The Deadly Trackers (1973) User Reviews (34)

Descending to the Same Level as Whom You Hunt

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 4 June 2006]

The big surprise in The Deadly Trackers is Rod Taylor's emergence as one mean and nasty villain here. Although he had played a bad guy early in his career in Hell on Frisco Bay as a contract killer, the public was used to Rod as the civilized fellow bringing a sense of order to a future world in The Time Machine. He's anything, but civilized in The Deadly Trackers.

Richard Harris is a sheriff with some rather strange notions about capture instead of killing in a lawless land. Rod Taylor and his gang rob the bank in Harris's town and kill the bank manager on a whim. Then when Harris tries to capture and use reason with Taylor, Harris's wife and son become dead also.

That gives our sheriff a whole new outlook and he hunts the gang into Mexico where he teams up with a federale played by Al Lettieri who has all the ideas Harris used to have.

This was the farewell performance of Al Lettieri and interesting that he went out as a good guy here. He created a great group of villains in The Godfather, McQ, Mr. Majestyk, and The Getaway. He was a great talent.

Some attention was paid to the fact that Harris is an Irish sheriff and for that matter Rod Taylor is Australian. But America is in fact a nation of immigrants and this should be no stranger than Errol Flynn's emergence as a western star in the heyday of the studio.

"We must not allow guns to do our thinking for us".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 9 August 2009]

I find it interesting how I can reconcile my feelings about this film. On the one hand, it's a boldly intense revenge Western, while on the other, there's so much nonsense going on that with any serious scrutiny one might dismiss it as gross caricature. Take the character of Choo-Choo (Neville Beand) for instance - how exactly did 1880's medical technology manage to graft a chunk of railroad track to his right arm? Then there's Gutierrez (Al Lettieiri), the Mexican Federale - you mean to tell me that he gets shot off his horse, does a forty foot swan dive over a cliff, and some time later manages to get up and walk away? I had him a goner, but if he could have survived, how so without a broken back?

Then there's the main character himself, Sheriff Kilpatrick, ably portrayed by Richard Harris. Now I know it doesn't take much of a stretch to go from pacifist to hell bent avenger after seeing your family wiped out, but how about some discretion. Kilpatrick just jumps right in without thought of consequences, like jumping that big lug Schoolboy (William Smith). OK, I know that had to work out to keep the story going, but gee, the guy looked like he just finished a workout at World Gym.

There's something else about Kilpatrick - did you notice that after every one of his bloody encounters (that first one with Schoolboy was the worst), he appears in the next scene with a clean set of duds. I didn't notice any Chinese laundries along the way, so it left me wondering how he might have managed that. Maybe I'm being picky, but didn't anybody else think about that?

Here's something neat though - I liked the idea that Kilpatrick had the town of Santa Rosa so organized that they were able to back him up at a moment's notice with all hands on deck. If these were the citizens of Lago, there would have been no rest of the story in "High Plains Drifter". Something to think about.

As for the finale, I'm not buying it. After all that Kilpatrick and Gutierrez had gone through to catch up with Brand (Rod Taylor), the Mexican lawman would just shoot him in the back as he rode away? Where's the code of honor among lawmen? Even if Gutierrez wanted to be hard core by the book with Kilpatrick, by the final showdown with Brand it was going to be self defense any way you slice it. So I have to ask, was that really necessary?

