I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Before there was Joe Montana(NFL quarterback), there was Joe Dakota, or rather seemingly 2 of them: friends, one an old illiterate Native American, the other a young tall handsome literate Caucasian cowpoke(Jock Mahoney). The cowpoke eventually wandered away from the ranch the 'Indian' had bought. Now, he is returning to visit his friend, upon a telegram request. The tiny nearby settlement seems deserted, except for one pretty, suspicious, young lady tending the general store. Everybody else is out on 'Indian' Joe's property, around an oil well in the making. Seems 'Indian Joe' sold his property to one of the new townies, left this region, and, almost immediately, an oil seep was discovered on this property. The whole town is now involved in converting this seep into a commercial well. Cowpoke Joe doesn't buy this story, so he wants to snoop around, talking to individuals, to try to find out what really happened. He also claims the new deed to the property is a forgery. How could this stranger know and prove that? The town people keep trying to run him off, but he keeps returning.The glaring problem with this story is that nobody here recognizes Cowpoke Joe nor he them, even though he claims he used to live here! Thus, we have to assume that all these basically ranching or town folk families moved here within the recent past. But,according to several spoken lines, that's not so! Anyway, fortunately, the storekeeper's daughter Jody(Luana Patten) is attracted to Joe, although still suspicious, and becomes his only sometimes friend here. How is it that they both claim to have been reclusive 'Indian' Joe's only friend for many years, yet don't know each other??Rather reminds me of the older B&W John Wayne-starring "Tall in the Saddle", where Wayne shows up in a town he's never been to, and goes to work solving a murder mystery involving his uncle. The present film was shot in vivid Eastmancolor, and the girl is a shy indoor type, not the tomboy wildcat in that film.This film also has a bit of the older epic oil western 'Tulsa' in it, although it certainly isn't meant to be an epic.Unlike those films, this story includes an example of shoot-from-the-hip vigilantism gone bad, rather like in "The Oxbow Incident".The film includes a number of familiar-looking character actors, such as Claude Atkins, Charles McGraw, Tony Caruso, Lee Van Cleef, and Paul Birch, who mostly provide an element of toughness, with occasional frontier humor. I thought the theme song "The Flower of San Antone", which Jock whistles or sings several times, was catchy. No clue what state this story supposedly took place in. This song suggests maybe Texas, which did have plenty of oil. The film was shot in southern CA.Poor Cowpoke Joe falls into a pool of oil twice: once near the beginning and again near the end. This second one involves a fight in the oil pool from a gusher, part of the climax to the story. Much reminds me of the slugfest in a very muddy pool at the end of the later "The Scalphunters", and also in "McClintock!". After his first unplanned public oil bath, he has to walk back to town looking like a black-faced minstrel who badly overdid his makeup. So, he takes a musical soapy bath in the town watering trough after Jody refuses to let him use the town indoor bathing facility. Nobody is pleased.Unraveling the mystery of 'Indian' Joe and his land is a bit complicated, as Cowpoke Joe has to find and put together several disparate pieces of information, including the results of a sort of crude psychoanalysis of Jody. I will let you see the film(probably on Encore Westerns at present) to find out the details. The rather surprising ending also I won't reveal. Firearms are occasionally brandished, but only one shot is fired and nobody dies. This is no shoot-em-up western! It's mostly a very slow paced film, until the last 10-15 minutes, featuring mostly talking rather than action. If that bores you, you might want to pass on this film. Despite the gaping holes in the plot, soft-spoken, laconic, but determined, Joe Dakota makes a likable hero, and I enjoyed the film.This was my introduction to Jock. His Hollywood and TV careers mostly consisted of stunt double work, supporting and starring roles in minor westerns, and supporting and starring roles in several Tarzan films.

I stumbled upon this movie one day on Encore Westerns, our favorite channel and it is very well done! Joe Dakota was well written and played out very nicely. It was sweet and charming along with great character development and extremely witty. Unlike some other classic westerns that are "to cute" and wrap up quickly to a very predictable end, this movie was fluid and swept you right along a smooth ride! A must see for any true classic western lover! Jock Mahoney was great! I will truly look out for more of his work in the future! His role was thought out and kept you thinking and wondering up until that "uh huh!" moment. I can only say I'm disappointed it took me this long to see it!

A good film for Jocko fans and western fans in general. Seems to be a remake of "Bad Day at Black Rock" with a few changes. Mahoney is the stranger coming to town as Spencer Tracy was in "Black Rock". The old Indian that's missing was and older Japanese man in "Black Rock", and the town seems to be hiding something just like the townspeople in "Black Rock". Jocko investigates and irritates the townspeople just like Spencer Tracy did in "Black Rock". Mahoney always looks good on a horse and this film is no exception. There are a couple of good fight scenes with Jocko doing all his own stunts as usual. Could have used more action, but all in all is a good western.

I saw this Western movie on afternoon TV when I was a child. I remember it as suspenseful, yet sweet and touching. There's the mystery: who is this Stranger who rides into town, what does he want, and what has happened to the old Indian scout named "Joe Dakota"? What are the townspeople hiding? The sweet and touching ending: the Stranger exposes the injustice that has been done, which leads the townspeople into repentance.