Just what I expected

Just perfect...

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

CRY BLOOD APACHE is without a doubt one of the most dismal and ineptly made American Westerns ever, and is really an exploitation/revenge thriller in disguise. What happens on screen (bunch of slack jawed yokels massacre a Native American family and face ruthless revenge from a surviving Navajo Brave) isn't as interesting as the divergent ideas and cult movie personalities who participated in it's execution.Western legend Joe McCrea was coaxed out of retirement by his son -- who produced & stars the film -- to appear in a three and a half minute wraparound segment that attempts to establish him remembering the events depicted as a flashback. He gets to ride a horse on screen, look thoughtfully into the camera for a spell, and is given headline billing even though his character could easily have been written out with no ill effect to the somewhat nauseating story which unfolds. He is there as a name.The film plays out like a "response" to the vastly superior SOLDIER BLUE, a notorious exercise in degradation and sleaze that still stands as a milestone to Vietnam era liberal aggendized film-making run amok. The horrors shown in CRY BLOOD APACHE do not come close to the carnage in SOLDIER BLUE, which at least had something to say (US military = evil barbaric racist baby killers & rapists), where CRY BLOOD APACHE merely exists to show a series of Injun killings as revenge for a personal score. It is a smaller, filthier movie, with no larger aspirations than to part viewing audiences from their money.With that said, the film has some interest in who is behind it: Writer Sean MacGregor would achieve notoriety of sorts with his cult 1975 thriller DEVIL TIMES FIVE, with the busty Caroline Stellar (birth mother of 70's pin up idol Lief Garrett, who appeared with his mom in that heartwarming film) lending her person to the proceedings. And the film was directed by Jack Starrett (who also plays the Bible quoting Deacon) who would go on to direct & appear in 1975's RACE WITH THE DEVIL.Fortunately, he perfected his craft by then, and I recommend those films over this one in a heartbeat. What CRY BLOOD APACHE has to offer is an ultra-low budget look that lends itself to the form, and some of the killing methods used in the revenge spree (death by hanging into stream, death by snake in bag placed over head) are actually rather chilling without being unduly graphic, and hint at things to come in DEVIL TIMES FIVE and RACE WITH THE DEVIL both. Sadly though, what the genre called for at the time *WAS* unduly graphic & leering barbarity, and while Starrett & MacGregor hint at such the 77 minute version still available doesn't really deliver the goods, and stands as an example of a film that is merely awful rather than the apocalyptic gory trashfest legend may suggest.And if you like Joe McCrea, stick with RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, please. This film will only sully one's memory of what a fabulous presence he had. Here he is used for a name brand draw, which is actually rather despicable.

This film is not as bad as most people have noted. I'm sure they were turned off by the very downbeat story and low budget. Many scenes were also dubbed which does not help. I found the plot delivered especially in the second half of the film. I liked the way the Apache seeking revenge went about tracking down the gang of killers and wiping them out one by one. The methods he uses to kill them off are certainly inventive. The other big plus in this film is the location shooting in Sequoia National Forest in California and other locations in Arizona(the entire film was shot outdoors). You can almost feel the cold wind blowing and taste the omnipresent dust. Performances are mixed. Jody McCrea(who also produced the film) is OK as the "hero" of the film. His motivations seem ambiguous but this did not bother me that much. Joel McCrae(doing his son a favor by appearing in this film) is not on-screen nearly enough but his facial expressions are so subtle that we understand quickly what he is feeling. Director Jack Starrett delivers one very weird performance as the bible-obsessed killer who lusts for gold constantly muttering to himself and to the others. Don Henley (not sure if this is the Don Henley of the Eagles)is quite good as the leader of the gang. Ruthless but more cunning than you think. The character of Billy is probably the weakest. He is supposed to be a ruthless goon but is played at times as a whimpering baby. The others are OK but nothing special. This is best viewed late at night when nothing else is on. Overall I give it 4 Apaches out of 10.

Poor Joel McCrea who couldn't leave the screen on a high note like Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country. He had to come back to play a cameo in a film his son Jody produced and starred in.Jody had a minor career in the 60s in those beach films. He had gotten a break playing a deputy in a short-lived television series called Wichita Town that starred his father as a sheriff. He never really established himself and I guess Cry Blood, Apache was a last effort.IT's just bad all around, bad acting, bad directing, lousy script that god awful music that punctuates all foreign made westerns.Joel should have just stayed on his ranch.

Poor little programmer of a western, tries to ride in the trail of the Eastwood-Leone "Man With No Name" series and fails. There is an intensely 1960s feel the the performances that make the performances awkward and unconvincing. In addition, the prints have a washed-out look.Even a graceful opening with Joel McCrea playing the lead character in later years -- the lead is played by his son, Jody -- serves only to make the rest of the movie more awkward.