Trashy but memorable

[bushrod56 · 5/10 · 18 January 2005]

Idealistic Sheriff turned vengeance-crazed whirlwind down Mexico way ( where as all Western fans know, anything goes). Richard Harris brings his unique (not to be confused with good) acting talents to the role. There's also Rod Taylor as the gross, ultra-violent and competent gang leader with Neville Brand complete with iron rail instead of a hand (yea, right!), William Smith doing one of his muscled, vacant-gazed idiot numbers and some black, dandyish gambler who I felt sorry for being subjected to the other gang members crap. The late Al Lettierri plays a decent, by the book Mexican Federale, which is a shame because he's much better at irrational, explosively violent sickos. A lot of hand-held camera work in this movie (and I don't just mean POV shots) gives it a low budget look, but the Mexican locales help out some. So why my interest in this film? Maybe it's just the shear down and dirty intensity with which Harris goes after that down and dirty gang. SPOILER- The scene where he throws an injured Lettierri through the Bar window, blasts the black gambler to smithereens and starts to kick a** and take names with the bar patrons is almost Apocalyptic. Rod Taylor exudes a very unpredictable, terrible menace in this film, too. Recommended for fans of sweaty westerns, but with no dubbed voiced Italian actors.

A better than average Western

[Clarke-2 · 6 December 1998]

This is one of those films that lovers of the Western genre ought to rent on video. They will discover a treasure of the past that is well worth a watch. Like most Westerns, this film is set in the 1870s American southwest. The story of vengence is common in Western films, and this particular tale is extremely brutal. The post civil war Southwest was a violent place full of vigilantism and crime. Men of the West with morals and a sense of social responsibility always served as easy prey for bushwackers.

The Deadly Trackers is focused on two men who share an over-developed sense of justice. They are both sheriffs, and they both embraced the importance of the law. One of the sheriffs loses his family, however, and his ideals die with them. The best part of this film is the relationship that builds between the two sheriffs as they hunt a small band of bushwackers. Richard Harris's character is the embittered sheriff bent on vengence. His character sinks into being as cruel and violent as the men he hunts. The Mexican sheriff, who lacks personal loss, maintains an ideal sense of keeping law and order. In the end, Harris's character regains his values for upholding the law only to see justice slip out of his grasp. The Mexican sheriff remains constant in his efforts to enforce the law only to provide for a lack of justice. The result is a dark tale about the nature of mankind on the frontier.

Rather Brutal Revenge Western.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 28 February 2012]

I can't understand why these American outlaw gangs always gallop into Mexico to find safety and succor. They always wind up getting caught anyway. And before they come to their just end they must suffer through the Aztec Two Step. However, the story is from Sam Pekinpah who had this thing for Mexico.

Rod Taylor, as the leader of this gang of four, doesn't seem to realize this. He and the gang hold up a bank and then get trapped in a Texas town. They're all snarling in the school house or someplace, surrounded by a hundred townsmen pointing rifles in their direction. Peaceful Sheriff Richard Harris tries to sweet talk them into giving up. Like hell! Taylor is pure e-vil. He emerges from the building holding a pistol to the head of a tow-haired young boy who happens to be Harris's son. The accommodating Harris orders his men to throw down their guns, allowing Taylor and the rest to high tail it out of town, with the boy on Taylor's saddle. Harris's wife screams and tries to drag her son from the horse but Taylor shoots her dead. Then the boy topples from the saddle and is stomped to death by twelve hooves as the animals race over his fallen body. Harris is stunned, his face frozen with grief. Then he straps on his gun belt and slips a rifle into its sheath.

This sets the whole plot in motion, similar in some ways to "The Bravados" with Gregory Peck as Adrasteia. I won't bother to spell it out in any detail because it's a long movie and sometimes complicated. But with Harris in pursuit the gang crosses the Rio Grande and more or less slaughters its way through a couple of Mexican villages, sparing no one. Harris manages to catch up from time to time and winnow down the numbers but his efforts are hampered by Al Lettieri as a Mexican police officer who believes in the law. Harris's sheriff, after all, has no business in another country and revenge killings are illegal, so we are led to understand.

