Forced to trade his valuable furs for a well-educated escaped slave, a rugged trapper vows to recover the pelts from the Indians and later the renegades that killed them.Ossie Davis was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. And, really, his appearance is the highlight of the film. As far as westerns go, it is rather disappointing. And the artwork makes it seem almost like an exploitation film, which it most certainly is not. The cast is good, but does not make the film as a whole all that great. Frankly, I am not sure why Shelley Winters was ever a star.Thanks to Kino Lorber, this film is available on DVD. I can't say it's the best thing they've released, but it probably isn't the worst.

Burt Lancaster offers a robust, fun performance as trapper Joe Bass. One day he's accosted by Indians including the character Two Crows (Armando Silvestre), who force him to turn over his prized furs in exchange for a slave named Joseph (Ossie Davis). Joseph is an articulate and well educated man, but is something of a thorn in Joes' side. Joe is hellbent on reclaiming his furs, going so far as to relentlessly tail the savage outlaws who slaughter the Indians. Jim Howie (an amusing Telly Savalas) is the outlaw leader, Kate (Shelley Winters) his high strung wife.Filmed in glorious widescreen by Duke Callaghan and Richard Moore, the Western comedy "The Scalphunters" was written by William W. Norton and directed by Sydney Pollack. While it purports to treat the character of Joseph with some respect, there may still be viewers who will wince at various indignities that he's forced to experience. Nortons' script is generally engaging, with some witty dialogue here and there. It is a delight to see the distinguished gentleman Davis embrace the more comedic aspects to his character, and there's a lot of entertaining sparring between the two Joes (with Lancaster showing himself to not really be all THAT enlightened). Overall, this film is reasonably exciting at times, even if it's not destined to be a classic.It's the dedicated efforts of a superior cast that make "The Scalphunters" work as well as it does for a somewhat overextended 104 minutes. Lancaster and Davis work well together, and Savalas is also fun to watch as Jim becomes more and more exasperated with this pest that's making life miserable for him and his crew. Winters has some appeal, and there's a few familiar faces among the supporting actors like Dabney Coleman (as Jed), and Lancasters' longtime friend and co-worker Nick Cravat (as Yancy).Dedicated Western watchers and fans of the actors will likely have a decent time with this one.Seven out of 10.

The best thing about this film is the humour, and the sharp dialogue. With this cast just about every scene is enjoyable, but the scenes between Burt Lancaster and Ossie Davies literally crackle. (Ossie Davies practically makes this picture his own, no mean feat with a cast of this quality). Telly Salvalas makes a really great baddie, and Shelley Winters is the perfect counter to him. The script has an edge like a razor, and despite being very funny, has some serious reflections on everything from greed to race. If you haven't seen it yet, you are in for a treat. From start to final minute, a cracking good picture. Even if you are not a western fan, I recommend this film. It's the great characters and dialogue that make it stand out.

Visually striking but odd and unsatisfying western that suffers from long stretches of boredom and not being able to decide if it's a comedy or a serious action film. It also features Telly Savalas as one of the more pointless villains in western cinema, though he does turn in a watchable performance with what little he was given. Shelly Winters is along for the ride too, in an even more pointless role as his floozy. It's as though the studio was nervous about the bare script and needed to pack the production with as much star power as possible.And the script is bare. Burt Lancaster loses his furs to a party of Kiowa indians , who saddle him with unwanted runaway slave Ossie Davis in return. In pursuit of his furs, Lancaster sees them taken over by Savalas' band of 'Scalphunters' and the story plays out until the end as a game of cat and mouse with Davis in the middle. That's it. A nearly two hour film in epic widescreen and the story is as scant as that.Except when Lancaster and Davis butt heads physically and philosophically, the film is a washout. Their scenes together, providing a few good laughs, are the only reason to stick it out till the end.Entertaining in a low key way, Lancaster is always worth seeing, but hardly a good western. A blip on Sydney Pollack's filmography.