The Western III Hall of Fame

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@edarsenal if i could have the links you gave to Citizen Rules that would be much appreciated as well.
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The Scalphunters




There's a lot to like in this movie but I thought it was a little too uneven for me to love it. Burt Lancaster and Telly Savalas both do their thing and do it well, but I thought this movie belonged to Ossie Davis. He was fantastic. Also great in a supporting role was Shelly Winters who stole every scene she was in. Everything works to an extent, the performances, dialogue, action, cinematography, and humor, but sometimes the mix didn't work good enough. The movie seems to want to be a lot of things. Sometimes the race angle comes into play on a serious note and it's really good, and sometimes the comedy is really good, but the mix can be jarring. It's a common issue for this viewer but it's not that way for every viewer. I thought it was pretty good overall.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Fair notice to all regarding my nomination: it was a blind pick. I apologize in advance 😑
Blind Grabs are always a roll of the dice. I've come out on both sides, but it's always worth while to play.
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
@edarsenal if i could have the links you gave to Citizen Rules that would be much appreciated as well.
Also the Grey Fox, can't find that anywhere.
just sent them

Also, if anyone else needs them, let me know



I don't have a link for Dirty Little Billy. The link I watched for The Grey Fox wasn't very good quality, a little blurry. So you may want a better quality link. I generally just google search "Watch (the name of the movie) full free" and look at the google video tab.

I think for Dirty Little Billy I'm actually going to have to pay for it, which I don't mind doing.

Edit: I did find a link.





The Big Gundown (1966)
Nominated by: neiba

The title didn't seem to suit this movie. This was a fairly typical Western, with a hint of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, but a little more realistic. It gave me a lot of the same vibes as The Scalphunters, but fortunately was more serious and didn't have as much comic relief. It still had a bit of quirky, unfunny, comedic elements, but they weren't too cheesy to ruin the vibes. I found this movie mildly enjoyable. Lee Van Cleef played a cool anti-hero. I was hoping for something a little more interesting from neiba, so I was a little dissapointed.






Dirty Little Billy (1972)
Nominated by: Zotis

I was thoroughly pleased by this blind nomination of mine. It was gritty, realistic, and unconventional. Not too long into the grimy disorienting story did I find myself sympathetically drawn to the character, Berle, played by Lee Purcell. She was charming in the most delightfully criminal sort of way. This movie was so dirty, with mud smeared everywhere, it was the antithesis to Hollywood class. Towards the end my heart was shattered. It was a doomed romance from the start, but I still didn't want to accept it. I wanted the happy ending, but I didn't get it. I had to accept it though, it was meant to be. It was tragic, but I couldn't do anything about it. I really enjoyed this movie. Billy, played by Michael J. Pollard was an earnest character with a lot of spunk. He wasn't the toughest, but he had enough grit to survive and enough character to be liked. I enjoyed this subtle gritty tale in a backwater town with little to no law except the guns held by a few delinquents. Berle was the girlfriend of the resident thug who Billy ended up falling for. It was a gritty romance in the grimiest of settings. I especially liked the mud and dirt that substituted for make-up. Berle was beautiful even in rags and caked with a nice thick layer of dried dirt.




The Scalphunters 1968 Directed by Sydney Pollack


Starring Burt Lancaster, Ossie Davis, Shelley Winters and Kojak.
Burt Lancaster is a great actor who stars in some of my favorite movies like The Killers and The Leopard. And I recently saw Ossie Davis in Sidney Lumet's The Hill where he gave an excellent performance alongside Sean Connery, I recommend that one. But.. if Scalphunters wasn't a nominated HoF movie, I would have posted it in the 'movies you couldn't even finish' thread. I did like the location, the stunt-work, the scenes with the rocks, and the loco'd horses and some of the scenes and dialogue between Lancaster and Davis's characters. Other than that I wasn't really feeling it. I think the main reason for this is the sudden switches between serious and comical tones, like Cricket said in his write-up.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Dirty Little Billy (1972)
Nominated by: Zotis

I was thoroughly pleased by this blind nomination of mine. It was gritty, realistic, and unconventional. Not too long into the grimy disorienting story did I find myself sympathetically drawn to the character, Berle, played by Lee Purcell. She was charming in the most delightfully criminal sort of way. This movie was so dirty, with mud smeared everywhere, it was the antithesis to Hollywood class. Towards the end my heart was shattered. It was a doomed romance from the start, but I still didn't want to accept it. I wanted the happy ending, but I didn't get it. I had to accept it though, it was meant to be. It was tragic, but I couldn't do anything about it. I really enjoyed this movie. Billy, played by Michael J. Pollard was an earnest character with a lot of spunk. He wasn't the toughest, but he had enough grit to survive and enough character to be liked. I enjoyed this subtle gritty tale in a backwater town with little to no law except the guns held by a few delinquents. Berle was the girlfriend of the resident thug who Billy ended up falling for. It was a gritty romance in the grimiest of settings. I especially liked the mud and dirt that substituted for make-up. Berle was beautiful even in rags and caked with a nice thick layer of dried dirt.

