For years, the recently deceased Burt Reynolds bad-mouthed the 1966 Italian-Spanish co-production Navajo Joe, directed by genre veteran Sergio Corbucci (Minnesota Clay; Django; The Great Silence; The Mercenary), which he starred in. Reynolds had mistakenly thought the director was going to be Spaghetti Western legend Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) and would later claim that the finished film (released in the US in 1967) was “so awful it was shown only in prisons and airplanes because nobody could leave.” One wonders why he felt that way since Navajo Joe is an exciting, well-paced, violent, and downbeat action thriller with lots of wild stunt sequences, and even some genuine character motivation. Keep in mind Reynolds was notorious for making bad judgment calls. (In later decades, apparently made aware that his fans really liked the film, Reynolds’ attitude towards it softened.)
Here’s the trailer:
Navajo Joe centers on the title character, played by Reynolds, who’s out for revenge against a group of scalp-hunting bandits led by the vicious Duncan (Spaghetti Western regular Aldo Sambrell, here billed as ‘Aldo Sanbrell’) who, after wiping out an Indian village, rob a train and massacre everybody on board for a shipment of money going to the small (and slightly underpopulated) town of Esperanza. Joe manages to get back the money and bring it to the townspeople, who aren’t exactly thrilled about having a Native American protecting them from the gang’s reprisals. Reynolds has a great moment here when he debunks the citizens’ idea of what really makes an American.
But the local sawbones, Dr. Lynne (Pierre Cressoy, billed as ‘Peter Cross’), is secretly working with the outlaws. He throws a wrench into Joe’s plans by threatening the local Indian servant Estella (Nicoletta Machiavelli). With the townspeople all being racists and cowards, how will Joe take out the crooks? And why does Joe especially want revenge on Duncan (who, in a chilling moment, explains why he hates Indians so much to a terrified priest played by The French Connection‘s Fernando Rey)?
Navajo Joe does have faults. There’s not much humor, the supporting performances are uneven (lots of Spanish, French & Italian actors in the cast, all dubbed), it’s never explained why a Navajo (Joe) is so close to the Mexican border, and, because Reynolds had to get back to America for a TV series commitment, all his scenes had to be shot ahead of everybody else’s. That’s probably why there are long stretches with other characters talking, shooting, etc while Reynolds is off-camera. However, Reynolds’ natural charisma and screen presence shines through and he makes the most of his screen time. (Another favorite bit by Reynolds is the surprised but happy look he gives when he realizes an otherwise frightened citizen risked his own life to rescue him; Reynolds’ genuine warmth comes through to the audience at that moment.)
The action sequences, including the ones involving the train, and Joe’s escape late in the film from Duncan’s gang, are well staged (Reynolds did most of his own stunts), and the music soundtrack by the always sublime Ennio Morricone (as ‘Leo Nichols’) is powerful and catchy (Quentin Tarantino used parts of the score for his two Kill Bill films). The final confrontation between Joe and Duncan is appropriately over the top, and the final scene will haunt the viewer for a long time after. If you enjoy thrilling action-packed westerns, Navajo Joe is for you!
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