I had more than a little trepidation approaching this film, but you know what, it wasn't that bad. Casting William Shatner here was a little like putting Lorne Greene in command of a space ship, but for the most part it worked - sort of. He pulled off the part of Johnny Moon decently enough, the brother who went off to grow up as a white man. However as Notah, the psychedelic Comanche warrior, Shatner whoops it up a bit embarrassingly, but then again his character regularly got high on peyote buttons and mystic visions. Funny, but it seemed to me that Notah looked about ten years younger than Johnny.
Joseph Cotten is the only other major name here, portraying Sheriff Logan of Rio Hondo. He had a kind of watered down Gary Cooper look, but at least he stood for law and order and wasn't afraid to mix it up when the bad guys hit town. He didn't get very far preventing the gunfight between the General Garcia and Grimes gangs, even taking a bullet for his trouble. Ultimately though, his presence in the film didn't seem to add up to much.
There are a couple of scenes you ought to keep your eyes on. When Johnny shoots Garcia's brother following an ambush, he begins rolling toward a cliff. As his body makes its' way over, note how he uses his hand to ever so slightly push away from the rock.
The other is an outright result of the director and his crew not paying attention. In the duel on horseback between Johnny and Notah, Johnny rides a black horse and Notah is on a brown horse. After it's over, the wounded Johnny rides into view and falls off a brown horse. Then when it's time to lead the Comanches back to the reservation he's back on a black horse again. At least as a white Comanche there was no guesswork.
Though not on a par with Clint Eastwood's Italian Westerns, this flick is still entertaining enough, if nothing more than to see William Shatner go where he had not gone before. Except for appearances in a number of TV Westerns, I can't think of another cowboy movie he might have been in. The picture has taken a few hits from other posters on this site, but if you're inclined to dismiss it as one of the worst Westerns ever made, try making it through "Cry Blood, Apache."
Joseph Cotten is the only other major name here, portraying Sheriff Logan of Rio Hondo. He had a kind of watered down Gary Cooper look, but at least he stood for law and order and wasn't afraid to mix it up when the bad guys hit town. He didn't get very far preventing the gunfight between the General Garcia and Grimes gangs, even taking a bullet for his trouble. Ultimately though, his presence in the film didn't seem to add up to much.
There are a couple of scenes you ought to keep your eyes on. When Johnny shoots Garcia's brother following an ambush, he begins rolling toward a cliff. As his body makes its' way over, note how he uses his hand to ever so slightly push away from the rock.
The other is an outright result of the director and his crew not paying attention. In the duel on horseback between Johnny and Notah, Johnny rides a black horse and Notah is on a brown horse. After it's over, the wounded Johnny rides into view and falls off a brown horse. Then when it's time to lead the Comanches back to the reservation he's back on a black horse again. At least as a white Comanche there was no guesswork.
Though not on a par with Clint Eastwood's Italian Westerns, this flick is still entertaining enough, if nothing more than to see William Shatner go where he had not gone before. Except for appearances in a number of TV Westerns, I can't think of another cowboy movie he might have been in. The picture has taken a few hits from other posters on this site, but if you're inclined to dismiss it as one of the worst Westerns ever made, try making it through "Cry Blood, Apache."