Ernest Borgnine is Sam Paxton, who’s shopping in town when news arrives that army deserters are pillaging in the area.
He rushes back home with his wife Dora (Julie Adams) to find their teenage son dying and their teenage daughter (Connie Kreski as Becky) missing.
He sets out with a posse led by Sheriff Tom Naylor (Jim Davis) to find Becky, sure she’s been taken prisoner by the bandits.
But he also sends off for help from old friend, renown tracker and fellow ex-Confederate Charlie Gordon.
Instead, Ezekiel Smith (Sammy Davis Jr.) shows up, a black lawman and tracker.
Seems Charlie Gordon is suffering from a gunshot wound; Smith is taking his place because Gordon took him in and raised him when he was orphaned.
Paxton has a hard time accepting help from “a black Indian.” Sheriff Naylor has absolutely no intention of following one.
But Dora convinces her husband to do whatever it takes to get Becky back. So the contingent rides off to “start tracking.”
Smith quickly proves his abilities, correctly guessing it was Indians, not outlaw whites, who raided the Paxton ranch.
But Paxton still has trouble seeing beyond his dark skin. And once the kidnappers slip over the border into Mexico, that might lose him his tracker since Smith has no legal authority or obligation outside Texas.
Ernest Borgnine as Sam Paxton, an ex-Confederate forced to rely on a black man’s help to find his daughter in The Trackers (1971)
Sammy Davis Jr. as Ezekiel Smith, the black tracker who shows up to help Sam Paxton finds his daughter in The Trackers (1971)
Review:
Fairly well-done TV movie that survives Borgnine’s overacting and focuses as much on the race-strained relationship between the two leads as their quest.
The film bring together several Western vets. Arthur Hunnicutt plays a white tracker who travels with the sheriff. Leo Gordon is among the villains.
And Julie Adams, who plays Borgnine’s wife, starred in a number of Westerns during the 1950s, including “Bend of the River” (1952) opposite James Stewart.
According to IMDb, this is a film John Wayne and Sammy Davis hoped to make together with Burt Kennedy directing for theatrical release, but schedule conflicts prevented it from happening.
As the kidnapped daughter, fourth-billed Connie Kreski has little screen time, appeared in just a handful of films, but had an interesting background.
She was Playboy’s Playmate of the Year for 1969 and a good friend of Sharon Tate. In fact, Tate had invited her to her home on the night in 1969 on which she and three friends were killed by members of the Charles Manson family.
Jim Davis as Sheriff Tom Naylor, the bigoted lawman who helps Paxton search for his daughter in The Trackers (1971)
Julie Adams as Dora Paxton, hopeful for her daughter’s return in The Trackers (1971)
Directed by:
Earl Bellamy
Cast:
Sammy Davis Jr. … Ezekiel Smith
Ernest Borgnine … Sam Paxton
Julie Adams … Dora Paxton
Connie Kreski … Becky Paxton
Norman Alden … Pete Dilworth
Jim Davis … Sheriff Tom Naylor
Gary Marshal … El Grande / Roger Barnes
as Caleb Brooks
Arthur Hunnicutt .. Ben Vovel
Leo Gordon … Higgins
David Renard … Father Gomez
William Katt … Davey Paxton
Ross Elliott … Captain
Lee de Broux … Bartender
Bucklind Beery … Wagon Driver
Runtime: 73 min.
Gary Marshal as Roger Barnes, aka El Grande, leader of the south-of-the-border bandits in The Trackers (1971)
Leo Gordon as Higgins, the right-hand man for the bandit El Grande in The Trackers (1971)
Memorable lines:
Dora Paxton, as Sam hurries home: “Sam, will there be any trouble?”
Sam Paxton: “No. No. I’m just fidgety is all.”
Instantly, shots ring out.
Sam Paxton: “Vogel, go up and ride point.”
Sheriff Naylor: “Wait a minute, Sam. What about the black? Why risk one of us? Let him do it. Won’t be any loss if he caught one.”
Paxton: “Tom, get your man up there.”
Sam Paxton, giving directions to Ezekial Smith: “You get the girls to the border.”
Ezekiel Smith: “Mr. Paxton, how much chance you think I got with a group of white women going through Texas?”
Ernest Borgnine as Sam Paxton and Julie Adams as wife Dora, worried about their daughter in The Trackers (1971)
Connie Kreski as Becky Paxton with her dad Sam (Ernest Borgnine) in The Trackers (1971)
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