This is what I was expecting when I saw it, and glad to see it is. Should be a good watch and I've enjoyed Pollard in the little bit I've seen: Bonnie & Clyde, an episode in the original Star Trek where everyone over (I think) 21 dies.
I totally see him as a punk Billy the Kid.



This is what I was expecting when I saw it, and glad to see it is. Should be a good watch and I've enjoyed Pollard in the little bit I've seen: Bonnie & Clyde, an episode in the original Star Trek where everyone over (I think) 21 dies.
I totally see him as a punk Billy the Kid.
I've seen him in that Star Trek episode (Miri) so many times that I can totally see him as an obnoxious punk Billy the Kid. I'd be disappointed if he was anything other than obnoxious



Dirty Little Billy 1972 Directed by Stan Dragoti


Dirty Little Billy is a grimy, gritty origin story of the notorious outlaw Billy The Kid.
Dark, low budget Western with a sinister style and atmosphere, deliberately portraying the uglier side of the old West.
'The Kid' is well played by Michael J. Pollard, the beautiful Lee Purcell who plays 'Berle' a girl forced into prostitution, really shines in this role. The underlying romance between her and Billy delivered the much needed emotional layer to the story. It also features brief appearances by both very young looking Gary Busey and Nick Nolte.
It's a unique and realistic approach to the Billy The Kid character. Original for telling the tale of Billy The Kid before he got famous. Interesting nomination, it's cool to explore different styles during this Hall of Fame.



The Big Gundown 1966 ‘La resa dei conti’ Directed by Sergio Sollima
(Extended US edition Blu-Ray)

Bounty hunter John Corbett (Lee van Cleef) tries to bring in wanted man Cuchillo Sanchez (Tomas Milian) in this great non-Sergio Leone spaghetti Western. With a bad ass lead actor, poster, and soundtrack.
Ennio Morricone is one of my favorite composers of all time. Love the way he incorporated the melody from the title song in different tones throughout the whole film, strengthening the cinematography.
Apparently this is one of three spaghetti westerns made by Sergio Sollima, I haven't seen the other two yet.
Because there are so many great spaghetti western films, The Big Gundown doesn't make my top five of the sub-genre but it is pretty close. A strong nomination, entertaining and enjoyable watch.




The trick is not minding
Meeks Cutoff
A true story of an actual expedition that claimed many lives due to the hardship they faced.
Meek was a frontiersman who offered passage for emigrants, for a few of course. Pay him and he’ll take you through the Oregon Trail to reach your destination. But one fateful day, he diverts then from the usual pass through the Oregon desert in an attempt at a shortcut, one that would come to be called Meeks Cutoff. He assured them he knew where he was going and had traveled here previously.
It quickly becomes apparent that was a lie.
Low on supplies, and more importantly, water, they come upon a native following them. They capture him, and Meeks is quick to suggest killing him. The settlers have a better idea. Take them to water and they shall let him free.
What unfolds is a story reminiscent of The Ox Bow Incident. There are no shootouts. No duels. It is a story of morality.
Meeks, played by Bruce Greenwood who completely vanishes into the role, has nothing but contempt for the Indians, and admits to his acts of barbarism towards them almost with glee. He excuses his actions as necessary.
But they need the Native. And he understands this.
Emily Tetherow, played by the winsome Michelle Williams, is no shrinking violet. She is capable of defending not only herself, but her beliefs. She’s capable of shooting and reloading a gun in rapid succession. She readily speaks her mind to her husband and verbally spars with Meeks. She sees him not so different from the supposed bloody native.
The camera captures wonderful views of the land, and magnified the harsh landscape they are lost in. If there is one issue, it is set at a deliberate slow pace that often times causes the film to suffer. Ox Bow got around this by getting straight to the point, with no preamble.
The dialogue helps set up the tension, and the inevitable clash of wills between Meeks and Mrs. Tetherow.
A solid movie and nomination.




The Scalphunters (1968)

Now that's a stunt! The stuntman is actually jumping over the chasm! OMG how crazy is that. And that's what I love about older movies, you get real stunts & real locations.

I liked The Scalphunters. I know I liked it because I never checked the time remaining while watching it. It was good fun, exciting and with stunts galore... I loved the odd looking rock formations in Mexico, I'd never seen anything quite like that before. Watching a movie like this is almost like taking a vacation and seeing the countryside of some exotic locale...and all from the comfort of you home.

I know some of us didn't seem to like The Scalphunters. It's a comedy-action-western and so it has it's lighter moments at times, which for me was fine.

I thought Burt Lancaster was perfectly suited to an action comedy, his colorful personality made the film go. So did the actor who played the runaway slave, Ossie Davis. He really held his own whenever he and Lancaster had scenes together. I'm not the biggest fan of Telly Savalas and I never did like his TV show Kojak, but he did fine here. Still I wish we could've had someone more colorful to pair with Shelley Winters, say like Strother Martin. And I wish the scalp hunter crew could've had a few choice character actors who got to say a few lines.

But overall it was a good movie and a good nom...and something I'd never even heard of so thanks to Wlydesyde for finding it.
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