Gone with the West (1974)

James Caan plays Jebediah Kelsey, a man just released from prison, a man who wants to get even with a man named Mimmo for destroying his family.

No sooner is he out of jail that a blacksmith balks at paying protection money to support “Mimmo and his whores.”

When three of his goons tries to beat the money out of him, Jebediah comes to his rescue, brandishing a branding iron.

Now Mimmo has reason to want Jebediah dead as well.

Meanwhile, an Indian girl named Little Moon (Stefanie Powers) is raped by Mimmo’s men in the middle of a cock-fighting match while the rest of the town looks on and cheers.

So she has a score to even too. And she tries rolling an enormous boulder down on the town as her first act of vengeance.

The attempt fails miserably. But it gives her new acquaintance, none other than Jebediah Kesley, an idea.

He starts building catapaults. And Little Moon is more than willing to help out.

James Caan as Jebediah Kelsey, a man with a score to settle in Gone with the West (1974)

Stefanie Powers as Little Moon, not sure she can trust Jebediah in Gone with the West (1974)

Review:

It’s a bit hard to believe that three stars like James Caan, Stefanie Powers and Sammy Davis Jr. signed on to such a low-budget, crudely made film.

It’s also a bit hard to understand what the filmmakers were up to. The out-of-town segments featuring Little Moon and Jeb play like a Road Runner cartoon. Hit town, and it’s all Sodom and Gomorrah like hedonism. with only Kid Dandy (Davis’s character) staying above the fray.

They did manage to destroy almost an entire town set in the making of the film. In one of the best scenes, Jeb is tied to a cross and about to be tortured with a branding iron. Little Moon comes galloping by, lassos the cross and drags it and Jeb to safety.

To make matters odder yet, the film was later reissued as “Little Moon and Jud McGraw.” Yep, the name of James Caan’s character changed.

But that’s not the only difference in the two versions. The latter opens with an extended flashback sequence. Then the main story is told, tall tale style, to a journalist and his lady friend by an elderly woman running a sideroad “ghost town” attraction.

Trust me, this works better as a tall tale.

Aldo Ray as Mimmo, the man behind all the trouble in Gone with the West (1974)

Sammy Davis Jr. as Kid Dandy, Mimmo’s hired gun in Gone with the West (1974)

Directed by:
Bernard Girard

Cast:
James Caan … Jebediah Kelsey
Stefanie Powers … Little Moon
Aldo Ray … Mimmo
Barbara Werle … Billie
Robert Walker Jr. … Sheriff
Sammy Davis Jr. …. Kid Dandy
Kenny Adams … Artie

Runtime: 90 min.

aka: Little Moon and Jud McGraw

Song: “A Man”

Robert Walker Jr. as the sheriff expected to do Mimmo’s bidding in Gone with the West (1974)

Kenny Adams as Artie, the barfly who gets on Kid Dandy’s nerves in Gone with the West (1974)

Memorable lines:

Posse member: “They had traps Indians haven’t even thought of yet.”
Posse member #2: “Lost four good men out there. Couldn’t even find ’em.”

Artie: “You ever try findin’ a ghost, Mimmo. Well, that’s what up there. Only there must be a hundred of ’em.”

Sheriff, after Jeb intervenes when Mimmo’s men attack the blacksmith: “Wasn’t your fight.”
Jeb: “I was drinking his beer.”

Mimmo to Jebediah: “You had fun at Bitter Creek with a hot iron. Now let’s see how you like it.”

Stefanie Powers as Little Moon and James Caan as Jebediah Kelsey in Gone with the West (1974)

Barbara Werle as Billie, Mimmo’s girlfriend and thee sister of the sheriff in Gone with the West (1974)

Stefanie Powers as Little Moon, caught bathing by Jebediah Kelsey in Gone with the West (1974)

James Caan as Jebediah Kelsey, about to get involved in a scrap that irritates Mimmo in Gone with the West (1974)