hegstad9 Reviews

The White Buffalo (1977)

A strange, mythical and murky film.

[21 April 2001]

In september 1874, Wild Bill Hickcok (Charles Bronson) returns to the old West under the alias James Otis. He is haunted by the image of a buffalo that symbolizes his fear of death. He awakens every time he tries to sleep from the same nightmare. He knows he must face his nightmare, or go insane.

Oldtimer (and Indian hater) Charlie Zane (Jack Warden), also known as "Oneye" - the great white warrior of Sand Creek - himself an famous Indian hunter in his younger days, go with Wild Bill Hickok to hunt down the White Buffalo.

The old Indian warrior, Chief Crazy Horse (Will Sampson), is looking for the White Buffalo for different reasons. For him, the hunt is sacred, and if he doesn't succeed, he cannot live with himself. His dead little daughter (killed by the White Buffalo) will be "forever tortured in the other world," until he has avenged his child's death. This he must do in the old way.

The realistic locations makes the film chilling indeed. It was filmed on scenic locations in Canon City, Colorado, with interiors at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot. The scenes showing mountains of bleached white buffalo bones are harrowing, as are the cruelty by both whites and Indians.

Great supporting roles by Slim Pickens as a vocal stage driver, Stuart Whitman as a slimy gambler, Cara Williams as the gambler's loumouthed girlfriend, John Carradine as a undertaker, the monstrously big Clint Walker as the murderous trapper "Whistling Jack Kileen," Bert Williams as a barkeeper who helps Wild Bill Hickcok from being killed and finally, Kim Novak made an outstanding return to the screen as Wild Bill Hickcok's old love, and one-time hooker Poker Jenny, now turned respectable.

This is a strange, mythical and murky film. Forget the bad special buffalo effects, and the bad monster. The screenplay in this movie is the thing. The language in this movie is very realistic. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the way the tough, hard people up in the Black Hills really talked back in the 1870s.

I'm proud to call this my favorite western of the 1970s. Not because it was the best, but simply because of it's dark, mythical tone. I've had this on video for a very long time, and have seen it numerous times.

When you see a film over and over again, you notice all the little details, missed by the ones who saw it only once.

In the 1970s, only Sam Peckinpah's westerns were as, or more, interesting. Not to forget Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. A matter of taste, of course.

Terror at Red Wolf Inn (1972)

For those of us that loved the low-budget cult movie horror circus of the early 1970s...

[9 March 2001]

The Folks at Red Wolf Inn mixes cannibalism and comedy together surprisingly effectively. Regina (Linda Gillin) is the young student who win an holiday at the Red Wolf Inn, run by a nice old couple (Arthur Space and Mary Jackson). They have a somewhat retarded young grandson, about 18 years old, known as Baby John (John Neilson). It starts out wonderful for Regina, who really enjoys her stay and the wonderful food she is served. When the other young guests starts to disappear, Regina discovers that the nice old couple and Baby John is in fact carnivorous cannibals. She try to escape, but is caught and brought back. Baby John falls in love with the doomed girl and tries to help her escape, but they are caught.

"Baby John Smith," Grandma Evelyn angrily scolds him, "you've been a bad boy, get the belt !!" Baby John gets the belt and hands it over to Grandma Evelyn. Here we quickly understands that Baby John has been through this before... Without being told, as Grandma Evelyn stands with the belt in her hand, watching, Baby John pull down his trousers and pants. He bends over the front of the car they tried to escape in and put his hands at the far edge of the front of the car.

Grandma Evelyn stands beside him, lifts up the tail of his shirt that has been concealing his bare bottom. She raises her arm in the air, then : "SMACK", as she slap the belt down across his bare bottom. She gives him nine slaps. During the spanking scene, the camera shifts from Baby John's embarrassed face as he's looks at the startled Regina, standing in front of him.

After she has spanked him, she orders him to get in the house. He refuses, grabs Regina and runs away. The old couple run after them with their big mean dog, not intent on letting their dinner run away...! I have not given away the ending !! There are more, but this I can't tell...

For those of us that loved the low-budget cult movie horror circus of the early 1970s....this is black comedy in a manner that quite simply doesn't excist anymore...Thanks mainly to excellent playing by the entire cast and a fair amount of genuine wit, as opposed to gross humour, the film actually works as that most difficult of generic hybrids, the horror comedy. Young John Neilson as Baby John makes a disturbing mix of horror and comic relief, including his hilarious spanking scene. Notice that the final credits are presented in the form of a menu. It`s another forgotten low budget horror classic from the glorious days of the early 70s, the decade when they really knew how to make low budget horror classics.