when you consider that this movie was released in 1966,in the midst of the Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood western trilogy and the same year as the groundbreaking-action classic"The Professionals","The appaloosa" is a dated film.Sergio Leone and Richard Brooks were exceptionally good film makers and could tell a good story.Sidney J.Furie made top notch spy thrillers with Michael Caine in the Harry Palmer films,but Furie seemed to out of his league making a western."The Appaloosa"is a slow moving ponderous film with little excitement.the novel by Robert Macleod is superior. the first two or three chapters of the book take place at "the battle of adobe walls"-a real life incident that took place in 1874 in which a small group of buffalo hunters held off a large band of Indians.this entire sequence was not included in the film due to Marlon Brando refusing to be in a movie where his character was killing Indians.in addition,Brando did not like Indians being portrayed as nothing but savage killers.or at least, this is what i have read.one positive addition that the film has that the novel does not have is the arm wrestling contest between Brando and John Saxon -with an added-creepy danger to the contest.also in the film's favor- both Brando and Saxon are good.Brando is low key and brooding while Saxon hams it up-also Anjanette Comer is very lovely.the film deletes the Indian wife of Brando's character and the role of the town sheriff in the novel is reduced to one quick short mini scene.the novel is a rugged western with good action.the movie is not.they should have been more faithful to the book-it would have made a better movie.still, the movie is worth a look and has a fine music score and some nice photography in addition to some solid performances, but it lacks excitement.
Review of The Appaloosa