It's a colorful movie and full of action, so it's an enjoyable divertimento. The location shooting in Morelos, Mexico, is very nicely done. Make you want to take your holiday there. And the performances aren't bad either. Curious to see Al Lettieri as a force for good instead of evil, although with his bushy mustachio and scowling features he still looks like a for for evil. Rod Taylor could go either way. His face is plumped out with age and he has a full mustache and scraggly beard so that from certain angles he resembles Robin Williams. Harris has that ugly, manly face that some Irishmen have and he hits his marks. He was excellent in the little-seen "The Field" and he seemed to give acting lessons to the other actors in "Gladiator." The plot throws away any credibility it had towards the end. We've gotten to know Rod Taylor's murdering thief. He takes nothing seriously. He watches from a distance while Harris sets about trying to butcher a gang member that's been left behind, and he jokes about it and makes bets on who will win. Then we have to swallow and digest his sudden impulse to visit his little daughter in a Mexican convent. He smiles, tries to hold her close. "You know your ol' Daddy, don't ya?" The tears run down his face, also the viewer's.

A Definite Piece of Postmodern Cinema

[LeonLouisRicci · 6/10 · 10 September 2012]

A very uneven film, filled with a "a bit of the olé' ultra-violence", shows its troubled production and finally emerges as a curios and a signpost of the changes in Hollywood that were still evolving and not without pains.

There is a vastness to the production with a gritty feel, children in distress and some really despicable characters. The Hero's change of heart from pacifist to killer is abrupt as are some of the other plot devices that take a backseat to the carnage and and mayhem.

It does have a memorable feeling to it that seems to stem from the movie's outrageous flourishes and one wonders if this was probably the best they could cobble from all the changes in Directors and other on the set strife. The good cast, however, are all in top form.

After all, it is recommended for fans of Westerns and movie chronology. It is a definite piece of postmodern cinema that is having difficulty (although not always aware) finding its niche and as a lot of seventies films show, it was not an easy transition as the art-form was released from over thirty years of repression.

A "Can't Miss" movie that misses.

[pmtelefon · 5/10 · 31 July 2019]

"The Deadly Trackers" has a terrific cast. Put them in any other western and it would be great. For some reason this movie isn't so good. The most annoying thing in the movie, hands down, is Neville Brand's metal hand. It's just so stupid that it's wildly distracting. That's not the only problem with "The Deadly Trackers". This movie suffers from a cheapness to the production. It looks like a low budget spaghetti western. That may have been the type of western that they were trying to make but it just doesn't work. What a shame. "The Deadly Trackers" could have been great. (Just for the record, I enjoyed this movie tonight more than I did the last time I saw it. I'll give it another go in a few months. See what happens.)

Violent and overlong western about a relentless revenge with very good cast

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 21 August 2016]

This is a violent and gory western packed with thrills , noisy action , riding pursuits , shootouts and a real vendetta . It deals with a sheriff , Sean Kilpatrick (Richard Harris) , who heads Southwest of the border to get his pound of flesh from the bandits led by Brand (Rod Taylor , when Sam Fuller was going to direct, he wanted Terence Stamp for the role) and hoodlums (Neville Brand , William Smith , Paul Benjamin) , all of them slew his family in a bank robbery . Across his chase into Mexico , Sean is challenged by an upright Mexican Sheriff (Al Lettieri) and things go wrong .

Exciting western that displays an extreme battle of wits and strong story about a merciless vengeance among some spiteful characters . Being based on a story written by the great Samuel Fuller titled ¨Riata¨ and with an interesting screenplay by the prestigious Lukas Heller who also wrote ¨Dirty Dozen¨, ¨Monty Walsh¨ , ¨Too late the hero¨ , ¨What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?¨ and ¨Flight of the Phoenix¨ . Duo protagonist is frankly well , as Richard Harris and Rod Taylor , both of whom give excellent acting . Support cast is awesome such as Neville Brand , William Smith , Al Lettieri , Isela Vega , Paul Benjamin , William Bryant , Pedro Armendariz , among others . The picture is pretty well but it might have been more bearable if Samuel Fuller had not been bumped from the director chair as it is , he and other contributors refused to be listed in the credits . Furthermore , it is full of atmospheric musical score by Fred Steiner . And an evocative and colorful cinematography by Gabriel Torres .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Barry Shear , though it has some flaws and gaps . Barry took the filmmaking from uncredited Sam Fuller who was replaced as director at an early stage . Shear directed some nice films , such as ¨Across 110th Street¨ and ¨Wild in the streets¨ and a lot of TV episodes . Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable western

Simplistic chase western, with heaps of blood-spilling but little else.

