Grayeagle (1977)

Ben Johnson is John Colter, a settler in 1848 Montana who spots a Cheyenne, painted for war, on the horizon.

When the warrior shows up a second day, he and Indian friend Standing Bear (Iron Eyes Cody) head out to investigate.

They don’t find the warrior. But when they return to their cabin, they find Colter’s pretty daughter Beth (Lana Wood) missing.

She’s been taken by Grayeagle (Alex Cord) at the request of aging Cheyenne Chief Running Wolf.

Colter and Standing Bear head out in pursuit, picking up Trapper Willis (Jack Elam), another veteran of the frontier, along the way.

Their search for Beth will be hampered by a half-mad trapper who’s also a friend of the Indians (a role played by director Charles B. Pierce).

Meanwhile, Beth gets the feeling that Grayeagle intends her no harm.

At very least, she’s feels safer with him than she’d be with the Shoshone warrior Scar, who wants her for his own.

Alex Cord as Grayeagle, the warrior given the task of kidnapping Beth Colter in Grayeagle (1977)

Lana Wood as Beth Colter, looking out the window of her father’s cabin in Grayeagle (1977)

Review:

Alex Cord is horribly miscast, though looking quite fit in his mid-40s. Iron Eyes Cody is too much the smiling sidekick.

And the film’s limited budget is obvious.

But if you pull together as many Western vets as this film does, chances are you’ll have an entertaining Western.

This film delivers that and serves up a couple of well-filmed segments on Indian traditions, including a deadly game of coup.

And director Charles B. Pierce spices things up with his portrayal of a half-mad trapper who’s friendly with the hostile Shoshone.

Lana Wood, of course, is the younger sister of Natalie. In fact, her first credited film role was as a young white girl kidnapped by Indians in the John Ford/John Wayne classic “The Searchers” (1956). Natalie is among the top-billed co-stars, playing the same girl years later.

“Grayeagle” — though the plot varies considerably — will likely bring of memories of the John Ford classic, right down to the way the closing shot is framed.

Though in my opinion, this time the camera should have stopped rolling several seconds before it did.

Ben Johnson as John Colter, spotting a Cheyenne warrior near his home in Grayeagle (1977)

Iron Eyes Cody as Standing Bear, John Colter’s Indian friend in Grayeagle (1977)

Directed by:
Charles B. Pierce

Cast:
Ben Johnson … John Colter
Alex Cord … Grayeagle
Lana Wood … Beth Colter
Iron Eyes Cody … Standing Bear
Jack Elam … Trapper Willis
Paul Fix … Running Wolf
Jacob Daniels … Scar
Charles B. Pierce … Bugler
Jimmy Clem … Abe Stroud
Cindy Butler … Ida Colter
Blackie Wetzel … Medicine Man
Jim Hirst … Young Running Wolf
John Welsh … Lum Stroud

Also with … Cheyenne Rivera, Wayne Wells, Bill Lafromboise, Don Wright

Runtime: 104 min.

Jack Elam as Willis, the aging trapper who agrees to help search for Beth in Grayeagle (1977)

Paul Fix as Running Wolf, the aging chief who sends Grayeagle on his mission in Grayeagle (1977)

Memorable lines:

Beth Colter, as Grayeagle ties her up inside a teepee: “You don’t need to do that. From the looks of the scalps in here, I ain’t going anywhere.”

John Colter of kidnapped Beth: “If he harms one hair on her head, I’ll hang a Cheyenne scalp in my cabin for every year that she’s lived.”

Willis, to his dog: “You know, if the Shoshone hadn’t give you to me, you’d probably gotten starved by ’em. Or eaten.”

John Colter to Bugler: “Your day’s comin’. You’ll blow that bugle for them to open the gates of hell for you.”

Grayeagle: “It is a good day to die.”

Jacob Daniel as Scar, the Shoshone brave who wants Beth for his own in Grayeagle (1977)

Charles B. Pierce as Bugler, the mad trapper aligned with the Indians in Grayeagle (1977)

Jimmy Clem as Abe Stroud, a post trader and John Colter’s friend in Grayeagle (1977)

Lana Wood as Beth Colter, witnessing a Cheyenne ceremony for the first time in Grayeagle (1977)

Ben Johnson as John Colter, about to endure a game of coup in Grayeagle (1977)

Alex Cord as Grayeagle, about to spring into action to defend Beth in Grayeagle (1977)

Iron Eyes Cody as Standing Bear comforts Beth Colter (Lana Wood) in Grayeagle (1977)

Alex Cord as Grayeagle, announcing that captive Beth Colter (Lana Wood) isn’t for sale in Grayeagle (1977)