The Deadly Trackers | |
---|---|
Directed by | Barry Shear |
Written by | Lukas Heller |
Based on | Riata by Samuel Fuller |
Starring | Richard Harris Rod Taylor Al Lettieri Neville Brand William Smith |
Cinematography | Gabriel Torres |
Edited by | Michael Economou Carl Pingitore |
Music by | Fred Steiner |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Deadly Trackers is a 1973 American Western film directed by Barry Shear and starring Richard Harris, Rod Taylor and Al Lettieri. [1] It is based on the novel Riata by Samuel Fuller.
Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Harris) is a pacifist. He is compelled to go against everything he has stood for to bring death to a gang of outlaws, led by the ruthless Brand (Taylor), to avenge the deaths of his wife and son, murdered by the gang when it robbed the bank in Kilpatrick's town. In Mexico, his hunt is challenged by his noble sheriff counterpart (Lettieri), who is interested only in carrying out the law - not vengeance.
The film began as the project, Riata, written and directed by Sam Fuller, starring Richard Harris and Bo Hopkins. Production was halted during filming and then reassembled with a new director and cast, with Harris the only member of the original cast to return. [2]
According to costar Rod Taylor, Harris hated Fuller's script and walked out on the original production. Once Taylor signed on, he contributed to the re-write (Taylor was a member of the Screenwriters Guild) by adding scenes to flesh out his villainous character. It was through Harris' relentless drive that the film was completed at all, even using musical outtakes from other movies to cobble together the score. [3]
Lawrence Neville Brand was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas, and films noir, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his performance in Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954).
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