Against a Crooked Sky (1975) User Reviews

Simple and plain Western with breathtaking outdoors filmed in naturals parks

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 22 November 2007]

When his sister is kidnapped , a young boy (Petersen) set out in pursuit Indians , leaving his parents (Clint Ritchie, Fannon) . He join forces with an alcoholic gold prospector (Richard Boone) who saves him of drowning and helps him to rescue the young girl . They are driven by an elderly Indian (Henry Wilconson) toward a location where lives a strange tribe . He must risk his own life by passing the proof of crooked sky and to avoid his sister to be killed from an arrow archer .

The film is a crossover from the ¨Searchers¨ (John Ford) , also with a pair looking for abducted daughter , and ¨MacKenna's gold¨ (J.L.Thompson) with fantastic inspiration in the rare Indians and the spectacular outdoors . Richard Boone as a drunk trapper is magnificent , he's usual in Western genre and John Wayne films (The Alamo, Big Jake, Shootist). The veteran Henry Wilconson (Last of Mohicans , Crusades, Cleopatra) is also excellent . The film gets sensational landscapes shot in Colorado River and Arches National Park , Moab, Utah . The motion picture was well directed by Earl Bellamy . He was a good professional who served in the US Navy's photographic unit in the WWII and directed more than 1600 episodes of television and catastrophe films such as : Fire! and Flood! and a sequel titled Walking tall II . Rating : acceptable and entertaining .

A Warrior's Test

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 6 January 2013]

Against A Crooked Sky tells the story of a young boy's efforts to save his sister who has been kidnapped by a mysterious Indian tribe that no one seems to have heard of. From the look of them they seem to be surviving Aztecs although the film never specifically says so.

Young Stewart Petersen sees his sister Jewel Branch kidnapped by this group of Indians who in the intervening years since Cortes have learned to ride horses. Although his parents certainly disapprove because they don't want to lose their surviving child either, Petersen goes on a mission to rescue Branch. Along the way he picks up a cantankerous old trapper who likes to pop a jug cork every now and then played by Richard Boone. Of course Boone just steals the film.

Boone and Petersen also pick up Henry Wilcoxon an old Indian who was living with the Cheyenne and who is known as Cut Tongue because his was cut out lest he reveal secrets of the lost tribe of which he was one. He guides them to their location where Petersen has to pass a warrior ritual to save his sister's life though it may cost him his own.

Against A Crooked Sky is a nice family film, small and unpretentious but filled with good values. The location shooting in Arizona and Utah is really superb. Petersen is an earnest and winning young performer and Boone just chews the scenery to beat the band, but that's his kind of character.

The film holds up well and I recommend it for family audiences.

Richard Boone was Outstanding

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 2 September 2008]

This is a cute story about a pioneer family who have a girl and a boy and the girl is a few years older than her brother. The girl is religious and reads a scripture to her brother about a person giving his own life for a friend is the greatest show of love, this bit of advice stays with this young man. One day the girl encounters a different tribe of Indians who wore a gold head piece around his head and they kidnapped the young girl. The father goes out hunting for his daughter and then the son decides to put his life on the line for his sister and he devotes himself to finding her. There are many twists and turns to this film and Richard Boone plays the role as a drunken prospector and scout who knows all the Indians and speaks their many languages. This is a very entertaining film with many great film locations in the West. Enjoy.

I wish I had a brother like that

[Carrigon · 28 August 1999]

This was a great movie. Set in the old west, a teenage girl gets kidnapped by indians from a mysterious tribe. Her brother stops at nothing to find her and bring her home. Once he does find her, he must pass a horrifying test called "crooked sky". This movie has a lot going on in it. It's about love and friendship. It's really a great movie and well worth watching.

A Sentimental Tale of Family Devotion

[Pooua · 5/10 · 2 May 2005]

I watched this movie on TV so many years ago that I cannot now be certain of all the details, such as how many times I have seen it. I still remember the theme song (that's how I found the movie, again, on IMDb).

