The Scalphunters
Encyclopedia
The Scalphunters is a 1968 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster
, Ossie Davis
and Telly Savalas
. The film was directed by Sydney Pollack
, with the score written by Elmer Bernstein
. Davis was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.
), an American fur trapper, is making his way back home with a full cargo of hides when he encounters a group of Kiowa
Indians
led by Two Crows (Armando Silvestre
), who insist on taking his furs. As "payment" they offer him a slave, Joseph Lee (Ossie Davis
), who they had previously taken from a group of Comanche
s. Reluctantly, realising he cannot fight them, Bass agrees to the trade.
Bass is slightly bemused by his new companion, who is a well-educated and refined house slave, unused to the ways of the West. Bass orders him to help him recover the furs from the Kiowa. Lee only agrees to help if Bass agrees to take him to Mexico where slavery
is outlawed. Bass is not amused, but the two strike up a friendly relationship, with Bass teaching Lee how to catch food in the West.
As Lee and Bass come upon the Kiowa, they watch them being ambushed by a group of scalphunters, White Americans and Mexicans who were offered a bounty by the government for each Native scalp they brought in. These scalphunters, led by Jim Howie (Telly Savalas
), kill the Kiowa and also steal the furs which Bass had hoped to recover. He and Lee are forced to track the party, hoping to take back the furs.
Unfortunately, while spying on them, Lee tips over a cliff and is captured by the scalphunters, who decide they can sell him for $1500 in Galveston, Texas
. As they travel southwards, Jim Howie's girlfriend, Kate (Shelley Winters
), reveals to Lee that they are heading for Mexico
. He begins to win her favor, by doing her hair and telling her fortune, hoping she will persuade Howie to take him with them across the border, rather than sell him.
Bass meanwhile has been following closely on their trail, and at one point he pins them down with sniper fire, forcing them to let loose the packhorse carrying the furs. He is ambushed, however, and the scalphunters recover the furs and proceed on their way. Approaching their camp at night, Bass tries to persuade Lee to help him, but the slave is now set on going to Mexico and refuses him assistance.
Bass kills several of the scalphunters, by intentionally starting a rock avalanche in the mountains near where they are situated. After again failing to secure the furs, Bass contaminates the water of a nearby creek with a toxin that causes the scalphunters' horses to run and buck wildly as they drink the water. Now thoroughly fed up, and wanting to make it to Mexico in safety, they send Lee as a courier to Bass telling him he can keep the furs. A wary Bass comes down to collect the lone packhorse, and is ambushed by Howie who had always intended to break the deal. In an ensuing struggle he is shot by Lee.
The bickering Bass and Lee then break into a long fight, in which neither can defeat the other. Meanwhile, a group of Kiowa attack and overrun the scalphunters. Two Crows, who had survived an earlier massacre, has fetched reinforcements. He takes back the furs, per their earlier deal. The story ends with Bass and Lee, now friends, preparing to follow the Kiowa to take back the furs.
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
and Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
. The film was directed by Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
, with the score written by Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
. Davis was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.
Plot
Joe Bass (Burt LancasterBurt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
), an American fur trapper, is making his way back home with a full cargo of hides when he encounters a group of Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
led by Two Crows (Armando Silvestre
Armando Silvestre
Armando Silvestre is a Mexican film actor. He has appeared in over 190 films since 1948.-Selected filmography:* Hiawatha * Rosanna * Santo Contra los Zombis * Geronimo...
), who insist on taking his furs. As "payment" they offer him a slave, Joseph Lee (Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
), who they had previously taken from a group of Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
s. Reluctantly, realising he cannot fight them, Bass agrees to the trade.
Bass is slightly bemused by his new companion, who is a well-educated and refined house slave, unused to the ways of the West. Bass orders him to help him recover the furs from the Kiowa. Lee only agrees to help if Bass agrees to take him to Mexico where slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
is outlawed. Bass is not amused, but the two strike up a friendly relationship, with Bass teaching Lee how to catch food in the West.
As Lee and Bass come upon the Kiowa, they watch them being ambushed by a group of scalphunters, White Americans and Mexicans who were offered a bounty by the government for each Native scalp they brought in. These scalphunters, led by Jim Howie (Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
), kill the Kiowa and also steal the furs which Bass had hoped to recover. He and Lee are forced to track the party, hoping to take back the furs.
Unfortunately, while spying on them, Lee tips over a cliff and is captured by the scalphunters, who decide they can sell him for $1500 in Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
. As they travel southwards, Jim Howie's girlfriend, Kate (Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
), reveals to Lee that they are heading for Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He begins to win her favor, by doing her hair and telling her fortune, hoping she will persuade Howie to take him with them across the border, rather than sell him.
Bass meanwhile has been following closely on their trail, and at one point he pins them down with sniper fire, forcing them to let loose the packhorse carrying the furs. He is ambushed, however, and the scalphunters recover the furs and proceed on their way. Approaching their camp at night, Bass tries to persuade Lee to help him, but the slave is now set on going to Mexico and refuses him assistance.
Bass kills several of the scalphunters, by intentionally starting a rock avalanche in the mountains near where they are situated. After again failing to secure the furs, Bass contaminates the water of a nearby creek with a toxin that causes the scalphunters' horses to run and buck wildly as they drink the water. Now thoroughly fed up, and wanting to make it to Mexico in safety, they send Lee as a courier to Bass telling him he can keep the furs. A wary Bass comes down to collect the lone packhorse, and is ambushed by Howie who had always intended to break the deal. In an ensuing struggle he is shot by Lee.
The bickering Bass and Lee then break into a long fight, in which neither can defeat the other. Meanwhile, a group of Kiowa attack and overrun the scalphunters. Two Crows, who had survived an earlier massacre, has fetched reinforcements. He takes back the furs, per their earlier deal. The story ends with Bass and Lee, now friends, preparing to follow the Kiowa to take back the furs.
Cast
- Burt LancasterBurt LancasterBurton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
– Joe Bass - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
– Kate - Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
– Jim Howie - Ossie DavisOssie DavisOssie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
– Joseph Lee - Dabney ColemanDabney ColemanDabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...
– Jed - Paul PicerniPaul Picerni-Life and career:Picerni was born in New York City, New York. He was an Eagle Scout who joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he served as a B-24 Liberator bombardier in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew 25 combat missions with the 493rd Bomb Squadron of the 7th...
– Frank - Dan VadisDan VadisDan Vadis was an actor of Greek descent with lineage tracing back to the infamous island of Chios in the Aegean Sea. This former U.S...
– Yuma - Nick CravatNick CravatNick Cravat was an American film actor. His real name was Nicholas Cuccia . "Cravat" was a stage name based on a character in a play he had seen and rather liked....
– Yancy - Armando SilvestreArmando SilvestreArmando Silvestre is a Mexican film actor. He has appeared in over 190 films since 1948.-Selected filmography:* Hiawatha * Rosanna * Santo Contra los Zombis * Geronimo...
– Two Crows