The White Buffalo (1977)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Richard Sale (novel)
Richard Sale (screenplay)

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Two legendary enemies unite to fight the charging white beast!!

Plot:

In this strange western version of JAWS, Wild Bill Hickok hunts a white buffalo he has seen in a dream...

Plot Keywords:

Buffalo | Stagecoach | Sleeping Car | Animal Attack | Train

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Wild Bill Hickok (James Otis)
Jack Warden	...	Charlie Zane
Will Sampson	...	Crazy Horse / Worm
Clint Walker	...	Whistling Jack Kileen
Slim Pickens	...	Abel Pickney (stage driver)
Stuart Whitman	...	Winifred Coxy
Kim Novak	...	Mrs. Poker Jenny Schermerhorn
John Carradine	...	Amos Briggs (undertaker)
Shay Duffin	...	Tim Brady (bartender)
Cara Williams	...	Cassie Ollinger
Douglas Fowley	...	Amos Bixby (train conductor / narrator) (as Douglas V. Fowley)
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Pete Holt (sheriff, Cheyenne, Wyoming) (as Cliff Pellow)
Ed Lauter	...	Tom Custer
Richard Gilliland	...	Cpl. Kileen
Martin Kove	...	Jack McCall

Also Known As:

Hunt to Kill (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: The support apparatus for the mechanical buffalo is clearly visible during some charging scenes.

Quotes:

[after their stagecoach is attacked, Hickok and Pickney check for casualties]
Wild Bill Hickok: This lady's walkin' the streets of glory.
Abel Pinkney: God damn! Blue Whistler musta caught her right in the third eye.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Not a Love Story: A Film About Pornography (1981)

Impressive touching performances

I agree with other critics here about the very silly buffalo effects, which are poor, even for 1977 - perhaps they'd have done better in these days of CGI. I also agree that there are some great location scenes, although these are balanced by some very creaky 'indoor-outdoor' shots, such as those while Crazy Horse is stalking the stagecoach and in the final buffalo scene. And there are great supporting performances from Hollywood troopers Jack Warden, Kim Novak, Clint Walker, Stuart Whitman, John Carradine and Slim Pickens. But that's not what does it for me.

I went to see this film in 1977 because I'd seen newcomer Will Sampson in 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' a year or two earlier. For me what makes this film is the wonderful rapport between the virtually unknown Sampson as Crazy Horse and studio veteran Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok. Their scenes together are impressive and sensitive and certainly are a very good reason to forgive the film's other flaws. While appearing in some very dodgy pictures such as 'Orca' and 'Poltergeist II', Creek Indian Sampson also gave great performances in movies such as 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' before his tragic death in 1987. His performance in 'The White Buffalo' sees him on top form as a true thesp and stands tall beside that of 'Cuckoo's Nest'.