The Appaloosa (1966)

Man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

James Bridges (screenplay), Roland Kibbee (screenplay)

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer, John Saxon

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marlon Brando	...	Matt
Anjanette Comer	...	Trini
John Saxon	...	Chuy
Emilio Fernández	...	Lazaro (as Emilio Fernandez)
Alex Montoya	...	Squint Eye
Miriam Colon	...	Ana
Rafael Campos	...	Paco
Frank Silvera	...	Ramos
Larry D. Mann	...	Priest

Storyline

Matt Fletcher, a Mexican-American buffalo hunter is constantly harassed and humiliated by bandit general Chuy Medina. When the bandit steals his horse - the appaloosa of the title - he sets out to even scores; at the climax, single-handedly, he takes on the whole gang.

---

Plot Keywords:

bandit | horse | appaloosa | bar shootout | love interest | 

---

Taglines:

Southwest to Sonora lies the edge of violence!

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

October 1966 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Appaloosa

Filming Locations:

Wrightwood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to co-star John Saxon, Marlon Brando's relationship with director Sidney J. Furie got to the point where Brando, when getting ready to do a close-up, would be reading a book. He would only lower the book when Furie yelled "Action." When he yelled "Cut," Brando would raise the book again. According to Peter Manso's book on Brando, however, Brando and Furie met years later. Brando was quoted to have said, "I thought you were a no-good double-crosser, and I didn't know if I could trust you, but I saw the film and you have the great sense of the best visual directors. Let's do another movie together." Furie, according to the book, replied, "Never!" Furie, for his part, claims that they only came to blows once on the entire shoot of The Appaloosa (1966).

---

Goofs

The Appaloosa which portrays the title character was actually a registered Appaloosa stallion named Cojo Rojo. He was born in 1960 and just prior to being used for the film he was racing on the California tracks. He sired several foals, including several race champions. During filming a few other similarly marked horses were used as stunt horses, but the majority of work was done by Cojo Rojo.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Priest: Madam.
[enters confessional booth]
Matt Fletcher: I'm having a little trouble getting started, Father.
Priest: You are in the House of God now, my son. Speak from your heart.
Matt Fletcher: Well, I've done a lot of killin'. I've killed a lot of men and sinned a lot of women. But the men I killed needed killin' and the women wanted sinnin', and well, I never was one much to argue.

---

Connections

Referenced in Sidney J. Furie: Fire Up the Carousel! (2018)

User Reviews

Cracking Good Brando

"The Appaloosa" is a superior low-key western with a great performance by Marlon Brando and very good ones by John Saxon and Anjanette Comer. Brando plays a white man raised by Mexicans who returns from the Civil War tired of killing and ready to build a ranch around one Appaloosa stallion. Brando has the misfortune of becoming a tool for Comer to escape the clutches of Saxon. Saxon retaliates by stealing Brando's stallion, and Brando follows Saxon into Mexico to reclaim it. Director Sidney J. Furie ("The Ipcress File," "Iron Eagle") extensively uses extreme close-ups of faces, in the same manner as Sergio Leone, but not for the same purpose. Furie uses these close-ups to establish intimacy between the characters and the audience. This works beautifully in "The Appaloosa," particularly so since the story is so unremarkable and low-key and Brando's character is by no means a superman. Most of the violence is of the "G" rated variety, with the notable exception of a hand-wrestling contest played with the addition of scorpions.

While the ending of "The Appaloosa" is as abrupt and unremarkable as everything that precedes, intimate moments in the movie linger long after. As examples:

o Brando's confessional o The little girl telling Brando he smells like a goat o The goat herder telling Brando about Saxon's gunmen killing his pet goat o Comer telling Brando her fate if he doesn't help her escape Saxon o The hand-wrestling contest

There are many more unremarkable but somehow memorable moments in the sublime "Appaloosa." It is too insignificant to be great, but it most certainly very good. I give "The Appaloosa" an "8".