The Appaloosa

Dir: Sidney J. Furie

1966

***

Director Sidney J. Furie is probably best known for The Ipcress File, for co-directing The Jazz Singer, for creating the Iron Eagle series and for directing the understated masterpiece that is Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. His 1966 Western The Appaloosa, is largely overlooked but for good reason. It’s a film that I admit I enjoyed but there is something lacking from it compared to other westerns; there is no sense of suspense or intrigue and I actually liked the villain more than the good guy.  Based on the 1963 book by Robert MacLeod, the Appaloosa of the title is a beautiful horse (the Appaloosa is a breed) belonging to Matt Fletcher, played by Marlon Brando, a Mexican-American buffalo hunter who returns home only to have his beloved stallion stolen by a powerful bandit called Chuy Medina (played by John Saxon). Fletcher’s Appaloosa is stolen from him with the help of Medina’s girlfriend Trini (Anjanette Comer) who takes advantage of him while he is visiting the local church, having returned home after many years. Fletcher is the archetype western traveler returning home after years of travel, looking to settle down after a life of confrontation. As always with such characters, trouble is just around the corner, attracted to them like flies are to Appaloosa poo. Fletcher senses that Trini wasn’t acting out of spite but against her will, he later learns that she was sold to Chuy at the age of fifteen and has been brutalized by him ever since. Fletcher begins to hunt down the bandit to recapture the horse, but finds matters more complicated than expected when he and Trini become close. Fletcher is subjected to torture and humiliation by Chuy and his minions. A later foray into Medina's camp results in a brutal arm wrestling match in a bar between Fletcher and the bandito that ends with Fletcher being stung on the arm by a scorpion and left for dead. Fletcher is rescued by Trini in an act of redemption and set upon sweet revenge but not before having to choose between his beloved horse and his Chiquita. There is very little that is unique about The Appaloosa but there are a few points that I really enjoyed about it. Marlon Brando’s aloof performance might have endeared him to a few, and I’m sure he thought he was doing something different, but the genre is full of unique and complex protagonists, there isn’t anything uniquely special about him but he is likable and there is something refreshingly flawed about him. Certain scenes in the movie seem out of place, like the initial meeting of Fletcher and Trini inside the town church. There is something unwestern-like about it that makes it stand out. The arm wrestling scene is brilliant and the standout moment of the movie but the conclusion is also very pleasing. However, the best part of the film by far is the brilliant performance by John Saxon as the bandit Chuy Medina. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor which I think was a little unfair as he was a main character but he certainly deserved the nomination, as he stole every scene he was in and is up there with some of the greatest western villains within the genre. I can see why the film is largely overlooked but certain aspects of it make it a western that aficionados of the genre still celebrate and use as a comparison to the classics. It’s well worth checking out if you’re a fan of getting dust in your chaps.