White Buffalo

"In September of 1874 Wild Bill Hickcock came back to the Old West. I didn't place him then because he was wearing a different name and he had a strange bee in his bonnet, a deadly dream that was eating out his soul. A nightmare that he had to hunt down and face up to before it turned him into a raving maniac." - Amos Bixby

release year: 1977
genre: western/action
viewing setting: home Bluray 1/3/16

synopsis: A deadly gunman and a couple of other guys track down a murderous giant white buffalo.

impressions: This one was okay, but kind of silly at times. The buffalo was, I guess, the land-based equivalent of a giant shark, except it just gored people and animals to death and smashed through everything else. It was smart enough to cause rockfalls, and also attack and then just vanish. Like I said, silly. The western elements (including a couple of good gunfights) were well-done and got the job done.

acting: Charles Bronson is suitably tough as Wild Bill, though he is troubled by nightmares which cause him to wake up shooting at things. Will Sampson is an Indian chief who shares the same obsession. Jack Warden is a wild old coot who ends up on the adventure. Kim Novak is "Poker Jenny", an acquaintance from Bill's past. Clint Walker and Ed Lauter are minor bad guys who get in the way. Slim Pickens appears briefly as a spirited carriage driver.

final word: Watchable, and perhaps the greatest giant killer buffalo movie ever made.

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