User reviews

This film is not as bad as most people have noted. I'm sure they were turned off by the very downbeat story and low budget. Many scenes were also dubbed which does not help. I found the plot delivered especially in the second half of the film. I liked the way the Apache seeking revenge went about tracking down the gang of killers and wiping them out one by one. The methods he uses to kill them off are certainly inventive. The other big plus in this film is the location shooting in Sequoia National Forest in California and other locations in Arizona(the entire film was shot outdoors). You can almost feel the cold wind blowing and taste the omnipresent dust. Performances are mixed. Jody McCrea(who also produced the film) is OK as the "hero" of the film. His motivations seem ambiguous but this did not bother me that much. Joel McCrae(doing his son a favor by appearing in this film) is not on-screen nearly enough but his facial expressions are so subtle that we understand quickly what he is feeling. Director Jack Starrett delivers one very weird performance as the bible-obsessed killer who lusts for gold constantly muttering to himself and to the others. Don Henley (not sure if this is the Don Henley of the Eagles)is quite good as the leader of the gang. Ruthless but more cunning than you think. The character of Billy is probably the weakest. He is supposed to be a ruthless goon but is played at times as a whimpering baby. The others are OK but nothing special. This is best viewed late at night when nothing else is on. Overall I give it 4 Apaches out of 10.

Even though he only appears in the movie for scant minutes and scarcely says a word, this has to easily qualify as Joel McCrea's worst film. His otherwise notable career is tarnished by his appearance in this dreadful mess (a favor, one has to assume, for his son who produced the disaster.) The story, if one can even call it that, concerns a band of repugnant, annoying, filthy drifters who terrorize and mostly kill off a small family of Indians. They keep one girl alive so that she can show them to a place where gold exists. The audience can tell that Jody McCrea (utterly lacking in any screen charisma) is the "good guy" of the piece because instead of raping, butchering or torturing any of the Indians, he sits on a rock and watches it all. He develops sympathy for the female hostage as the gritty group fights amongst itself on the way to the gold. Two of the actors in the film also directed and assistant directed it. Starrett apparently couldn't say goodbye to all his extended scenes of himself overacting and meandering around meaninglessly. The whole film has a plethora of shots of people walking or riding endlessly. Meanwhile, a lone Indian, who had been away during the slaughter, tracks the group. This tall native has an interesting outfit. He wears a long-sleeved peasant blouse over a very narrow loincloth that shows practically all of his behind. He lurches through the terrain with all the style and grace of say.......a filling station attendant at a Boron gas station in Columbus, Ohio. One hilarious sequence has him careening into a violent river. The film is uncomfortable to watch for various reasons. The opening scenes are sadistic and thoughtlessly cruel. The bulk of it is just amateurish and badly written, shot and directed. The one rather interesting aspect is the choice of revenge that the lone Indian chooses for his enemies. It is only in these various depictions of the payback he gives each of the men that the movie shows any amount of creativity or life. It is also rewarding for the audience since, by the time the Indian catches up to them, these characters have become positively unbearable. Henley, during his final sequence, is so agonizing that one wants to reach through the TV and kill him personally. The music is also abominable in the movie. The whole thing is ludicrous, trashy, cheap, choppy and worst of all boring.

The major theme of Cry Blood Apache is the worthlessness of human life outside of civil society. This nihilistic tale takes place in the mythic old west, around the time of the goldrush, and is about as inaccurate as possible. Nevertheless, the story fermented some interesting ironies and a few fairly predictable but entertaining plot twists. Unfortunately, only the Native American characters are in any way sympathetic and even the Euro-American protagonist is more of a survivor than a hero.

Amoral cowboys rape, pillage and massacre a small Apache village, leaving two survivors, a raped woman and her vengeful brother. The woman becomes attached to the one cowboy who is decent toward her (McLure), but out there in the wild somewhere her brother awaits his opportunity to attain vengeance.

