The Deadly Trackers (1973)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Barry Shear

Writers:

Samuel Fuller (story)
Lukas Heller (writer)

Release Date:

21 December 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Drama

Tagline:

The sheriff fought for peace. Now he would kill for vengeance.

Plot:

Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Harris) is a pacifist. Frank Brand (Taylor) is the leader of a band of killers...

Plot Keywords:

Dead Child | Revenge | Bank Robbery | Hat | Knife

Cast

Richard Harris	...	Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick
Rod Taylor	...	Frank Brand
Al Lettieri	...	Gutierrez, Mexican Policeman
Neville Brand	...	Choo Choo
William Smith	...	Schoolboy
Paul Benjamin	...	Jacob
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Herrero
Isela Vega	...	Maria
Kelly Jean Peters	...	Katharine Kilpatrick
William Bryant	...	Deputy Bill
Sean Marshall	...	Kevin Kilpatrick
Read Morgan	...	Deputy Bob
Joan Swift	...	Teacher
Ray Moyer	...	Priest
Armando Acosta	...	Mole

Also Known As:

Riata (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

110 min | West Germany:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Cine Films Inc.

Trivia:

Samuel Fuller was the original director, but after repeated clashes with star Richard Harris, he was fired and replaced by Barry Shear.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jacob is fleecing Choo-Choo at cards, he plays with an Ace of Clubs, an Ace of Diamonds, and a Queen. When Choo-Choo picks a card, it is the Ace of Spades, and the Spade on the card is much larger than the other symbols.

A better than average Western

This is one of those films that lovers of the Western genre ought to rent on video. They will discover a treasure of the past that is well worth a watch. Like most Westerns, this film is set in the 1870s American southwest. The story of vengence is common in Western films, and this particular tale is extremely brutal. The post civil war Southwest was a violent place full of vigilantism and crime. Men of the West with morals and a sense of social responsibility always served as easy prey for bushwackers.

The Deadly Trackers is focused on two men who share an over-developed sense of justice. They are both sheriffs, and they both embraced the importance of the law. One of the sheriffs loses his family, however, and his ideals die with them. The best part of this film is the relationship that builds between the two sheriffs as they hunt a small band of bushwackers. Richard Harris's character is the embittered sheriff bent on vengence. His character sinks into being as cruel and violent as the men he hunts. The Mexican sheriff, who lacks personal loss, maintains an ideal sense of keeping law and order. In the end, Harris's character regains his values for upholding the law only to see justice slip out of his grasp. The Mexican sheriff remains constant in his efforts to enforce the law only to provide for a lack of justice. The result is a dark tale about the nature of mankind on the frontier.