There is nothing profound in this movie, but it is a respectable (if slightly cheesy) story about family devotion as a boy transforms into a young man. An Indian (sorry, Native American), sees the boy's sister rising from her bath in a creek, and kidnaps her. That's about as much nudity as this movie contains (we only get obscure views), which is the reason that I mention it specifically. The boy spends most of the rest of the movie trying to rescue his sister, aided only by a crotchety, old drunk, a task that overwhelms both of them. Someone must die, and the brother is determined to rescue his sister, even at the cost of his own life.

A Good Movie for the Middle School Kids - or anyone, really

[rooster_davis · 7/10 · 11 May 2009]

This movie has a plot just serious enough to keep the 4th - 8th graders hooked, and it's neither too violent for younger kids nor too boring for older ones. When the story begins, a brother and sister who live in the wilderness are discussing their mother's going to help another family where someone has a serious disease. She is risking her own health to help out the other family. The son says he wouldn't risk his life to save someone else's; his sister says 'I'd risk mine to save yours.' In a nutshell the sister gets carried away by Indians or some sort of tribe of savages, and her brother goes off in search of her. Along the way he meets Richard Boone who eventually helps him to find his sister. As he reaches her, the tribe of savages is about to kill her for a sacrifice. Will he save her? Don't be too positive; I'll let you watch it and find out for yourself.

The boy learns that contrary to what he said, he really would risk his own life to save that of someone else. I like the fact that this movie has a moral to it, the kind of positive thing to which youngsters ought to be exposed as they grow up. Yes, there's some violence, there's some sadness, but it's of the level that kids can take seriously yet it won't give them nightmares or make them sick. I've seen many a movie not as worthwhile as this one. No, it's not a Western classic, but it's still a good story and an introduction to the genre; after all, this country had a lot of important history in the last half of the 1800's and just seeing some approximations of that era is in itself a bit of a history lesson.

"Well now, that's a freak of nature to behold."

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 5 November 2005]

A young Sam Sutter (Stewart Petersen) sets out to rescue his older sister, captured by a trio of Indian braves at the Sutter homestead while they were the only two there. Apparently, Sam is motivated by an earlier conversation with Charlotte (Jewel Blanch), who with Bible firmly in hand, declared that she would be willing to give her own life for a member of her family if that be her fate.

Sam's mission almost ends before it begins, if not for the life saving action of the Russian, an old coot of an alcoholic prospector, who's life affirming motto seems to be "nothin' prettier than sweet yeller gold". The Russian is enthusiastically portrayed by the old paladin himself, Richard Boone, somewhat heavier and a lot more grizzled than his earlier TV Western character. The Russian's crusty mettle is challenged time and time again on the trail, with his trusty canine friend B'arkiller at his side.

The key to Charlotte's location is learned by befriending a feeble old Indian discovered at a Cheyenne camp known by the Russian. Cut Tongue (Henry Wilcoxon) is at a disadvantage however, as his name implies; he lost his tongue when captured by the Cheyenne and has been their slave ever since. His sign language and drawings in the dirt lead the Russian and Sam to the unnamed tribe that took Charlotte away.

It's a wary squaw named Ashkea (Brenda Venus) that reunites Sam with Charlotte at the Indian camp. Seeing the love between brother and sister, Ashkea is moved to tears, unable to comprehend the devotion the two have for each other. Ashkea figures in the film's surprise ending, though observant viewers will probably see it coming well before it's revelation at the very end.

Filmed in Deluxe Color, the movie was heavy on the blues and greens, and along with some washed out scenes the movie had it's distractions. As slowly as the first half moved, the latter part of the film had a forced pace that seemed off balance, especially when it came to young Sam's challenge. Originally intended to be a race against warrior Temkai, it turned out to be a race against time, with a questionable outcome the result.