Cry Blood Apache is one of two films released by the late profilic b-movie director Jack Starrett (Dukes of Hazzard, First Blood, etc) in 1970. Starrett also managed to act in at least one film per year during the 1970s, including a memorable performance in Blazing Saddles. Although Starrett's directing is often heavily criticized in reviews of this film, I believe that the film's budget had much more to do with its generally poor reception than the directing did. The film was obviously rushed through production and some of the acting (including star McLure) left much to be desired. Lastly, Cry Blood Apache was made at a time when the hallmark of western films was exquisite and often lavish cinematography - and Cry Blood Apache has neither. Despite all of this, the method of storytelling and the story itself had some merit. Had the film been better-supported, it might have fared better.

Recommended for hardcore western addicts. Not recommended for others.

I'd heard this was one of the worst movies ever, but it's just cheap and mediocre. (How disappointing.) It's no worse than much of the era's drive-in era genre cheapies, particularly the sexploitation, biker and horror ones--though I guess by this point it was a fairly rare low-budget western, since that genre pretty much dying out (big-budget exceptions like "True Grit" aside).

Some 19th-century longhaired white cretins rape and murder a small village of Apaches, taking one woman hostage when she promises to take them to a gold mine. When the a young Apache warrior returns home (he'd been absent during this slaughter), he tracks and methodically kills the brutes.

This movie is kinda like a non-graphic version the same time period's porn semi-classic "A Dirty Western"--though what passed for high production values in a porn flick looks pretty low-grade in a mainstream feature. (There's only so much rugged-landscape location shooting can do for an otherwise micro-budgeted movie.) It's all about abduction, loutish behavior and righteous vengeance. Jody McCrea plays the "nice" member of the gang, who tries to save the "squaw" from further rape and violence; his dad Joel cameos as the character many years later, remembering these grim events.

You've got to wonder if McCrea Sr. (in his next-to-last role) had any idea just how sordid much of "Cry Blood, Apache" would be, since the sleazy aura early on is so at odds with the wholesome image he'd preserved as a Hollywood star. McCrea Jr., in his sole effort at producing, is OK--but he sure was cuter as Deadhead in those "Beach Party" movies.

Nonetheless, this movie isn't so bad. It's got a professional orchestral score, decent technical contributions, adequate pacing, OK stunt work, picturesque high/low-desert locations, and competent direction from Jack Starrett, who played the hypocritically evangelical "Deacon and would go on to direct a fair number of TV episodes ("Starsky & Hutch," "Dukes of Hazard") as well as TV movies and second-rung theatrical ones ("Cleopatra Jones," "The Gravy Train," "Race with the Devil").

Yes, those adjectives are pretty tepid. No stretch of the imagination can make "Cry Blood, Apache" good. But t'ain't THAT bad. It's just drive-in routine, circa 1970, with dialogue largely dubbed in post. Actually, it gets better as it goes on, particularly in late vengeful stretches that reach for tragedy and irony--they don't memorably reach either, but they're effective enough in melodramatic terms. (There's a particularly nasty death by rattlesnake.) Still, the ending is corny.

Big bearded "Billy" was the father of child star Dawn Lyn ("My Three Sons") and teen idol Leif Garrett.

Poor little programmer of a western, tries to ride in the trail of the Eastwood-Leone "Man With No Name" series and fails. There is an intensely 1960s feel the the performances that make the performances awkward and unconvincing. In addition, the prints have a washed-out look.

Even a graceful opening with Joel McCrea playing the lead character in later years -- the lead is played by his son, Jody -- serves only to make the rest of the movie more awkward.

Although I have seen some bad movies in my day this will certainly rank up there and could be the worst western I have ever encountered. The directing is poor and so are allot of the camera angles that were shot that are just flat out annoying. Another trait of the bad movie that they choose to over abuse here is the silly diabolical laughter that has to be doled out at every and any chance two characters come in contact with each other....I mean jeez, just say your piece and end the scene. The basis of the movie is this band of bad acting desperadoes party with a group of indians and discover gold. Believing they know were there is a serious stash of the stuff wipe out everyone, (with plenty of diabolic laughter) and take a hostage. Another Indian later shows up and upset by what he sees decides he is going to settle the score and provide some sense of revenge for us the viewer who's only crime was sitting down to watch the movie in the first place.

