Some day film historians may celebrate the legacy of Canadian director Sidney J. Furie. During the 1960s and 1970s, Furie helmed a number of prominent films that have been largely forgotten. He made the memorable espionage thriller "The Ipcress File" with Michael Caine as an anonymous, bespectacled spy who works for King and Country only because his larcenous skills are valuable in the field than behind bars. Later, Furie directed a genuine counter-culture character piece "Little Fauss and Big Halsey," a hare and a turtle opus about two drifters on the dirt bike motorcycle race circuit. Other interesting films Furie directed were "The Naked Runner" with Frank Sinatra; "Lady Sings the Blues" with Diana Ross as troubled blues singer Billie Holliday; the narcotics trafficking epic "Hit" with Billy Dee Williams; and his unsung Vietnam yarn "The Boys in Company C." The stories surrounding "The Appaloosa" make it sound like the worst film that anybody could have worked on since Marlon Brando had fallen out of favor after the debacle on "Mutiny on the Bounty." The tales about tension on the set are enough to make anybody cringe. Brando refused to cooperate with Furie. During an interview with John Saxon, one of the least appreciated Hollywood character actors during the 1960s, he told me he contributed the line about being blown into so many pieces that nobody would ever find him. The most memorable scene occurs when Brando's protagonist and Saxon's villain are arm wrestling with scorpions lashed down to the table where their hands would wind up if they lost the competition. Saxon told me at the Memphis Film Festival he had heard about Mexican authorities using scorpions to winnow out the prison population in a nearby town when he was acting in the John Huston western "The Unforgiven" with Audrey Hepburn and Burt Lancaster in Mexico.
"The Appaloosa" unfolds with our shabby looking hero in a tattered Confederate Army tunic riding back into his hometown of Ojo Prieto on the border. He confesses his sins to a Catholic Church priest. "I've done a lot of killin'. I've killed a lot of men and sinned with a lot of women. But the men I—I killed needed killin'. And the women wanted sinnin'. And—and I never was one much to argue." Absolved of his sins, Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando of "The Missouri Breaks") is prepared to begin life anew as a horse rancher. Raised by poor Mexican peasants, Matt decides to share his new wealth with a small farmer, Paco (Rafael Campos of "Blackboard Jungle") who has a wife and several children. They live near the border, and grasshoppers have devastated Paco's corn crop. Mateo—as they call Matt--paints pictures of a rosy future as he tells Paco how the eponymous horse will sire spotted ponies for their ranch. No sooner has Brando bragged about his dreams than an evil Mexican vaquero, Chuy (John Saxon), and his pistoleros purloin his prized stallion. Our hero was drunk at the time he raved about the fabulous ranch they were going to own. When he tries to shoot at the thieves, he cannot hit them because his aim is wobbly. Chuy rides back across the stream, ropes our inebriated protagonist and drags him through the river, laughing the entire time. Later, after he has shaved off his beard, Matt tries to disguise himself as a Mexican and recover his appaloosa. "Coffee grounds do not make a Mexican," Paco's wife Ana (Miriam Colon of "Scarface") tells him. The idea of masquerading as a Mexican by staining one's face brown sounds absurd. Nevertheless, despite Ana's warnings, Matt assures her that getting his horse back will be "as easy as cutting butter." "It is your throat that will be cut, Mateo," Ana replies without hope. Paco voices similar sentiments. "Chuy is not just one man. Chuy is an army."
About thirty minutes into "The Appaloosa," Furie has established Matt Fletcher as the hero, Chuy Medina as the villain, and Trini as Chuy's rebellious girlfriend. Trini dishonored Chuy in the eyes of his pistoleros when she not only complained about Matt violating her, but also when she stole Matt's horse. Chuy offers Matt the sum of $500 to buy his horse so he can make it look like Trini was merely riding the horse rather than stealing it to escape from Chuy. Everything that Matt has dreamed about is wrapped up in the horse, so he must bring it back to Mexico. Almost an hour into story, Matt infiltrates Chuy's hacienda and tries to force Trini to help him recover his horse. Unfortunately, Chuy already knows about Matt's presence from the pulque drinking scene in the cantina with Squint Eye. Later, an ancient goat herder, Ramos (Frank Silvera of "Hombre"), warns Matt about Cocatlan. When Matt tries to reclaim his appaloosa, Chuy and his gunslingers are waiting for him. They usher him into a room where they thread scorpions on a string and arm wrestle. Predictably, our hero loses. Lazaro and company dump Matt's body in an abandoned house. Trini escapes from Chuy and takes Matt to Ramos. The goat herder places Matt in a grave he had made for himself. Mind you, the ending is upbeat and our hero gets his horse back.