As a nice touch, the movie's title song is performed by Jewel Blanch, heard once midstream, and then again at the final curtain. It's not enough though to raise the film much above average, though as others have noted, it's sentimental treatment of family love and loyalty is a rarity by today's standards.

A surprisingly engaging story on a very low budget

[ccmiller1492 · 6/10 · 8 April 2002]

A surprisingly engaging story on a very low budget works well for the most part. However, the striking presence of Geoffrey Land as the mysterious Indian kipnapper is largely wasted. The movie would have profitted a great deal by dwelling more on the the girl victim and Land's enigmatic character before the obligatory denoument.

Just OK

[arfdawg-1 · 5/10 · 26 April 2014]

The eldest daughter of a pioneer family is kidnapped by a mysterious Indian tribe and the eldest son pursues.

In order to win back his sister's freedom, he must sacrifice his own life by passing the test of "Crooked Sky" and shield his sister from an executioner's arrow.

Along the way, he recruits a broken down, drunk prospector to help him track down the unknown tribe and rescue his sister.

Starts out awfully pretentious.

The print I saw on Roku was blurry.

The story could never be told today in this political correct world.

How low we have sunk in 30 years.

Despite obvious low-budget this movie shows what true love & faith is about...

[dwpollar · 7/10 · 12 March 2001]

1st watched 10/7/2000 - (Dir-Earl Bellamy): Despite obvious low-budget and G-rating(with very intense themes) this movie shows what true love & faith is about and keeps you interested til the end. Portrays dying for others in a real way with God prevailing by protecting all those involved with him.

Big disappointment

[winner55 · 1/10 · 19 April 2009]

A remnant of an ancient Mexican civilization has nestled itself undiscovered by white in the Grand Canyon; a chieftain from that village captures a white girl for a wife; young brother of the girl goes on quest to bring her home, accompanied by a grizzled old trapper and, later, by the deposed king of the village.

What a grand concept! One can imagine any sort of adventure movie developing out of it - sort of like, Ford's "The Searchers" starring "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," or if played for humor, maybe "True Grit" meets "Tom Sawyer." Well, despite the great concept this is a terrible movie. Richard Boone is the most capable actor here, but he's reduced to playing an obnoxious drunk saying the same handful of lines over and over again. His character could have been central to the story, but is used as mere comic side-kick. And guess what the comic side-kick does in the action-scene climax? He sleeps through it!

The rest of the actors are little more than annoying - especially the actor in the ten male lead role. The dialog is whiny and repetitive. The cinematography manages to make some of the most beautiful scenery in the world seem flat. The composition is banal, all full-shots and close-ups and the occasional long-shot - nothing that heightens emotional intensity or emphasizes themes. The plot twists at the end - all of them predictable - simply drag on what could have been a snappy finish, idiotically avoiding the major confrontation the story set us up for.

One of the worst treatments of a great idea in film-making history. The cowardly refusal to get to the drama, the suspense, the action of this idea is shameful. And given the promise of the premise, a real betrayal of audience expectations.

Great Performance By Richard Boone

[FightingWesterner · 8/10 · 1 September 2009]

Against A Crooked Sky is strange viewing nowadays in that it was made before the pinheads in Hollywood decided to drastically dumb down movies aimed at children, particularly children ages ten to thirteen, reducing them to worthless comedic mind rot filled with flatulence jokes and loud flashy effects. I don't even think todays preteens would have the patience (or half of them, the Intelligence) for a movie that isn't a comedy or a fantasy!

In this, Sam Sutter watches helplessly while his sister is kidnapped by an Indian warrior. With little or no hope of recovery and all attempts to find her called off, he sets off with a drunken Richard Boone (in a fantastic performance) to find her, his only clue being a gold headband.

Although this isn't among the best westerns ever made, it's a truly entertaining outdoor adventure, the best thing about it being the developing relationship between Boone and the stubborn boy as he pushes the cantankerous old man out of his comfort zone and towards the truth about his sister's disappearance.