[barnabyrudge · 3/10 · 25 May 2005]

After The Wild Bunch had pushed back a few boundaries in terms of violence, especially within the western genre, there followed a spate of similar westerns. Billy Two Hats, Chato's Land, The Hunting Party, The Revengers and The Last Hard Men were among the front-runners. Also on any list of brutal '70s revenge-westerns would be The Deadly Trackers, originally planned as a Samuel Fuller movie but completed by Barry Shear after Fuller quit the project. This violent, bloodthirsty film is, alas, somewhat disappointing.

Irish sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Richard Harris) looks after the Texas town of Santa Rosa and has made a point of solving crimes and capturing criminals without resorting to violence. In fact, he has never in his life fired a gun in anger, yet has somehow fostered total law, order and respect among the townsfolk. His methods are tested to the limit when outlaw Frank Brand (Rod Taylor in a surprisingly sadistic performance) and his gang rob the local bank. During their escape attempt, the outlaws inadvertently kill Kilpatrick's own wife and child. Devastated, Kilpatrick ditches his anti-gun, anti-violence attitude and pursues Brand and his cronies. The chase leads to Mexico, where Kilpatrick has no official authority and is viewed as little more than an outlaw himself. The Irish sheriff tracks down and kills Brand's gang one-by-one, until just he and Brand remain.

Just a year earlier, Barry Shear had made the film Across 110th Street, regarded as the most violent movie ever made up to that point, so it's perhaps no surprise that this film emphasises the gore and brutality to the extent it does. Harris is quite memorable as the Irish sheriff, giving another of his energetic performances, and Taylor's villainous turn reveals an ugly side rarely portrayed by the actor in his other films. However, in most aspects The Deadly Trackers fails to make the grade as a good, worthwhile film. It is far too simplistic for its own good, with no resonance beyond the immediate plot (and the plot itself is pretty basic, being nothing more than a straightforward chase narrative). The supporting performances are generally rather lacklustre, possibly because none of the characters beyond the two principal players carry much depth or interest. Also, the story is dismayingly familiar, with precious little that it fresh or original; just lots of tired and predictable scenes that have been begged, borrowed and stolen from many other sources (even the music is lifted directly from The Wild Bunch.... perhaps to keep the budget down?) On the whole, The Deadly Trackers is a dismal misfire in which the detail to violence and the intriguing lead performances are the sole points of interest.

Standard Western Fare

[ramsfan · 6/10 · 31 August 2009]

The Deadly Trackers is a standard Western with a mundane plot: A peace loving sheriff (well played by Richard Harris) in a small Texas town sees his wife and son killed by a gang of marauders who have robbed the local bank. He vows revenge and travels through Mexican territory- where he has no official jurisdiction- to hunt down and kill each gang member. It is a plot that though mildly entertaining has been done to death both before and since.

With a very good cast on hand, "The Deadly Trackers" should have been better. Perennial good guy Rod Taylor is cast against type as the sadistic leader of the gang. He does a good, credible job as does Al Lettieri, also in the unfamiliar good-guy role as a by-the-book Mexican lawman who clashes with the Harris character throughout the movie. While supporting villain Neville Brand (Choo Choo)gets good screen time, the same cannot be said for classic bad guy William Smith, who is given the role of a mentally challenged member of the gang and then unceremoniously killed within 20 minutes of the film. With his large canon of work in both film and TV, one can't help but wonder what Smith could have done with a more fleshed-out character.

Paul Benjamin, the most intelligent and well spoken member of this motley crew, inexplicably chooses to ride with these guys and be subjected to ridicule and frequent use of the "n" word. Why? His character does not mesh with the rest of these guys and it plays very flat.

