Amongst Vultures

Thought I might be interested in this film because I like the acting of Stewart Granger over the years and in this so called film he plays the role of a so called superman named "Old Surehand" which is a big joke. The acting is horrible and you will be completely confused as to what is really going on between Indians and white people. This film should be called a comedy film because the entire film goes around in circle after circle and makes absolutely no sense at all. Elke Sommer, (Annie Dillman) was added to the film to give some romantic charm to the film but her acting and performance was a big waste of time. I wish I had never seen this film, it is a HORRIBLE FILM!

The Karl May wave had already been going on for two years (since THE TREASURE OF SILVER LAKE) when AMONG VULTURES came to West German cinemas shortly before Christmas 1964. Packed with film stars and, thanks to the direction of Alfred VOHRER, also one of the most action-packed parts of the series! The fight against the vulture gang is always worth seeing.

Winnetou (Pierre BRICE) and Old Surehand (first appearance of Hollywood star Stewart GRANGER in the role) have their hands full trying to pacify a conflict between the rancher Baumann (Walter BARNES) and the Shoshone chief (muscle-bound as usual: Gojko MITIC). Behind the conflict are the brutal murders of the vulture gang of the unscrupulous leader Preston (Sieghardt RUPP). It's good that the powerful Martin Baumann (Götz GEORGE) and the stunning blonde Annie (Elke SOMMER, recently awarded the GOLDEN GLOBE for THE PRIZE) are also involved!

Fights, shootings, explosions: Alfred VOHRER puts on a great action show. There are also beautiful shots of the Krka waterfalls. A Karl May fan couldn't ask for more. 5.6 million viewers wanted to see the film in West German cinemas. The enchanting Dunja RAJTER (as a barmaid, of course) and Mario GIROTTI, who grew up in Dresden for a few years (not yet as powerful as he later became as Terence HILL), also appear in smaller roles.

Well worth seeing!

I've seen more than several of these Karl May novels adapted for the screen and I'm not yet sure who has the better imagination. Its quite obvious that these are totally unrealistic depictions of ruthless heathens and downright savages trying to be put in a kinder light for whatever purpose that has yet to be explained. When Native American's watch these tall tales I'm sure they laugh even harder than I did. Way too far out of touch with cultural realities. To qualify them as interesting entertainment would be beyond logical reason. Some of the more obvious flaws are using model 94 Winchester rifles way before the time frame they came into being. Then to believe that one could shoot an arrow from mid-flight without aiming is especially difficult for even an expert marksman to comprehend. These films are pure fantasy from the word go. If you have 90 to 100 minutes to spare I'd suggest visiting the many Native American web pages instead and find out the truth about the culture and customs.

This film begins with a settler named "Martin Bauman Sr." (Walter Barnes) and his son, "Martin Bauman Jr." (Gotz George), joining Apache Chief "Winnetou" (Pierre Brice) on a hunt for a grizzly bear that has been attacking livestock. While they are away from the ranch, bandits arrive, murder his wife and daughter, and leave evidence suggesting that the perpetrators come from a nearby Shoshone tribe. Consumed by rage against the Shoshone, the father cries out for revenge and lashes out at Winnetou when he disagrees with his conclusions about the identity of the perpetrators. His anger is further stoked when a preacher named "Reverend Weller" (Miha Beloe) arrives and swears he witnessed the Shoshone kill his family. Yet, despite this eyewitness account, a famous frontiersman known as "Old Surehand" (Stewart Granger) remains unconvinced and, with the help of Winnetou, decides to uncover the real identity of the perpetrators before the situation escalates. Now, instead of revealing more, I'll simply say that this fifth film in the series wasn't nearly as good as any of its predecessors, largely due to the rambling plot and some absurd action scenes. Likewise, while I have a certain fondness for her, Elke Summer (as "Annie Dillman") could have significantly improved her performance as well. That said, while this film wasn't entirely bad, it definitely wasn't as good as any of the other films in the series, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Old Surehand and Winnetou investigate the murders of a mother and daughter. The surviving husband believes that his wife and daughter were murdered by Indians, but Old Surehand suspects that it is the work of a gang of robbers and bandits known as the Vultures, who disguise themselves as Indians while committing their crimes.

The fifth West German production of a film based on Karl May's Winnetou novels is a fairly entertaining western with some sharp cinematography, fine action and settings. Stewart Granger takes over from Lex Barker as old SureHand, and does a fine job adding his charm and wit to the character

Frontier Hellcat is slightly darker than the previous four films, opening as it does with house burning and murder. There's stunts, exciting practical effects (explosions, etc.). There's also a tense, character-building scene where Surehand must prove himself to a tribal chief by shooting down arrows fired his way-while he's tied up! It's a solid escapist western with comic book style leanings.