"The Appaloosa" is about as close as Hollywood got to replicating a Spaghetti western. Hands down, John Saxon delivers the best performance of his career as Chuy. Furie has veteran cinematographer Russell Metty shoot this western in an highly unconventional style. The foreground is filled with objects that block out the composition so that people are squeezed into corners of the shots. The lighting is extremely atmospheric. The scene in the cantina with Squint Eye exemplifies brilliantly Furie's signature style of lensing. Brando puts his hand over his face while he studies the other occupants in the room. Altogether, despite its authentic look and atmosphere, "The Appaloosa" amounts to an above-average, but not very memorable horse opera.
"The Appaloosa" unfolds with our shabby looking hero in a tattered Confederate Army tunic riding back into his hometown of Ojo Prieto on the border. He confesses his sins to a Catholic Church priest. "I've done a lot of killin'. I've killed a lot of men and sinned with a lot of women. But the men I—I killed needed killin'. And the women wanted sinnin'. And—and I never was one much to argue." Absolved of his sins, Matt Fletcher (Marlon Brando of "The Missouri Breaks") is prepared to begin life anew as a horse rancher. Raised by poor Mexican peasants, Matt decides to share his new wealth with a small farmer, Paco (Rafael Campos of "Blackboard Jungle") who has a wife and several children. They live near the border, and grasshoppers have devastated Paco's corn crop. Mateo—as they call Matt--paints pictures of a rosy future as he tells Paco how the eponymous horse will sire spotted ponies for their ranch. No sooner has Brando bragged about his dreams than an evil Mexican vaquero, Chuy (John Saxon), and his pistoleros purloin his prized stallion. Our hero was drunk at the time he raved about the fabulous ranch they were going to own. When he tries to shoot at the thieves, he cannot hit them because his aim is wobbly. Chuy rides back across the stream, ropes our inebriated protagonist and drags him through the river, laughing the entire time. Later, after he has shaved off his beard, Matt tries to disguise himself as a Mexican and recover his appaloosa. "Coffee grounds do not make a Mexican," Paco's wife Ana (Miriam Colon of "Scarface") tells him. The idea of masquerading as a Mexican by staining one's face brown sounds absurd. Nevertheless, despite Ana's warnings, Matt assures her that getting his horse back will be "as easy as cutting butter." "It is your throat that will be cut, Mateo," Ana replies without hope. Paco voices similar sentiments. "Chuy is not just one man. Chuy is an army."
About thirty minutes into "The Appaloosa," Furie has established Matt Fletcher as the hero, Chuy Medina as the villain, and Trini as Chuy's rebellious girlfriend. Trini dishonored Chuy in the eyes of his pistoleros when she not only complained about Matt violating her, but also when she stole Matt's horse. Chuy offers Matt the sum of $500 to buy his horse so he can make it look like Trini was merely riding the horse rather than stealing it to escape from Chuy. Everything that Matt has dreamed about is wrapped up in the horse, so he must bring it back to Mexico. Almost an hour into story, Matt infiltrates Chuy's hacienda and tries to force Trini to help him recover his horse. Unfortunately, Chuy already knows about Matt's presence from the pulque drinking scene in the cantina with Squint Eye. Later, an ancient goat herder, Ramos (Frank Silvera of "Hombre"), warns Matt about Cocatlan. When Matt tries to reclaim his appaloosa, Chuy and his gunslingers are waiting for him. They usher him into a room where they thread scorpions on a string and arm wrestle. Predictably, our hero loses. Lazaro and company dump Matt's body in an abandoned house. Trini escapes from Chuy and takes Matt to Ramos. The goat herder places Matt in a grave he had made for himself. Mind you, the ending is upbeat and our hero gets his horse back.
"The Appaloosa" is about as close as Hollywood got to replicating a Spaghetti western. Hands down, John Saxon delivers the best performance of his career as Chuy. Furie has veteran cinematographer Russell Metty shoot this western in an highly unconventional style. The foreground is filled with objects that block out the composition so that people are squeezed into corners of the shots. The lighting is extremely atmospheric. The scene in the cantina with Squint Eye exemplifies brilliantly Furie's signature style of lensing. Brando puts his hand over his face while he studies the other occupants in the room. Altogether, despite its authentic look and atmosphere, "The Appaloosa" amounts to an above-average, but not very memorable horse opera.