The biggest problem lies in the ending. We are expected to believe that lawman Lettieri- a man who has insisted on taking the high road throughout the entire movie in bringing in a killer to face justice- would just shoot a lawman in the back as he rides out of town.

Not a bad movie for its time, but hardly the polished gem it could have been with a little more attention to detail and character development.

the deadly trackers. Emphasize deadly.

[froberts73 · 5/10 · 20 January 2011]

An opening scene is one that will make the anti-gun group proud. The sheriff (a sober Richard Harris) explains that guns beget guns, etc. But when a group of super-nasties kill his school marm wife, and young son, it's a whole different story.

It's vengeance time and the next hour or so has to do with the sheriff on a one-man quest to find the head baddie (Rod Taylor relishing the role) and the chase takes us into Mexico and a small village where, usually, nothing much happens.

What happens in this flick is brutality piled on brutality, and violence up the ying-yang. Look at someone cross-eyed and you've had it mister.

There is the requisite prostitute with the requisite heart of gold and, by the way, some of the best acting comes from her little girl who was fathered by Taylor. She really looks scared --- well, you know the phrase.

So, the story is standard stuff, but it will hold your attention. The scenery is neat, the 'borrowed' music is neat and, for you lovers of violence, this is heaven on film although, to be honest, it is not as gross as you may have expected, since the films of Fuller are 'full-er' violence.

The moral to the story? Revenge is not always sweet. Would the Lone Ranger have done it this way?

The Road to hell is paved with good intentions, but wet with tears "

[thinker1691 · 8/10 · 6 January 2013]

Samuel Fuller wrote this unusual western novel which is aptly directed by Barry Shear. It relates the story of a small town Sheriff, Sean Kilpatrick (Richard Harris) who hates guns and abhors violence. That is until a gang of ruthless but murderous bank robbing killers enters his village. Led by a clever, but unscrupulous murderer named Frank Brand (surprisingly played by Rod Taylor, who typically plays good guys) arrives to rob the bank but is quickly surrounded and easily captured. Nevertheless, Brand and his cut-throats escape. but not before shooting and killing innocents in the process. Filled with rage and vengeance, Kilpatrick set out to bring the killers to justice despite their crossing to Mexico. The group of criminals and law enforcement officers are made up of serious actors who typically play opposite sides of the law and include, Al Lettieri as a Mexican Constable (Excellent role), Neville Brand and William Smith, (supurb characters) as part of Brand's gang. The great, rugged Mexican outdoors and spacious landscapes are majestic and add to the bloodstained journey. Indeed, it's further enhanced with the violence and exciting action. An unusual treat for Taylor fans and an equally surprising role for the entire cast. Recommended to any who seeks a violent page torn from our wild Western Lore. ****

Revenge beyond the law ......

[merklekranz · 7/10 · 6 August 2019]

Interesting western revenge tale that follows Richard Harris into Mexico in pursuit of Rod Taylor and his gang who murdered Harris's wife and boy. There are ethical questions at play here, as Sheriff Harris is only interested in killing the four villains, with no thought of the justice system. Meanwhile he is being dogged by a Mexican Sheriff, Al Lettieri, seeking justice according to the law. The film is nicely photographed, however the run time of 110 minutes seems excessive for such a simplified plot. The acting benefits from an interesting cast that includes Neville Brand and William Smith. The movie is a bit uneven and may have included a smidge too many problems for the hero, including temporary blindness. Nevertheless, "The Deadly Trackers" is a superior western and is recommended. - MERK

Western Death Wish

[Chase_Witherspoon · 3/10 · 23 June 2010]

With a soundtrack lifted straight off "The Wild Bunch" and a premise from any number of superior films (not just westerns), "The Deadly Trackers" is nothing more than a shameless plagiarism. Solid cast is wasted in stereotypical roles, only Al Lettieri breaks the mould as a sympathetic policeman on the trail of Harris, a former lawman taking revenge on those who murdered his family.