This movie if you can find it for a buck is worth a look if you are like myself that has to watch any movie he can find for a dollar. If your not then this is not for you

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Jody McRae is not even a splinter off his dads back. Jody is not leading man material and this flick proves that for all to see. Bad acting,poor soundtrack and weak story adds up to me like some sort of "practice" film that should have been left in the camera. Robert Tessier is OK as "Two card" but the best part of the whole film is the beginning where Joel McRae takes the reigns. when son Jody shows up it all goes downhill. There isn't enough character development to draw anyones attention and Jodys lead isn't even remotely interesting. Unless you are a niche collector this flick should be avoided even if it was like the two bucks Canadian I paid.

When "Cry Blood, Apache" starts, you see the words 'Special Guest Star--Joel McCrea' splash across the screen. What, exactly, is a special guest star in a movie?! Oh well....you also see McCrea riding his horse and then reminiscing about something that had happened long ago. His role really is very limited--a tiny spot to introduce the film. It's also interesting to see that in this LONG flashback, Jody plays Joel as a young man.

The flashback begins with a group of grubby white guys hanging out with some American-Indians. They're partying and acting friendly when suddenly, one of them kills one of the natives--and a killing frenzy begins. It seems these white guys want the Indians' gold...and to molest their women. Among the killers, only Pitcalin seems to perhaps be a decent man--a decent man caught up with a bunch of cut-throats. In addition to Pitcalin, there also is a lone native who comes upon the dead and vows revenge. He spends the rest of the film tracking them and planning on taking them out one at a time--and Pitcalin lends him some help in the process. This sort of plot was a HUGE departure from classic westerns, that's for sure--especially with its theme of rape and nudity.

Despite the very salacious plot, the film is amazingly dull. The acting is also pretty amateurish and the film has little to offer. It's not a terrible movie--but I soon found myself losing interest and the payoff just didn't merit wasting this much of my life on the movie. Not horrible...just not good in any way.

By the way, the Deacon (Jack Starrett) also directed this film. Also, you can assume Jody McCrea wasn't thrilled with the film, as he retired from filmmaking after this movie. Also, I have a few words about the DVD. The print is in really rough shape--degraded and faded. Also, a TMG is emblazoned across the screen periodically--perhaps in an effort to protect the film against unauthorized copying. However, who would want to copy this film and who would bother to enforce the copyright?! After all, this is a grade-D production at best.

A group of despicable treasure seekers murder a number of Indians and kidnap a girl with possible knowledge of a goldmine, forcing her Apache warrior brother to follow.

This is basically one of co-star/director Jack Starrett's biker movies transported back in time to the old west with Jody McCrea in the all too familiar role of the sensitive outlaw surrounded by a bunch of degenerates. Watch McCrea and Robert Tessier in The Glory Stompers and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Cry Blood, Apache is an okay but slow moving film, typical of the drive-in western in that it's short on plot and long on pessimism and sadism, this time with an ending that just doesn't ring true.

It's strengths include good location photography, Jody McCrea's immense likability as an actor and the repulsiveness of villains Tessier and Starrett, who incidentally played the only American to date ever killed by Rambo!

Joel McCrea makes a cameo appearance as the older version of his son Jody but I think he should have taken a cue from co-star Randolph Scott and retired after the success of Ride The High Country.

It was an unexpected sight seeing Robert Tessier with flowing locks. It's usually little to no hair from what I remember seeing. Other than that, not much else had my interest in Jack Starrett's dusty, crude and very plodding revenge western of an Apache warrior hunting down a couple of cowboys who killed his tribe, and the only survivor leading them to a gold mine.

