''The Deadly Trackers'' is a 1973 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Barry Shear Barry Shear (March 23, 1923 in New York City – June 13, 1979 in Los Angeles) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Television career Shear began directing for television in the 1950s for the DuMont Television Net ...

and starring

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

, Rod Taylor and

Al Lettieri Alfredo Lettieri (February 24, 1928 – October 18, 1975) was an American actor. Active during the 1960s and 70s, he commonly portrayed villainous characters. He achieved recognition for his performance as mobster Virgil Sollozzo in the crime fi ...

. It is based on the novel ''Riata'' by Samuel Fuller.

Plot

Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Harris) is a pacifist. He is compelled to go against everything he has stood for to bring death to a gang of outlaws, led by the ruthless Brand (Taylor), to avenge the deaths of his wife and son, murdered by the gang when it robbed the bank in Kilpatrick's town. In

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, his hunt is challenged by his noble sheriff counterpart (Lettieri), who is interested only in carrying out the law - not vengeance.

Cast

as Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick * Rod Taylor as Frank Brand *

as Gutierrez, Mexican Policeman *

Neville Brand Lawrence Neville Brand (August 13, 1920 – April 16, 1992) was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas, and ''films noir'', and was nominated for a BAFTA Awa ...

as Choo Choo * William Smith as Schoolboy *

Paul Benjamin Paul Benjamin (February 4, 1938 – June 28, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades. Benjamin appeared in dozens of films and television shows beginning in the late 1960s. Biography Born to Fair, a Baptist preacher (1890– ...

as Jacob *

Pedro Armendáriz Jr. Pedro Armendáriz Bohr (April 6, 1940 – December 26, 2011), better known by his stage name Pedro Armendáriz Jr., was a Mexican actor. Life and career Pedro Armendáriz Bohr was born in Mexico City to Mexican-American actor Pedro Armendáriz ...

as Herrero *

Isela Vega Isela Vega Durazo (5 November 1939 – 9 March 2021) was a Mexican actress,Televisa ...

as Maria * Kelly Jean Peters as Katharine Kilpatrick * William Bryant as Deputy Bill * Sean Marshall as Kevin Kilpatrick *

Read Morgan Read Lawrence Morgan (January 30, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of Sergeant Hapgood Tasker in the American western television series ''The Deputy''. Life and career Morg ...

as Deputy Bob * oan Swift as Teacher * Ray Moyer as Priest * Armando Acosta as Mole

Production

The film began as the project, ''Riata'', written and directed by Sam Fuller, starring Richard Harris and Bo Hopkins. Production was halted during filming and then reassembled with a new director and cast, with Harris the only member of the original cast to return. According to costar Rod Taylor, Harris hated Fuller's script and walked out on the original production. Once Taylor signed on, he contributed to the re-write (Taylor was a member of the Screenwriters Guild) by adding scenes to flesh out his villainous character. It was through Harris' relentless drive that the film was completed at all, even using musical outtakes from other movies to cobble together the score.

References

External links

* *
''The Deadly Trackers''
at the Complete Rod Taylor site 1973 films British Western (genre) films Films directed by Barry Shear 1973 Western (genre) films Warner Bros. films American Western (genre) films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1970s British films {{1970s-Western-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links