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Against a Crooked Sky

  • 1975
  • G
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
843
YOUR RATING
Against a Crooked Sky (1975)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:37
1 Video
11 Photos
AdventureDramaFamilyWestern

When Charlotte Sutter is kidnapped by Apaches, her brother Sam, aided by an old drunk prospector, goes searching for her.When Charlotte Sutter is kidnapped by Apaches, her brother Sam, aided by an old drunk prospector, goes searching for her.When Charlotte Sutter is kidnapped by Apaches, her brother Sam, aided by an old drunk prospector, goes searching for her.

  • Director
    • Earl Bellamy
  • Writers
    • Douglas C. Stewart
    • Eleanor Lamb
  • Stars
    • Richard Boone
    • Stewart Petersen
    • Henry Wilcoxon
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    843
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Earl Bellamy
    • Writers
      • Douglas C. Stewart
      • Eleanor Lamb
    • Stars
      • Richard Boone
      • Stewart Petersen
      • Henry Wilcoxon
    • 32User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Against a Crooked Sky
    Trailer 1:37
    Against a Crooked Sky

    Photos11

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    Top Cast15

    Edit
    Richard Boone
    Richard Boone
    • Russian
    Stewart Petersen
    Stewart Petersen
    • Sam Sutter
    Henry Wilcoxon
    Henry Wilcoxon
    • Cut Tongue…
    Clint Ritchie
    Clint Ritchie
    • John Sutter
    Shannon Farnon
    Shannon Farnon
    • Molly Sutter
    Jewel Blanch
    • Charlotte Sutter
    Brenda Venus
    • Ashkea
    Geoffrey Land
    Geoffrey Land
    • Temkai
    Gordon Hanson
    • Shumeki
    Vincent St. Cyr
    Vincent St. Cyr
    • Shokobob
    • (as Vince St. Cyr)
    Margaret Willey
    • Old Hag
    Norman Walke
    • Milt Adams
    George Dale
    • Bob
    Bar Killer
    • Self
    • (as B'ar Killer)
    Rich Wheeler
      • Director
        • Earl Bellamy
      • Writers
        • Douglas C. Stewart
        • Eleanor Lamb
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews32

      5.4843
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      Featured reviews

      6ma-cortes

      Simple and plain Western with breathtaking outdoors filmed in naturals parks

      When his sister is kidnapped , a young boy (Petersen) set out in pursuit Indians , leaving his parents (Clint Ritchie, Fannon) . He join forces with an alcoholic gold prospector (Richard Boone) who saves him of drowning and helps him to rescue the young girl . They are driven by an elderly Indian (Henry Wilconson) toward a location where lives a strange tribe . He must risk his own life by passing the proof of crooked sky and to avoid his sister to be killed from an arrow archer .

      The film is a crossover from the ¨Searchers¨ (John Ford) , also with a pair looking for abducted daughter , and ¨MacKenna's gold¨ (J.L.Thompson) with fantastic inspiration in the rare Indians and the spectacular outdoors . Richard Boone as a drunk trapper is magnificent , he's usual in Western genre and John Wayne films (The Alamo, Big Jake, Shootist). The veteran Henry Wilconson (Last of Mohicans , Crusades, Cleopatra) is also excellent . The film gets sensational landscapes shot in Colorado River and Arches National Park , Moab, Utah . The motion picture was well directed by Earl Bellamy . He was a good professional who served in the US Navy's photographic unit in the WWII and directed more than 1600 episodes of television and catastrophe films such as : Fire! and Flood! and a sequel titled Walking tall II . Rating : acceptable and entertaining .
      Carrigon

      I wish I had a brother like that

      This was a great movie. Set in the old west, a teenage girl gets kidnapped by indians from a mysterious tribe. Her brother stops at nothing to find her and bring her home. Once he does find her, he must pass a horrifying test called "crooked sky". This movie has a lot going on in it. It's about love and friendship. It's really a great movie and well worth watching.
      5Pooua

      A Sentimental Tale of Family Devotion

      I watched this movie on TV so many years ago that I cannot now be certain of all the details, such as how many times I have seen it. I still remember the theme song (that's how I found the movie, again, on IMDb).

