CATLOW

 

CATLOW is a 1971 Western that has a lot in common with SHALAKO--both films were made in Spain, both were based on Louis L'Amour novels, they were produced by Euan Lloyd, and they feature a cast of international actors. 

The title character in CATLOW, played by Yul Brynner, is an easygoing rogue who winds up in one scrape after another. After being accused of rustling a herd of cattle, Catlow heads to Mexico, where he and his raggedy band attempt to steal a fortune's worth of gold. Along the way Catlow is pursued by his old friend Ben (Richard Crenna), a trustworthy Marshal who has a warrant for his arrest. Catlow and Ben wind up facing all sorts of foes and situations. 

CATLOW may have been filmed in Spain (many of the locations used will be familiar to spaghetti western fans), but it has none of the early 70s Euro Western attitude. CATLOW has an almost old-fashioned vibe to it--the movie was originally rated PG, and there's nothing in it that is all that outstanding or original. Yul Brynner's Catlow is a devil-may-care fellow who constantly has a big grin on his face. Catlow doesn't seem very worried about what is going on, no matter how dangerous things get--and if the main character of a movie isn't all that concerned about things, why should the audience? 

There's plenty going on in CATLOW, with subplots involving cattle barons, bounty hunters, Native Americans, Mexican federales--perhaps the movie would have been better if it had focused more on the main character's activities. The solo adventures of Richard Crenna's diligent Marshal give that character as much screen time as Catlow. (Crenna is as solid and dependable as always--his Marshal is a far more interesting person than Catlow is.) Leonard Nimoy all but steals the film as Miller, a cold-blooded relentless bounty hunter who wants to get Catlow no matter what (one also wishes that Nimoy had more scenes). Daliah Lavi plays a spunky senorita and Jeff Corey fills the "crazy old coot" role. Most of the other minor roles are taken by spaghetti western veterans. 

The director of CATLOW was American actor Sam Wanamaker, but the real talents behind the film's pace and action scenes were James Bond veterans John Glen (chief editor and 2nd unit director) and Bob Simmons (stunt coordinator). British composer Roy Budd provides a score that goes out of its way to be reminiscent of classic Western themes. 

CATLOW is a decent 100 minutes of entertainment, but compared to the many more notable Westerns being made around the same time, it feels plain and generic.