Review of The Scalphunters (1968) by Rebecca H — 02 Feb 2009

It's watchable, but not much more than that. Hardly the 'something for everybody' that the blurb boasts.

This is the story of a trapper, Joe Bass (Burt Lancaster), who has his pelts stolen by Native Americans (he is on their land) in exchange for an escaped slave, educated Joseph Lee (Ossie Davis), they have captured. Lee wants his freedom, but Bass isn't interested, but before he can steal his pelts back, a bunch of evil white men slaughter the Kiowa for their scalps. The rest of the film is Bass trying to get his pelts back and failing, while Lee worms his way in with the baddies, vying for his freedom.

I think my main problem is that none of the characters are particularly likeable or interesting. I could barely remember their names, which is a bad sign. Bass has the whole loveable rogue thing, while Lee is clever, but Bass comes off as one-note, while Lee endlessly talks to himself in front of people who want to kill him and fails to do anything, which doesn't exactly come across as smart. And why does the director keep giving us the horse's reaction shots?

Once the film settles into 'Bass follows baddies, tries to get pelts, fails, continues to follow', my heart sank. A promising premise soon settles into a rut it doesn't shake for the rest of the film. Meanwhile, there isn't enough character focus and the two leads spend barely any time together, so the prolonged punch up at the end doesn't feel earned. Why shouldn't Lee hate Bass? He tried to SELL him. Due to this, the comic ending, loaded with potential, doesn't really work because it doesn't have the plot or character to back it up.