Long, dry stretches of idle chat, in-fighting and horse-riding takes up most the time before the Apache catches up. This story is seen through flashbacks, by one of the cowboys (you know, the only one who had morals), now an elderly man deciding to reminisce about the whole ordeal while travelling the same path. Yeah, it's not worth the reminiscing, and I don't know why he would want to?

Poor Joel McCrea who couldn't leave the screen on a high note like Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country. He had to come back to play a cameo in a film his son Jody produced and starred in.

Jody had a minor career in the 60s in those beach films. He had gotten a break playing a deputy in a short-lived television series called Wichita Town that starred his father as a sheriff. He never really established himself and I guess Cry Blood, Apache was a last effort.

IT's just bad all around, bad acting, bad directing, lousy script that god awful music that punctuates all foreign made westerns.

Joel should have just stayed on his ranch.

Some movies make you wonder how you got to this place in your life. Sitting there on your couch, the sun shining outside as you watch 80 minutes of empty boredom on your TV. I do say this with the understanding that a lot of people just try to steer clear from the movies that are unknown, boring, or just badly rated. Still, anyone who has watched their fair share of films knows this feeling. I'm going to call it "The Empty" and it is rampant in Cry Blood, Apache.

What seemed to be basically a revenge film, where the Apache woman takes her would be killers on a wild goose chase looking for gold, all the while setting traps and killing them all, actually didn't feature any of that. Cry Blood, Apache is about an old cowboy reminiscing about the one time, he and a few of his ne'er do well friends shot, killed and raped their way through an Apache camp. During this time they stomped on a pot and found gold inside it. They then murdered all the people until one of the women gave in and told them she would lead them to the gold. Our "Hero" then remembers how they wandered a long time while being followed by an Apache warrior, who also had his eyes on the woman they captured. I'd like to give some specifics, but very little happened for most of this film. Long shots of them walking, watering horses, and constant inane voice dubbing of the "religious guy" who literally spoke some sort of BS scripture about God instead of having dialogue. Wait...wait there was a standout moment where two of the outlaws including the religious one, watched the woman clean herself in the water. They actually giggled at the sight of seeing a woman naked, or at least topless. So yeah, that's a scene...

Cry Blood, Apache takes way too long to get going, and never satisfies in any way. The story, characters, and direction just dry up any interest in this film. Leaving it just a dusty old western.

Cry Blood, Apache was released in theaters in September of 1970 starring Jody McCrea, Marie Gahva, and Dan Kemp. Cry Apache Blood was a 1970 western film directed by Jack Starrett and assistant director Robert Tessier. The film released by Liberty Entertainment was from an original story by Harold Roberts with a screenplay by Sean MacGregor and has been released as part of a 20-movie DVD pack titled Mean Guns by Mill Creek Entertainment.

SUMMARY: A party of five men discovers gold in a small Apache camp. They murder everyone there except for one young woman, who they keep alive hoping she'll lead them to more gold. Only Pitcalin among the five men shows kindness to the prisoner. An Apache brave who was away from the camp discovers the massacre and buries the dead. Then he tracks the murderers and brings slow but steady vengeance upon them.

QUESTIONS: Did the Apache Brave catch up to the five men? Why did they let the one woman live? Where was the gold that the men were looking for?

NOW MY THOUGHTS ON THIS MOVIE: This movie was boring right from the start. Sure, it was a western; however, it lacked what makes western good. Cows and gunfights! There was no real action in this movie. There wasn't a story line that kept you on the edge of your sit. There was no theme to keep your interest. The main thing this movie was missing was a leading lady. There wasn't any! Therefore, with that in mind, I give this movie 2 weasel stars and that was being kind at best

Released in 1970 and directed by Jack Starrett, "Cry Blood, Apache" is a low-budget American Western about a group of white dirtbags with gold fever who murder a camp of Apaches while allowing a squaw (Marie Gahva) to live in order to take 'em to a gold mine. Meanwhile a relative of the captive, a silent brave (Marcus Rudnick), tracks them down and gets vengeance one by one. Jody McCrea plays the only redeemable person of the bunch while the director plays the hypocritical Bible-quoting nutjob. The burly bearded guy was Leif Garrett's father, believe it or not.

