The Hunting Party (1971)

Director:

Don Medford

Writers:

Gilbert Ralston (story) and
Lou Morheim (story) ...

Release Date:

30 September 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Western | Action

Tagline:

They Hunted The Biggest Game Of All - Man And Woman!

Plot:

The rich and ruthless rancher Brandt Ruger keeps his beautiful young wife Melissa like a part of his property...

Plot Keywords:

Gun | Love | Outlaw | Rape | Revenge

Cast

Oliver Reed	...	Frank Calder
Gene Hackman	...	Brandt Ruger
Candice Bergen	...	Melissa Ruger
Simon Oakland	...	Matthew Gunn
Ronald Howard	...	Watt Nelson
L.Q. Jones	...	Hog Warren
Mitch Ryan	...	Doc Harrison (as Mitchell Ryan)
William Watson	...	Jim Loring
G.D. Spradlin	...	Sam Bayard
Rayford Barnes	...	Crimp
Bernard Kay	...	Buford King
Richard Adams	...	Owney Clark
Dean Selmier	...	Collins
Sarah Atkinson	...	Redhead
Francesca Tu	...	Chinese Girl

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:R | West Germany:18 (nf) | Germany:18 (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:X (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Spain

Company:

Brighton Pictures

Goofs:

Factual errors: Gene Hackman's rifle (the caliber of which was unclear) is sufficiently powerful to kill from several hundred yards, yet he presses his eye against the scope eyepiece with no consequences. Any rifle that powerful has a significant kick, one that would have certainly damaged both his eye and the surrounding area.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Honkers (1972)

Strangely compelling, despite serious flaws

I managed to get an uncut version of this rare western, and I thought it was very engaging. Now, I will freely admit that the screenplay is full of holes (like: How does the party know what Oliver Reed's character looks like? Why doesn't Hackman kill Reed when he has the chance? Why won't Reed admit defeat?) which definitely prevent this from becoming the epic, sweeping western it is obviously trying to be. (As well, most of the main characters are written poorly.)

Yet at the same time, I was immediately hooked and engaged until the end credits started. Though the movie has all of those above faults (and more), there is some really good stuff here. The locations... photography...production values... are all top-notch. And whoa, all of that violence! The bloddy shootouts and sniper attacks give Sam Peckinpah a real run for his money. People who don't like westerns probably won't like this movie, but western fans like myself will likely embrace it, flaws and all