Zachariah (1971)

John Ruinstein plays Zachariah, a young man who orders a six-gun from a mail-order catalog, begins practicing his shooting skills and soon kills his first man, a loudmouth in a saloon.

That experience, he believes, has given him an adventurous new direction in life. He’s going to become a gunfighter, and his best friend Matthew (Don Johnson) is eager to tag along.

They join a gang called The Crackers with a simple plan. While the gang provides a distraction with their music, Zachariah and Matthew will slip into the other end of town and rob a bank.

It works wonders once, but the Crackers prove so inept that the price on their heads drops as quickly as it climbed.

And so Zachariah looks for new adventures, whether it be matching gun skills with Joe Cain or visiting Belle Starr’s gaudy bordello.

He and Matthew wind up parting ways and taking different paths in their young lives.

But they’ll be reunited, after Zachariah has spent some time under the patient tutelage of an old man who’s learned the value of a peaceful existence with nature.

John Ruinstein as Zachariah in Zachariah (1971)

Don Johnson as Matthew in Zachariah (1971)

Review:

The 1970s spawned more than its share of coming-of-age Westerns. With its mix of music and mysticism, comedy and moral, this has to rank as one of the strangest.

The oddest scene of all finds Zachariah in bed with Belle Starr, surrounded by cardboard cutouts of her former gunfighter lovers while a band jams out, losing clothing as it performs.

Don Johnson is quite handsome in his first starring role, and you’ll recognize Dick Van Patten as the traveling salesman who sets up shop in Belle’s gaudy town.

You might not recognize Elvin Jones, but has was a renown jazz drummer at the time. Country Joe and the Fish and the James Gang (which included future Eagle Joe Walsh) were also well known when the film was made.

Just be prepared for a ride through a very weird West if you give this flick a spin.

Elvin Jones as Joe Cain in Zachariah (1971)

Patricia Quinn as Belle Starr in Zachariah (1971)

Directed by:
George Englund

Cast:
John Ruinstein … Zachariah
Patricia Quinn … Belle Starr
Don Johnson … Matthew
Country Joe and the Fish … The Crackers
Elvin Jones … Joe Cain
Doug Kershaw … The fiddler
William Challee … The old man
Robert Ball … The stage manager
Dick Van Patten … The dude
James Gang … Joe Cain’s band
White Lightnin’ … Old man’s band
The New York Rock ensemble … Belle Starr’s band

Runtime: 93 min.

William Challee as The Old Man in Zachariah (1971)

Doug Kershaw as The Fiddler in Zachariah (1971)

Memorable lines:

Zachariah: “I want you to make me some silver bullets.”
Matthew: “Having trouble with that vampire out at the ranch again, Zach?”
Zachariah: “No, I need some fancy bullets to do some fancy shooting.”

The Crackers lead singer, belting out “We’re the Crackers”: “I ride a stallion / and his name is Fred / if you think that’s funny / I’ll blow off your head.”

Zachariah, as the reward on The Crackers band plummets to $25 per head: “These guys sure play better than they rob.”

Joe Cain: “We got a little game we play around here between shoot-outs. It’s called: You’re Dead.”

Belle Starr: “Billy the Kid. Wild Bill Hickok. Matt Dillon. — I’ve had them all. Most gunfighters bore me.”
Zachariah: “I won’t.”

Zachariah: “I would say peace isn’t what I’ve been looking for.”
Old man: “Well, if it ain’t, you’ve been lookin’ for the wrong thing.”

Matthew, as he comes upon Zachariah tending his crops: “Put on your gun, you vegetable.”
Zachariah, unprovoked: “You’re going to have to do better than that, Matthew.”

Don Johnson as Matthew and John Ruinstein as Zachariah in Zachariah (1971)

John Ruinstein as Zachariah and Don Johnson as Matthew in Zachariah (1971)