This is actually a late 60s/early 70s exploitation thriller in disguise. Some of the Apache's torture methods, like hanging a person upside down in a stream and placing a bag with a deadly snake over someone's head, are rather chilling without being overly graphic. "Cry Blood, Apache" is a barbaric revenge yarn produced by the protagonist Jody McCrea, who enlisted his dad, Joel McCrea, from retirement to play the old-aged version of his character in the prologue and epilogue for (I guess) name recognition.

The director went on to better things, like 1975's "Race with the Devil," but here he was obviously hampered by the low-budget and the movie comes across inept in some ways (like some of the editing, acting, dubbing & dialogue), which will spur a lot of viewers to hit the 'stop' button (or switch channels). But the film has some rewarding elements despite the tediousness and meaninglessness of it all. For instance, you can't beat the gritty realism. The main characters come across as a group of degenerates with gold fever in the desert, with the questionable exception of Pitcalin (McCrea). Their disheveled and torn clothing looks right. And Rudnick is quite credible as the laconic, merciless and torturous Apache warrior. The obvious question is: Why is Pitcalin riding with these moral-less swine? I suppose because he's desperate and needs the money. While he obviously laments the needless murders, he probably "writes them off" as expected collateral damage.

The eight descriptive words in my title blurb are all fitting for "Cry Blood, Apache." It's also unforgettable.

The film runs 82 minutes and was shot in Arizona and Sequoia National Forest.

GRADE: C

Five white bandits massacre a native family. One woman, Jemme, is taken alive. The criminals find some gold nuggets with the family's belongings and demand more from their prisoner. Pitcalin is taken with her. One Indian brave returns from hunting to find the massacre and follows in pursuit.

This is a western B-movie. It features Hollywood legend Joel McCrea and his son Jody. They actually represent the first problem of the movie. They play the same character with Joel starting off as the character's older self. It's not clear enough that Jody is the younger self. It shouldn't be that hard but the filmmaking is obviously not good enough. The second issue is Jody's acting ability and charisma. He doesn't have it. He is just a shadow of his father. He needs to do some heavy lifting but he doesn't have the acting muscles. He needs to make a villain appealing. The writing isn't there either and it's not all his fault. Some of it gets really slow even if it's only 82 minutes. This is a B-movie and a weaker one at that.

Aside from the two pretty actresses in this dismal trash bucket, this movie is trash! Pure trash! The male cast seems strung out on LSD and is definitely in left field. Senseless violence bordering on sadistic perversion and really unnecessary. Were they trying to shock? Didn't work. More like barf bag disgusting. Enough said. Flush it down the toilet.

Poorly acted, poorly directed, heck, it seems like it was shot in one afternoon, but I still found Cry Blood, Apache quite entertaining. The foremost reason for this is because there are no good guys in this grim and nihilistic story. A gang of wanderers rapes and murders a small indian tribe save for one woman only on the basis she promises to lead them to more gold. A member of that tribe returns home to find the aftermath and sets out on revenge. The manner in which he picks off the wanderers, one by one, is gruesomely entertaining. The scene where he leaves one of them hanging upside down in the middle of a river is very powerful and memorable, a real jaw dropper.

Everyone is loathsome by the end of the film, even the victimized Apache woman! You're given no one to root for and the movie ends on a sad and sour note. Sure, the technical aspects of this film leave a lot to be desired (to say the least), but if you can get past that and want to see something outside of the typical good guy/bad guy Western, this sloppy little B-film delivers. 7/10

Ridiculous story, bad acting and terrible direction. Sound edit is horrible...hard to even get through this stinker.