Taylor is the key villain, sadistic and for all intents and purposes, effective in his role. His ragtag crew including Brand, Smith and Benjamin are less convincing, with Smith (a cult favourite) flexing his muscles for one bloody fist fight before a premature exit. The movie basically lurches from one bloody encounter to the next, as Harris exacts merciless revenge, in turn pursued by Lettieri intent on taking him alive in the name of justice.

The contrast from his pre-family massacre pacifist (to the extent that guns are prohibited in his town), to that of total maniac who bludgeons his victims to bloodied pulp, is aimed at conveying the message that even the most gentle soul can turn feral under the most intense desperation. Just in case you fail to pick up on that message, there's a plethora of fatal beatings and progressively more sadistic retaliations to underline the point, culminating in a face-off between Harris and Taylor at an orphanage where they compete for wildest animal honours.

It's been written that Harris threw a lot of weight in the making of this picture, and it does have the appearance of being a one-man-stand, built around Harris from every angle in every frame. If only some of that attention had been dedicated to the script and plot, the outcome could have been much more rewarding. As it is, "The Deadly Trackers" is a pointless orgy of violence, a less than impressive vehicle in which to showcase the least of Harris' acting range. Uninspiring.

Intense, watchable film let down by awkward opening sequence and some bad dialogue

[jackcade · 1 July 2003]

The Deadly Trackers was to be directed by the author of the original story, Sam Fuller. He was replaced by one or two other directors (identities unknown) and it was up to the dependable Barry Shear to complete the film. The opening sequence of stills and voice-overs is a liability to the overall film. My guess is that Shear, due to the chop and change of previous directors, had cobbled together pieces of their unfinished work. I would appreciate clarification of this from someone who knows. The importance of the opening sequence is that it establishes the motivation for the entire film. The violent shattering of this close-knit family drives the action - and should have given the viewer a greater appreciation of Richard Harris's despair. Otherwise Shear's film is an excellent thought-provoking western with an excellent performance by Al Lettieri playing the sheriff as the revenge-seeker's conscience. Vigilante theme worth comparing to films like Dirty Harry which was released two years earlier and set a trend in American cinema.

Memo: Whoever wrote the line `He shot the roses from her cheeks' should have been shot himself.

Begins and ends with a bang

[scheelj · 6/10 · 16 April 2012]

See it – Kind of "trippy" in parts, which is to be expected for a western made during the 70's. But this one's exciting, action-packed, violent, and stars the talented Richard Harris. Harris is possibly the most underrated actor in film history. In this western classic, he plays an Irish sheriff who goes after a band of outlaws who have murdered his family. He tracks them down one by one seeking revenge. The movie starts out uniquely with the first few minutes of the film's dialogue accompanied by a slideshow of pictures. Then, the first gunfight explodes onto the screen and the pace never lets up until the end. This tragic movie is definitely not a feel-good story. But it begins and ends with a bang. 3.5 out of 5 action rating.

the deadly trackers

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 5 February 2022]

Considering what a mess this film was...Sam Fuller fired as writer/director, along with all the co stars, by star Richard Harris who then hires friend/drinking companion Rod Taylor to be his co star and re-write Fuller...I suppose we should be thankful that there are any points of interest remaining. Actually there are several, most notably making one of the bad guys an African American, certainly a most un PC move for a 70s, non Blaxploitation pic. Also there is the usual fine acting of Neville Brand as a scumbag with the ability to be shocked by the greater evil of his boss, and finally Al Lettieri, the symbol of late 60s/early 70s villainy, playing an upholder of the law and doing a convincing job of it.

But mostly, this extremely violent film, shot in Mexico, with Isela Vega, is Peckinpah wannabe stuff. Give it a C plus.

PS...After "Lawrence Of Arabia" they shoulda banned all quicksand death scenes.

