The Deadly Trackers

source: The Deadly Trackers

The Deadly Trackers

Considering what a mess this film was...Sam Fuller fired as writer/director, along with all the co stars, by star Richard Harris who then hires friend/drinking companion Rod Taylor to be his co star and re-write Fuller...I suppose we should be thankful that there are any points of interest remaining. Actually there are several, most notably making one of the bad guys an African American, certainly a most un PC move for a 70s, non Blaxploitation pic. Also there is the usual fine acting of Neville Brand as a scumbag with the ability to be shocked by the greater evil of his boss, and finally Al Lettieri, the symbol of late 60s/early 70s villainy, playing an upholder of the law and doing a convincing job of it. But mostly, this extremely violent film, shot in Mexico, with Isela Vega, is Peckinpah wannabe stuff. Give it a C. PS...After "Lawrence Of Arabia" they shoulda banned all quicksand death scenes.

It's Santa Rosa, Texas. Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Richard Harris) is an Irishman who has never shot anyone. Frank Brand (Rod Taylor) leads a gang to rob a bank. It goes wrong and the Sheriff's family is killed. He alone pursues them in vengeance all the way into Mexico. Mexican Policeman Gutierrez (Al Lettieri) demands that he follows the law. This is a simple western until the story gets into the Mexican town. I wouldn't mind staying in that town. There is an interesting dynamic with the villagers. Brand should be speaking Spanish with the villagers. I get the problem with subtitles back in the day. I wanted the village leader to have more scenes. This movie is definitely flawed but there are some interesting elements within it.

Interesting western revenge tale that follows Richard Harris into Mexico in pursuit of Rod Taylor and his gang who murdered Harris's wife and boy. There are ethical questions at play here, as Sheriff Harris is only interested in killing the four villains, with no thought of the justice system. Meanwhile he is being dogged by a Mexican Sheriff, Al Lettieri, seeking justice according to the law. The film is nicely photographed, however the run time of 110 minutes seems excessive for such a simplified plot. The acting benefits from an interesting cast that includes Neville Brand and William Smith. The movie is a bit uneven and may have included a smidge too many problems for the hero, including temporary blindness. Nevertheless, "The Deadly Trackers" is a superior western and is recommended. - MERK

As the role he will have several years later in ORCA THE KILLER WHALE, where his character hesitates between good and evil, provoking repulsion and empathy from the audiences, here, it is a bit the same. The sheriff seeking revenge against those who killed his family, this scheme had already been told many times before, unless here there is nothing really heroic; you would never watch such a movie in the forties and fifties, nor the eighties, nineties or two thousands. Never. Here, you may find some "good feelings" for the nasty character played by a surprising Rod Taylor, because of the link between him and his child. Then Harris can be seen not as the good one, see what I mean? And also what a surprise to see Al Lettieri as a sympathetic sheriff, probably his only good guy role in his whole career. Typical of the early seventies. For die hard moviegoers for this period.

"The Deadly Trackers" has a terrific cast. Put them in any other western and it would be great. For some reason this movie isn't so good. The most annoying thing in the movie, hands down, is Neville Brand's metal hand. It's just so stupid that it's wildly distracting. That's not the only problem with "The Deadly Trackers". This movie suffers from a cheapness to the production. It looks like a low budget spaghetti western. That may have been the type of western that they were trying to make but it just doesn't work. What a shame. "The Deadly Trackers" could have been great. (Just for the record, I enjoyed this movie tonight more than I did the last time I saw it. I'll give it another go in a few months. See what happens.)