Review: The Scalphunters


Trapper Burt Lancaster and educated ex-slave Ossie Davis form an uneasy alliance in pursuit of some pelts that are currently in the hands of Scalphunters, led by Telly Savalas. Shelley Winters is Savalas’ shrill, complaining wife.



A moderately successful precursor to the wonderful “The Skin Game” (with James Garner as the white con artist and Lou Gossett Jr. as his none-too-dumb slave/accomplice), this 1968 Sydney Pollack (“Tootsie”, “The Firm”) film blends comedy, western, action movie, and social commentary relatively well. The cast is excellent, with Lancaster and especially Davis heading the way, and both Telly Savalas and old pro Shelley Winters yukking it up in support.



It’s a bit long, and save for the “Odds Against Tomorrow”-style ending, things do get a little too silly by the final stretch. Remember the extended street brawl in John Carpenter’s “They Live”? That’s what we’re talkin’ about here, only some twenty years earlier and not featuring Rowdy Roddy Piper, unfortunately. However, on the whole, this is quite good fun, particularly for fans of the performers on show here. The screenplay is by William Norton (the Angie Dickinson cult classic “Big Bad Mama”), from his own story. Worth seeking out.



Rating: B-

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