Against A Crooked Sky shows a strong influence of other films of the time like Little Big Man and A Man Called Horse. Like them it details strange (at least to the white man) rituals and customs, like Cut Tongue's being forced to live like a squaw and the harrowing climax, the test of the crooked sky.

Ham Bone!

[TheJonesBones · 6/10 · 30 April 2021]

I saw this movie as a kid in the theaters. Once.

It haunted me for the rest of my life - at least until the internet came along with IMDB and I was finally able to recall the movie's title (due to Boone's presence). So I watched it again many years ago. I thought it stunk.

Still it haunted me. Here I am, watching it again!

Why? Can't say. Maybe it's the thing about the gold or the cheeseball climax or the weird, misplaced "Indians"... I still don't know why this films sticks in my head.

Maybe that, more than any other reason, is a good cause to watch. Perhaps every ten years or so. Maybe by the time I die I'll be able to figure out the allure of this ham bone production.

Watch it if you have ninety minutes to kill. But be warned: you won't get them back again!

How come the whites never kidnap an indian?

[helpless_dancer · 5/10 · 1 June 2001]

Cornball, super low budget film with amateur performances by all...and that includes Rich Boone. Actually, Boone gives his standard act, which seems to be basically all he cares to deliver. I suppose he has his bit down pat and doesn't care to deviate. The best performance of all came from his mutt, Bar Killer, who totally outshone all of his human counterparts. The tired old 'indian takes a white slave' story has been done to death by Hollywood and this picture merely trods over the same old turf as the gritty little brother goes after his abducted sister with the "help" of a pusgutted wino and a dying redskin. The whole production was grade B and totally predictable all the way. I must say the scenes of Arches Monument were excellent and captured the rocky beauty of the southwestern U.S. nicely.

Beautiful movie👌

[oliverindi · 10 March 2022]

I just watched this movie.

I'm no Barry Norman , an old English film critic🇬🇧 , but as far as I'm concerned this is a wonderful movie where the central theme is giving one's life for another.

I'll just say it has a good story, good acting , wonderful scenery , lovely background music and it brought this 64 years young man to tears. 👌🆓

Quirky or crappy...it's up to you to decide.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 7 August 2016]

"Against a Crooked Sky" is a film that's been allowed to slip into the public domain (hence its being available for free download from archive.org)...and after seeing it, I can understand why the copyright holder wouldn't bother renewing the film rights. Still, despite me thinking that it's a terrible film, apparently some really liked it based on the IMDb reviews.

The film begins with a group of 'Indians' attacking a home and running off with a young lady while her teenage brother helplessly watches. The boy blames himself and inadvisably runs off to look for her and soon almost dies but is saved thanks to a character named 'Russian' (Richard Boone). As for Russian, he's pretty much Yukon Cornelius from the Rankin-Bass stop-motion special, "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer"! In a severe case of overacting, Boone acts like a children's cartoon character.

Ultimately the pair end up going through all sorts of troubles (little of which seems plausible) until they catch up to this bizarro tribe where half the folks look nothing like Native Americans. And, the conclusion to all this just seemed like a lot of nonsense...even less convincing than William Shatner as he starred in "White Comanche"!

I cannot think of anything good to say about this one other than you get to see the Grand Canyon (which is pretty). Oh, and you get to see a puppy at the very end. Otherwise, the film seems childish and silly...at best.

Entertaing Plot Cheezy Acting.

[bmalakwa · 6/10 · 24 January 2023]

Entertaining movie diminished by cheezy acting. Richard Boone was a hoot and so was the dog, the rest of the actors didn't act they just recited their lines. The boy and the girl were especially amateurish. I think some of the Indians must of been related to Italians or some other Mediterranean nationality they did not look like Indians but talked and tried to impersonate the stereotypical Indian represented by Hollywood rather than being real people.

