The Scalphunters (1968)
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75% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(528 ratings)
For his third feature outing, director Sydney Pollack helmed this comedic western starring (Burt Lancaster) as fur trapper Joe Bass. While heading for the trading post for his pay after a successful hunting season, Bass runs into a band of Kiowa Indians, who offer to trade the educated slave Joseph… More For his third feature outing, director Sydney Pollack helmed this comedic western starring (Burt Lancaster) as fur trapper Joe Bass. While heading for the trading post for his pay after a successful hunting season, Bass runs into a band of Kiowa Indians, who offer to trade the educated slave Joseph (Ozzie Davis) for Bass's furs. Severely outnumbered, the uneducated Bass reluctantly agrees to the swap at gunpoint. Bass and Joseph then follow the Indians in hopes of retrieving the furs. Along the way, the Indians meet up with Jim Howie (Telly Savalas), who not only steals the furs from the Indians, but Joseph from Bass. From there, Jim and his mistress Kate (Shelley Winters) head for Mexico, a move that is fine with Joseph because slavery is outlawed there. But they may not make it south of the border, as the Indians have regrouped and are on their trail with plans to take back the furs. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Directed By
- Sydney Pollack
- Genres
- Western, Action & Adventure, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 2, 1968 Wide
- On DVD
- May 17, 2005
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Lancaster and Davis work particularly well together, ditto Savalas and Winters. There are talky periods of slow pace, but they are terminated before undue damage has been done.
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, Time Out
An amiable enough liberal comedy Western, with colour-coded cultural conflict worked through an ironic circular plot.
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Renata Adler, New York Times
While the individual incidents are familiar, they are played with gusto by Lancaster and Davis.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Some movies are masterpieces, and most movies are not, and sometimes you get a movie that can best be described as 'interesting.' By that I mean it falls short of excellence but nevertheless has something that makes it worth seeing.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A comical western with more than a hint of social satire.
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Cast
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Burt Lancaster
as Joe Bass
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Shelley Winters
as Kate
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Telly Savalas
as Jim Howie
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Ossie Davis
as Joseph
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Armando Silvestre
as Two Crows
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Dabney Coleman
as Jed
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Dan Vadis
as Yuma
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Jack Williams
as Scalphunter
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John Epper
as Scalphunter
- Gregorio Acosta
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Marco Antonio Arzate
as Scalphunter
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Nick Cravat
as Ramon
- José Martinez
- Raul Martinez
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Paul Picerni
as Frank
- Agapito Roidan
- Chuck Robertson