      There is nothing profound in this movie, but it is a respectable (if slightly cheesy) story about family devotion as a boy transforms into a young man. An Indian (sorry, Native American), sees the boy's sister rising from her bath in a creek, and kidnaps her. That's about as much nudity as this movie contains (we only get obscure views), which is the reason that I mention it specifically. The boy spends most of the rest of the movie trying to rescue his sister, aided only by a crotchety, old drunk, a task that overwhelms both of them. Someone must die, and the brother is determined to rescue his sister, even at the cost of his own life.
      6whpratt1

      Richard Boone was Outstanding

      This is a cute story about a pioneer family who have a girl and a boy and the girl is a few years older than her brother. The girl is religious and reads a scripture to her brother about a person giving his own life for a friend is the greatest show of love, this bit of advice stays with this young man. One day the girl encounters a different tribe of Indians who wore a gold head piece around his head and they kidnapped the young girl. The father goes out hunting for his daughter and then the son decides to put his life on the line for his sister and he devotes himself to finding her. There are many twists and turns to this film and Richard Boone plays the role as a drunken prospector and scout who knows all the Indians and speaks their many languages. This is a very entertaining film with many great film locations in the West. Enjoy.
      6bkoganbing

      A Warrior's Test

      Against A Crooked Sky tells the story of a young boy's efforts to save his sister who has been kidnapped by a mysterious Indian tribe that no one seems to have heard of. From the look of them they seem to be surviving Aztecs although the film never specifically says so.

      Young Stewart Petersen sees his sister Jewel Branch kidnapped by this group of Indians who in the intervening years since Cortes have learned to ride horses. Although his parents certainly disapprove because they don't want to lose their surviving child either, Petersen goes on a mission to rescue Branch. Along the way he picks up a cantankerous old trapper who likes to pop a jug cork every now and then played by Richard Boone. Of course Boone just steals the film.

      Boone and Petersen also pick up Henry Wilcoxon an old Indian who was living with the Cheyenne and who is known as Cut Tongue because his was cut out lest he reveal secrets of the lost tribe of which he was one. He guides them to their location where Petersen has to pass a warrior ritual to save his sister's life though it may cost him his own.

      Against A Crooked Sky is a nice family film, small and unpretentious but filled with good values. The location shooting in Arizona and Utah is really superb. Petersen is an earnest and winning young performer and Boone just chews the scenery to beat the band, but that's his kind of character.

      The film holds up well and I recommend it for family audiences.

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      Related interests

      Still frame
      Adventure
      Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
      Drama
      Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
      Family
      John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr. in The Searchers (1956)
      Western

      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Stewart Peterson "Sam" walked away from acting in the late 70's. In the late 80's he formed an outfitting business with his uncle called "Magic Mountains Outfitters" out of Cokeville, WY. After his uncle retired Peterson's son stepped in and the name was changed to "Crooked Sky Outfitters" in 2019. Some 40+ years after "Against a Crooked Sky" was released, the name lives again.
      • Quotes

        Russian: You know, I had a boy like you once. He was as ugly as dirt... took after his ma. I ended up having to slit his throat.

      • Crazy credits
        The persons and events in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional.
      • Alternate versions
        DVDs of the movie use the now public domain television edit, which is missing some brief nudity.
      • Connections
        Referenced in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
      • Soundtracks
        Title Song
        Against a Crooked Sky"

        Music by Lex de Azevedo (as Lex De Azevedo)

        Lyric by Mack David (as Mac David)

        Sung by Jewel Blanch

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      FAQ13

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • December 1975 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Language
        • English
      • Also known as
        • Das Rennen gegen die Sonne
      • Filming locations
        • The Windows, Arches National Park, Utah, USA(where Sam starts his run)
      • Production companies
        • Doty-Dayton Productions
        • Film Production Associates III
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Tech specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        • 1h 29m(89 min)
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 2.35 : 1

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