The final bomb that flattened Taylor's movie career

[BruceCorneil · 1/10 · 22 January 2017]

A brutal and uninspired revenge Western, this was the second really bad film that Rod Taylor starred in during 1973 with its immediate predecessor being the almost - as - bad "Trader Horn".

As for "The Deadly Trackers", The New York Times called it "viciously senile" and warned that it contained nothing more than "fireworks and gore". Even Leonard Maltin, a frequent advocate for the versatile Australian actor, has dismissed it as being just plain "dreadful". And, sadly, I would have to agree.

Indeed, it turned out to be the final bomb that flattened Taylor's movie career.By the mid-'70s he'd become trapped on a runaway train to cinematic oblivion. With his stay at the top seemingly over, he would be increasingly called upon to do nothing more substantial than lend his name to a string of low budget obscurities.Some were fair. But most were unworthy of his talent. Still, he continued to work regularly and better chances came his way on television via guest shots and support roles.

Good premise, but unsatisfying.

[Bigyin · 6/10 · 29 August 1998]

I enjoyed this movie but it was single layered and had a very unsatisfying ending. I don't want to give it away, but it was very disappointing to me.

The implausible Trackers

[Mr. OpEd · 1/10 · 20 August 2017]

I'd streamed some TCM yesterday. Finally got to see Dark of the Sun. Wow. Great flick. Then there was another Rod Taylor actioner, The Deadly Trackers. The film opens up with much promise: narration over photographs of the action. Then Taylor (the bad guy) shoots a bank teller who tells Taylor he made a mistake what with sheriff Richard Harris running things. From that gun shot, everything is live except any plausibility.

What follows is the town's folk, like a well-oiled crime-fighting machine, coming out with rifles at the ready. There are armed men everywhere and traps to keep Taylor and his fellow bank robbers from fleeing. There's just one problem. Sheriff Harris doesn't want any of these guns fired. Huh?

If you're a gun enthusiast this has you scratching your head as towns people (including those with guns) are simply picked off by the baddies and then allowed to escape after killing hostages.

On the other hand, if you're anti-gun, you're also scratching your head as the pacifist/non-gun wearing sheriff then goes off to track the miscreants...alone!...and kill them using GUNS!

Not long after killing the first bad guy, Harris runs into another inept/pacifist sheriff, this one from south of the border who is slovenly dressed for some reason.

So, now we have a movie about not killing filled with killing. After hearing the music for the Wild Bunch, an actual violent western that had something to say and didn't bang you over the head saying it, tracked in for the action scenes, I gave up.

A couple of creatives quit or disowned this pile of illogical horse dropping, so I joined them and turned it off 20 minutes in.

"If you untie me, I could be of help"

[rhinocerosfive-1 · 6/10 · 18 September 2008]

A very simple, old-fashioned Western about a man of peace destroyed on a trail of vengeance, with no particular nuance or grace and nothing to mark it as a product of the early 70s except lots of blood squibs. Still, DEADLY TRACKERS reminds us that in Hollywood, anything can happen. Even a Richard Harris-Al Lettieri buddy movie.

Rod Taylor is a happy surprise as a brutal killer, unregenerate and nasty, unrecognizable from the pretty Englishman in GIANT who goes fishing for Elizabeth Taylor and ends up hooking - do you remember? - Carolyn Craig. William Smith's vicious idiot, Schoolboy, is perhaps his best acting work outside that monologue as Conan's father, and his fellow war hero Neville Brand is weird and big enough to wear a piece of train track instead of a hand, which is at least interesting, if unlikely. But Harris pretty much walks through this one, apparently numbed by all those underperforming Westerns that preceded it (though he can't make it all the way through this one without his MAN CALLED HORSE headband); maybe he saw that his career was headed for the rickety CASSANDRA CROSSING. And the wonderful Al Lettieri is handcuffed by a nice-guy role that disallows his greatest strengths: sadism, menace, barbarity.

