University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

'Catlow': Pleasantly Peculiar Western

By PAUL CHAPLIN

"Catlow" is a rather peculiar
western; I don't mean there's
anything unusual about the
film, but the plot is so
far-fetched it's unbelievable.
The combined talents of Yul
Brynner, Richard Crenna, and
script writers Scott Finch and
J.J. Griffith make the film
work, producing an enjoyable
escape from the trend of
"relevant" westerns like
"Doc," and even "Little Big
Man."

Catlow is a somewhat
lovable conman, stealing cattle
and gold while constantly
pursued by the forces of justice
personified by lone marshal
Cowan. In the title role, Yul
Brynner has a holiday
wisecracking and escaping from
the marshal, a nice guy,
casually played by Richard
Crenna, who doesn't really
want to arrest his old war
buddy. The two men glide
through their parts. There is no
"acting" as there is no depth to
the characters.

Crenna, Brynner: Easy Give-And-Take

There is an easy
give-and-take between the men,
which reminded me of John
Wayne and Burt Lancaster in
"The War Wagon." The latter
film could be viewed as a
spoof, or as an outrageous film.
"Catlow" has an abundant
amount of humor in it, but
we're not to laugh about the
basic premise of a man being
hunted by the Mexican army, a
marshal, a hired gun, and an
entire nation of Indians with
poison-tipped arrows.

Supporting Roles

In the supporting roles,
Leonard Nimoy has little to do
as the hired killer, except lurk
behind hills and look sinister,
something the former Dr.
Spock does quite well. Daliah
Levi is cast as a Mexican, in a
powerhouse performance,
giving Brynner a memorable
kick.

The photography is
exceptionally good, and Spain
deserves an Oscar for a
magnificent impersonation of
Arizona and Mexico. MGM,
which produced "How the
West Was Won," pulled out all
the stops for "Catlow," in
terms of spectacle.

Bogged Down

The pacing is one problem
with "Catlow." The film moves
along, gets bogged down for
about twenty minutes, then
picks up steam again. Finch
and Griffith confessed that
when they adapted Louis
L'Amour's novel, they added
the gold heist, which is the one
part of the plot that needs
more development than
elements from the original to
create a satisfying plot. Aside
from that, "Catlow" is a lot of
fun to watch and is easy on the
mind, which is a pleasant way
to case into a new semester.

(Now at the Cinema)