The Jackals

THE JACKALS is a strange little western, made and set in South Africa although shot in Australia. The change of setting looks like it might add originality and freshness the old story for a time, but eventually this turns out to be a very small scale and unpolitical story about a gold prospector and his granddaughter being held hostage by a gang of bank robbers. As a hostage drama it's relatively free of suspense, with the usual blossoming romance and minor shoot-outs punctuating a haltering narrative. Fans of horror will delight in the presence of Vincent Price in a supporting role in the cast, having a ball as the grizzled and cackling old-timer, but the rest of the cast are pretty dull, and there's no getting away from the anachronistic hairstyle and clothes of the female lead.