to track Callahan down and, after giving him a fair trial, hang him. This despite Alexandra who started the ball rolling by inciting the mob on him now ends up changing her mind about doing Callahan in! Trapped and surrounded Callahan sees the writing on the wall and faces the fate that's waiting for him knowing full well that death can't be any worse then what life or the movie he's staring in has in store for him!

Typical boy meets girl, boy kills girl's husband, girl upset, boy rapes girl, girl falls in love, Romeo and Juliet story. Well, I guess some women are like that, but it came across as somewhat peculiar. Lots of grit! No woke here! Fairly gruesome and candid shooting. Great acting performances all around, so all is not lost. Eventually the story does settle, and there are possibly some deeper points about anger, forgiveness and redemption that were maybe intended (or perhaps I'm reading between the lines). Pity that Carradine wasn't cast as Macho. I'm also not sure why the civil war is entirely relevant to the story, except for the wholesale slaughter of Yanks and Rebs at tthe beginning that will entertain/anger/sadden all.

Throw some "b" movie actors into a not fully developed revenge plot, and what you get is "Macho Callahan". This filmed in Mexico western has David Janssen, Jean Seberg, Lee J. Cobb, David Carradine, and Bo Hopkins trying their best to imitate the fast dying genre known as "spaghetti westerns". It certainly has the feel of an Italian "oater", with little character development, choppy editing, and revenge as a motive. The difference here is that the script starts out good in a revolting Confederate prison that Janssen escapes from, but then after Jean Seberg puts her bounty on Janssen for killing her husband, things get talky, and the film loses steam minute by minute. Don't expect much more than a slightly above average "spaghetti" type western, and it's watchable, but just barely. Interestingly the VHS box has the running time listed at 2 hours, 39 minutes. Thankfully this is incorrect, because 99 minutes was more than enough of "Macho Callahan" - MERK

This is an unrelentingly grim movie set in 1864 in lawless Texas and New Mexico. It's a movie about vengeance. There's no greater meaning. Macho Callahan wants to hunt down and kill the guy who tricked him into enlisting in the Confederate army, which led to him being thrown in Camp Hooks Military Prison for desertion because he wouldn't go to war. Alexandra Mountford wants to hunt down and kill Macho for killing her husband over a bottle of champagne. I like David Janssen in westerns. He's great with horses and he looks tough. It's a strong, steady performance. The word that comes to mind when I think back to his portrayal of the aptly named character Macho is unflinching. It describes his demeanor as he stares down the barrel of a gun at the beginning of the movie. It describes his interaction with David Carradine's character. It describes how he looks at Lee J. Cobb's character after they pitch a game of horseshoes. And it's how he looks when Bo Hopkins' character calls him out for insulting a lady. But David Janssen was able to imbue his character with a lot of sympathy, even though that character exhibited a lot of violence. The actor I really enjoyed watching was Pedro Armendariz Jr. though. He plays Macho's friend Juan, the nicest person in the entire movie. And with a friend like Juan, it helps to define Macho as a stand-up guy. We don't get a lot from the sparse dialogue aside from Juan suggesting to Alexandra that she should use her heart in order to understand people. So it's this friendship (and his care for a bear cub) that gives us insight into Macho's character. Jean Seberg as Alexandra is lovely, has a very direct gaze but could have been a little more expressive. I liked her very much although she's the one that sets in motion the bounty hunters. Diane Ladd has a tiny role and she gets to chew the scenery a bit in her one scene; it's one of the few times we get a break during this somber and dramatic movie. The prison camp scenes are harrowing though well done. The moment when Macho actually breaks out through the gates is great. The fight scene when Alexandra tries to kill Macho with a poker and he fights back is quite brutal and tough to watch. It's a dark, tragic tale which I don't want to see again any time soon, even though I liked it. It's just too sad.

In the original novel by Richard Carr and later in the movie directed by Bernard L. Kowaski, viewing audiences get to meet Diego Callahan played by David Janssen. He is a solid man not easily taken as a fool. However, A shifty eyed Government agent (Lee J. Cobb) tricks Callahan into signing an enlistment form to join the Confederate Army. later, Callahan finds himself in solitary punishment box for attempting to escape. Still, much later he manages to escape to hunt down the agent. In the interim, he crosses a Confederate Office (David Carradine) over a bottle of Champane, killing him in the process. The wife (Jean Seberg) of the dead man posts a large reward to anyone who will hunt down a kill Callahan. On the run, the hunted man and his Mexican friend (Pedro Armendariz Jr.) traveling to Mexico find themselves pursued by friends of the wife, reward seekers and gun packing lawmen. All in all, an interesting picture for Janssen, despite it being a bit dark. Nevertheless, I would recommend it as a milestone for him and those who join him in the cast, which include, James Booth, Bo Hopkins and Richard Anderson. ****

Weird is the word for this oddball western directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. David Janssen is recently released from a federal penitentiary seeking revenge on the scoundrel who railroaded him. While looking for Lee J. Cobb, he shoots one armed army vet David Carradine (over a bottle of champagne). Carradine's wife (Jean Seberg) pursues Janssen across Texas and New Mexico all the while upping the reward money. After a very unlikely case of Stockholm syndrome, Seberg comes to regret putting a bounty on Janssen's head. This is a strange movie with so-so acting (Janssen is not suited for the wild west) and the direction by Kowalski is all of the place; there's no pacing, a lot of bad editing and characters disappear without a trace (just WHAT did happen to Cobb?) The supporting cast is peppered with the likes of James Booth, Bo Hopkins, Hugo Stiglitz and, at least briefly, Diane Ladd as a good time girl.

Got the video and watched it and realized I'd seen it before but it was a long time ago--or at least the beginning of it. Anyway, I was impressed with watching it the second time. I thought David Janssen was excellent and made a really convincing cowboy/gunfighter/escaped POW from a Confederate prison. The plot was a good one. After escaping, he goes after the man who got him sent to prison in a round about way and then lynches the hombre (Lee J. Cobb) from a pole in town during the night. Jean Seberg, who does an excellent job also of the bereaved wife whose husband has been killed by Janssen, is after Janssen and has posted a bounty for him. She finally meets up with him, tries to kill him, and gets raped for her effort. But the ending will surprise you. PS--I also loved the small bear. He was cute and if you don't like the movie for any other reason, you have got to love that bear...LOL Hope you enjoy Macho Callahan as much as I did.