The background music and the scenery added to the film except for the stupid songs that diminished the overall ambience of the movie. Unlike a lot of movies made today the movie had an ending.

I would die for anyone in this family...even you

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 4 July 2017]

Three horsemen from the lost and ancient Crooked Sky nation kidnap a frontier girl (Jewel Blanch). Her brother (Stewart Petersen) teams up with a drunk (Richard Boone) a man with his tongue cut out (Henry Wilcoxon) and a dog (B'ar Killer) to find and rescue her.

1975 film rated "G". I viewed on a 50 DVD 70's group. The script was similar to a Disney film. The story and acting was unrealistic in spite of a few stars. Similar to a made-for-TV fare.

Not a bad family type show

[Scott699 · 6/10 · 18 January 2022]

I remember back around 75, 76 this came out on television, I was around 10 or 11 years old. It really stuck with me, I thought of this movie many many times over the years, it popped up on my Prime Video so I watched it. For today's standards it is kind of cheesy, it reminds me of something you would find on the Hallmark channel or Trinity broadcasting network, the original version had a lot more religious overtones, I remember the sister talking to the Indian girl about Jesus. The version I saw cut a lot of it out. It's too bad that of the character Russian did not get his gold. And when the sister returns with her baby I never understood if the Indian husband was sending her home or just letting her come to visit. He rides off into the sunset as a song performed by the sister, who was a country singer, plays.

A Strange Mix of 70s Production and Theatrical Acting

[bkkaz · 5/10 · 23 June 2022]

The movie suffers mostly from a cheap production and unimaginative direction, which by the 1970s some audiences confused with realism. The performances are more stagey than the film's stylings. At the same time, it's a bit too intense at times to be a simple children's movie, with some existential themes despite the nods to religion. Again, this was the 1970s, when even kid's stuff had a kind of adult sadness to it. What's most frustrating, though, is not the end's twist -- which you may see coming and I remember after all these years -- but that it plays into the old trope that a white person's life is more important than anyone else's, and a "good minority" is therefore always willing to do the noble thing and sacrifice themselves for it. Please. That message gets repeated even today, and beyond being a kind of weird fantasy, is often offensive.

Looking Up the Hard Way

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 4 January 2012]

Three terrifying (Native American) Indians arrive on-screen, like three (of four) horsemen from the Apocalypse. They move in on teenager Stewart Petersen (as Sam Sutter) and kidnap his beautiful older sister, while their parents are away. When nobody can identify the mysterious trio, young Petersen decides to go out on his own to find sister Jewel Blanch (as Charlotte). He is inspired by her Biblical belief that she would die to save him, and wants to return the sentiment. Petersen asks boozy Richard Boone (as Russian) to go along, promising him gold may be found. They also take Mr. Boone's protective pooch "Bar Killer" and acquire a muted Indian guide (Henry Wilcoxon) from the lost tribe...

It's difficult to make complete sense of this story. The clearest theme presented is the young woman's thesis about how family members should be willing to die for each other. For those who like reasons for "savage Injuns," we could say the opening event may be a payback for the later revelation about Boone impregnating a young squaw. Also, the opening scene could be "Chief" Geoffrey Land (as Temkai) admiring blonde Blanch's naked body, and targeting her for that reason - maybe only he raped her, or maybe it was consensual. The fact that Petersen almost drowned when he first visited Boone could be explained by bad currents that day. Petersen could be "scrawny" compared to Boone, etc…

***** Against a Crooked Sky (12/75) Earl Bellamy ~ Stewart Petersen, Richard Boone, Henry Wilcoxon, Clint Ritchie

A Movie that Leads Viewers to Aspire for the Highest Ideals

[Xiaopangzi · 10/10 · 19 October 2004]

This movie was released in the summer before my tenth birthday. It, along with "Where the Red Fern Grows," was one of the most moving movies I saw in my pre-teens. Coincidentally, Stewart Petersen starred in both films, so it may have been a quality in his character that particularly influenced me. Coincidentally, this same actor's portrayal of the young Joseph Smith in "The First Vision," which I saw two years later during a trip through Salt Lake City, changed my life forever. "Against a Crooked Sky" evokes all the most tender emotions and inspiration of high ideals. I haven't seen it again in the almost twenty years since then, so the fact that I remember this movie is a tribute to the lasting impression it is able to leave on young viewers.

