Richard Harris, who has appeared in quite a few westerns for<br /><br />being from across the Atlantic, tackles another role with gusto in<br /><br />this hard hitting 1973 film.<br /><br />Harris is Kilpatrick, a pacifist sheriff in a Texas town. Rod Taylor<br /><br />and his gang rob the bank, kill a few people, and get set to ride off<br /><br />with the loot. Harris blocks their departure with a system the town<br /><br />has rigged up so as not to kill anyone, just capture them. He does<br /><br />not believe in guns, and only shoots to injure and scare, not kill.<br /><br />Taylor and the gang kill Harris' wife and child, and ride away, with<br /><br />Harris on their trail. He does not let that pesky Mexican border<br /><br />deter him either, as he rides on through and meets another<br /><br />lawman a lot like him.<br /><br />Al Lettieri plays Gutierrez, who is also after Taylor. However,<br /><br />Gutierrez's pacifism comes to annoy the viewer as well as Harris.<br /><br />The Mexican sheriff is insistent on letting justice prevail, always<br /><br />looking for witnesses, and never just going after and killing the<br /><br />bloodthirsty gang.<br /><br />Harris begins to catch up to the gang, and dispatches them one by<br /><br />one, until he finally is down to two. He is also on his last nerve, as<br /><br />he finally gives in to his gun's quick justice. The climactic shootout<br /><br />in the convent, where Harris finds himself on the same level as<br /><br />Taylor, is very moving.<br /><br />Despite the (PG) rating, this is one violent film. Once the viewer<br /><br />overcomes this, they are definitely in for a wild ride. Harris is great<br /><br />as the vengeful sheriff who will not die, and brings the same<br /><br />intensity to this that he showed in the "A Man Called Horse" series.<br /><br />Rod Taylor goes down in western film history as one of the<br /><br />meanest villains on celluloid. One great scene has him describe<br /><br />how he murdered his father, as even his jaded gang looks at him<br /><br />in horror.<br /><br />In the outlaw gang- William Smith, who seems to have been in<br /><br />everything and you will recognize him the minute you see him,<br /><br />does well as the seemingly retarded Schoolboy. Neville Brand is<br /><br />good as Choo Choo, who earned that nickname because he has<br /><br />a section of rail where his hand was. Paul Benjamin is great as<br /><br />Jacob, a very intelligent black man who uses his wits to outsmart<br /><br />the rest of the gang, but cannot get past how others feel about his<br /><br />color.<br /><br />As mentioned before, the cast is great except for the character of<br /><br />Gutierrez. Eventually, he became a thorn in the side of Harris and<br /><br />the audience. He never seemed to get what Harris was trying to<br /><br />do, and adhered so closely to the law that he became annoying.<br /><br />His final murderous act is more frustrating than noble.<br /><br />Shear's direction is okay, once in a while I would notice the<br /><br />shadow of a camera in an outdoor scene. His decision to use still<br /><br />shots from the movie in the opening credits might have people<br /><br />checking the pause button on their VCR, and I am not sure why he<br /><br />did this. His actions scenes are good, with good stuntwork, but<br /><br />again, be forewarned of the violence, especially directed toward<br /><br />children.<br /><br />Despite an equally awkward title, "The Deadly Trackers" is good<br /><br />adult western fare that probably should have received more praise<br /><br />than it has- especially for Taylor and Harris. I highly recommend it.<br /><br />This is rated (PG) but contains strong physical violence, strong<br /><br />gun violence, brief sexual violence, gore, strong profanity, very brief<br /><br />female nudity, and sexual references. <br /><br />