The Scalphunters

Trapper Joe Bass (Burt Lancaster) is intercepted by Two Crows and his braves. He is forced to trade all of his furs for an educated slave named Joseph Lee (Ossie Davis). Lee had escaped from Louisiana and captured by one tribe after another. Bass has no use for him as he pursues Two Crows. They track down the Indians and find them attacked by a group of white scalp hunters led by the ruthless Jim Howie (Telly Savalas). The governments are paying $25 for every Indian scalp; men, women, or children. Miss Kate (Shelley Winters) is tired of living on the road with Howie and can't wait to be a Lady in Mexico.

It's a comedic action western. It has its fun. It has its drama. As a buddy western, I would have liked Lancaster and Davis to stay together. I had expected them to run into Two Crows soon after the introduction of the Scalphunters. That's a fun relationship that deserves more time. Sometimes, the comedy is too light. All in all, this is what it is and it's a pretty good western from Sydney Pollack.