Garbage Film

[docm-32304 · 1/10 · 26 September 2022]

I seemed to remember that the book of the same name was good read, and with Richard Boone as the star, I figured the movie would be at the very least, interesting. However, Boone is not the star...just the only big name in the cast. He has a supporting roles as an obnoxious drunk that mumbles the same lines over and over. I can't help but think he must have been broke to take on this movie as his role is terrible.

The film is poorly edited and scenes are choppy with some very bad continuity. This plays like a film project from a lower end film school. The music is also bad, with a very irritating gong that they overused. I would definitely not recommend this film with it's nonsensical plot.

A story of self-sacrifice

[bcolquho · 17 July 2004]

This is an excellent movie. The Sutters, a pioneer family, has its farm raided by a mysterious tribe of Indians. Charlotte Sutter, the eldest daughter, is kidnapped by the tribe and taken to their camp. Sam, her brother, goes after her and enlists a drunk prospector to help him in his search. Russian, the drunk prospector, is dead set against it. On their way to the Indian camp, Russian continuously tells Sam that they should turn back. Sam tells him that if he wants to turn back he can but he'll go on alone. The scenery is beautiful. Part of the movie was filmed in Arches National Park in Utah.

Temkai, the leader of the band that kidnapped Charlotte, has taken her for his wife. One of the Indians asks Charlotte what she has

and she says it's her Bible. She tells her new friend about Jesus Christ and how he died to save others. When Sam and Russian reach the Indian camp, they're told by one of the Indians that

Charlotte's due to be killed at dawn at Crooked Sky and that the

only way to save to save her is to run a race against Temkai. If he loses, Charlotte dies. Sam agrees to run the race against

Russian's expressed wishes. Half way up Crooked Sky, he sees an arrow kill a woman he thinks is his sister. He won the race and his sister and his sister's released. Since being kidnapped, she's become a mother. She says that it was her friend who died at

Crooked Sky and the last we see of Temkai is him on his horse in the bushes watching Charlotte being reunited with her family.

A tribe of natives that doesn't exist?

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 14 April 2021]

Veteran actor Richard Boone is top billed and overacts as a drunken prospector who aides teenager Stewart Petersen who is searching for his sister Jewel Blanch, kidnapped by a band of rogue natives whom nobody, even other native tribes, can't identify. Playing your typical overly boisterous grizzled western character, Boone is meant to come off as lovable but instead comes off as tedious and someone who never shuts up. There's a more dignified silent ancient Native who has had his tongue cut out and yet has more wisdom and spirituality than Boone's character could ever hope to muster.

What you don't get from the predictable story with religious twists you do get as far as scenery and gorgeous vistas are concerned. This is one of those mid-70's family adventures, usually made for matinee audiences or seen in family oriented drive-ins, low budget inn and easy to make a quick profit, yet quickly forgettable. There are fights in Apache territory (they are always the bad guys in films like this, constantly portrayed as savages), and yet there's always little to explain what motivated that savageness, at least what is seen in the movie.

Shannon Farnon and Clint Ritchie ("One Life to Live's" original Clint Buchanan) are wasted as the parents, pretty much uninvolved in the rescue of their missing daughter. The mark on the ground that Peterson finds suspiciously looks like a Nazi swastika, and this was set long before the rise of the third reich. The acting is barely passable, and Peterson reads his lines as if he's looking right at the script. I'm surprised that this is actually survived its limited theatrical showing to make it on to home video, with a few poor "theme songs" and inappropriate melodramatic music not right to aid in the film's moods.