Gabriel Torres' photography is okay, but the story (by original director Sam Fuller and Lukas Heller) moves along in fits and starts, probably because its multiple other directors were fired by Harris, who manages not to appear drunk through most of the picture. TV director Barry Shear does a decent job with the final product; I'm not a big fan of Sam Fuller anyway and am not certain that the movie would have been better if he had been allowed to finish it. But Shear's (perhaps unwilling) choice of opening with a terrible, unnecessary V.O. scroll and dialog over "still" photos of town life, is a bizarre and not very good one. Then the action starts, and it's true 70s violence, with children's heads stomped by horses and women shot in the face so close to camera that blood spatters the lens. This is the kind of movie that made the MPAA rethink some of its decisions and reduce the violence quotient in PG pictures.

The best thing about this movie is the music it appropriates from THE WILD BUNCH (a choice likely made by Warner Brothers due to budgetary concerns after the numerous headaches associated with its difficult star), and this great music isn't even appropriate - Jerry Fielding's epic score, itself reminiscent of Elmer Bernstein's work on MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, is ill-suited to an intimate, low-end quickie that would have been better served by a dirge.

Samuel Fuller did not direct the final film version but the story leaves his footprint

[JuguAbraham · 5/10 · 8 May 2021]

Samuel Fuller wrote the story and initially directed the film until the studios decided to replace all the initially chosen actors by Fuller (except Richard Harris) and even Fuller as the director. Is there a Fuller footprint here? Yes, his favorite subject-the family (here two families, two children one of the good guy, another of the bad guy).

Another ambivalent character for Richard Harris

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 23 April 2021]

As the role he will have several years later in ORCA THE KILLER WHALE, where his character hesitates between good and evil, provoking repulsion and empathy from the audiences, here, it is a bit the same. The sheriff seeking revenge against those who killed his family, this scheme had already been told many times before, unless here there is nothing really heroic; you would never watch such a movie in the forties and fifties, nor the eighties, nineties or two thousands. Never. Here, you may find some "good feelings" for the nasty character played by a surprising Rod Taylor, because of the link between him and his child. Then Harris can be seen not as the good one, see what I mean? And also what a surprise to see Al Lettieri as a sympathetic sheriff, probably his only good guy role in his whole career. Typical of the early seventies. For die hard moviegoers for this period.

some interesting elements

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 20 January 2022]

It's Santa Rosa, Texas. Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Richard Harris) is an Irishman who has never shot anyone. Frank Brand (Rod Taylor) leads a gang to rob a bank. It goes wrong and the Sheriff's family is killed. He alone pursues them in vengeance all the way into Mexico. Mexican Policeman Gutierrez (Al Lettieri) demands that he follows the law.

This is a simple western until the story gets into the Mexican town. I wouldn't mind staying in that town. There is an interesting dynamic with the villagers. Brand should be speaking Spanish with the villagers. I get the problem with subtitles back in the day. I wanted the village leader to have more scenes. This movie is definitely flawed but there are some interesting elements within it.

The Ending Wrecked it.

[qormi · 3/10 · 16 January 2011]

I liked the film until the end. Too bad William Smith's character was the first of the killers offed. He's a very intense actor and could have added much more to the film. Neville Brand's character lost his hand and had a 10 lb. section of railroad rail permanently attached. This was very dumb. How could he get his shirt on? How could he sleep? How could he....never mind; etc...Rod Taylor was great as the hateful head villain. The way Harris tolerated the dumb Mexican Federale ruined the film.All of the characters except the dumb Mexican Federale were very well played out. The film would have been excellent if this fat, dumb character was eliminated. Harris seemed like a brave, independent, determined man; yet he let this pudgy pauncho push him around. Also, the part where Harris went temporarily blind was incredibly stupid. In another part, Harris was actually hung....and lived! With no ill effects whatsoever! Not even a sore neck! How stupid. The ending was an insult ....just dumb - took the wind out of the sails.