Navajo Joe (1966)

A vicious killer named Duncan (Aldo Sambrell) rides at the head of a band of gunmen who earn their living collecting Indian scalps.

And they aren’t picky about whether the scalps come from warring Indians or peaceful Indians. Or from the heads of warriors or from the heads of women and children.

When Duncan and his brother Jeff ride into Pyote, they find their faces on wanted posters. Seems times are changing, and the sheriff plans to put on end to their murder of peaceful Indians.

Duncan reacts by killing the sheriff and threatening to turn the town into ashes.

Then a Dr. Chester Lynn suggests a more lucrative way for Duncan and his band to make a living. He’s married to the daughter of a bank owner in a neighboring town of Esperanza. That town is to receive $500,000 on an incoming train. He offers to help Duncan and his men steal the money.

The one hitch is the appearance of a Navajo named Joe (Burt Reynolds), who seems intent on killing off Duncan’s men. He offers to defend the town and protect their money, for a price.

After first turning him away, they eventually agree. They even allow him to pin on a sheriff’s badge.

But he’s not just after a bounty. His determination to stop Duncan is far more personal.

Review:

Burt Reynold was apparently never fond of this film, joking that it was shown in prisons and on airplanes — places the audience couldn’t leave.

But it’s also one of the best non-Leone Spaghettis. It’s violent. It’s action-packed. And it features a rousing score by Ennio Morricone (under the psyudonem Leo Nichols) and a great ending.

This would mark the only Spaghetti outing by Reynolds, who plays the vengeance-seeking Indian, a rarity in European Westerns. Nicoletta Machiavelli is the lovely young lady who lends him a hand.

This film also marked the Spaghetti Western debut of Dyanik Zurakowska, who went on to play leading lady in a number of Spaghettis. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss her. She’s the blonde Swedish passenger killed by Duncan in the train holdup.

Directed by:
Sergio Corbucci

Cast:
Burt Reynolds … Joe
Aldo Sambrell … Duncan
Nicoletta Machiavelli … Estella
Simon Arriaga … Monkey
Fernando Rey … Father Rattigan
Tanya Lopert … Maria
Cris Huerta … El Gordo
Franca Polesello … Barbara
Pierre Cressoy … Dr. Chester Lynne
(as Peter Cross)
Lucio Rosato … Jeffrey Duncan
Nino Imparato … Chuck Holloway
Valeria Sabel … Hanna Blackwood Lynne

Also with: Also with: Lucia Modugno, Roberto Paoletti, Mario Lanfranchi, Angel Alvarez, Rafael Albaicàn, Enrique Santiago, Lorenzo Robledo, Raf Baldassare, Valentino Macchi, Angel Ortiz, Gianni di Stolfo, José Terrón, Alvaro de Luna, Lars Bloch, Alberto Paoletti, Maria Cristina Sani, Roderick Dianik, Fortunato Arena, Dyanik Zurakowska

aka:
A Dollar a Head
Un Dollaro a Testa
Savage Run

Music: Ennio Morricone
Song: “Navajo Joe” sung by Gianni Spagnolo and I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni (listen below)

Runtime: 91 min.

Memorable lines:

Estella: “I’ve never known an Indian named Joe. And I’ve never seen a Navajo so far south before.”
Joe: “And me an Indian girl who asks so many questions.”

Sheriff of Peyote: “Now you’re attacking peaceful tribes, killing even the women and children. This is murder, Duncan. And I must forbid it.”
Duncan: “All Indians are the same to me — a bunch of red bastards.”

Townsman: “An Indian sheriff? The only one elected in this country are Americans.”
Joe: “My father was born here in the mountains. And his father before him. And his father before him. And his father before him. Where was your father born?”

Duncan to the preacher in Esperanza: “Nobody ever had mercy on me. When I was a boy, they beat me, even called me bastard. I didn’t cry, and I couldn’t fight back. So that began my revenge to get back at them. Brought out my hatred for Indians like my mother. And I kill white people like my father. My father, a preacher like you, a minister, bred by mercy. But I got a bad break when somebody killed him and beat me to the punch.”

One of Duncan’s men, being lured from guarding the horses: “I found two girls. Come on.”
His buddy: “But what about the horses?”
First man: “Let them find their own girls.”

Trivia:

Reportedly, Burt Reynolds signed on to do this film because he thought Sergio Leone was going to be directing. When he discovered the director was Sergio Corbucci, he supposedly tried to back out. Later, he’d call the experience of making this film one of the worst of his career.

On the other hand, Sergio Corbucci was under the impression Marlo Brando would be the American star playing the part of Navajo Joe. He and Reynolds reportedly did not get along on set. The film was released the same year as two other Corbucci films, “Ringo and His Golden Pistol” and — more notably — “Django.”

Prior to “Navajo Joe,” Reynolds had played lead in just one film, 1965’s “Operation C.I.A.,” as agent Mark Andrews. Most of his work had been on TV, including a recurring role as half-breed blacksmith Quint Asper on “Gunsmoke.” Reynolds is part Cherokee.