The Appaloosa

1966
Approved
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

3.7K

YOUR RATING

Marlon Brando and Anjanette Comer in The Appaloosa (1966)

Man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.

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Action Drama Romance Western

Man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.Man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.Man tries to recover a horse stolen from him by a Mexican bandit.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

3.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination

Top cast13

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Marlon Brando

Matt Fletcher

Anjanette Comer

Trini Medena

John Saxon

Chuy Medena

Emilio Fernández

Lazaro
(as Emilio Fernandez)

Alex Montoya

Squint Eye

Miriam Colon

Rafael Campos

Paco

Frank Silvera

Ramos -Pig Farmer

Larry D. Mann

Priest

Argentina Brunetti

Yaqui Woman
(uncredited)

Debra Domasin

Paquita
(uncredited)

Abel Fernandez

Mexican Farmer
(uncredited)

Raven Grey Eagle

Minor Role
(uncredited)

Director
- Sidney J. Furie
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
According to co-star John Saxon, Marlon Brando's relationship with director Sidney J. Furie got to the point where Brando, when getting ready to do a close-up, would be reading a book. He would only lower the book when Furie yelled "Action." When he yelled "Cut," Brando would raise the book again. According to Peter Manso's book on Brando, however, Brando and Furie met years later. Brando was quoted to have said, "I thought you were a no-good double-crosser, and I didn't know if I could trust you, but I saw the film and you have the great sense of the best visual directors. Let's do another movie together." Furie, according to the book, replied, "Never!" Furie, for his part, claims that they only came to blows once on the entire shoot of The Appaloosa (1966).

Goofs
The Appaloosa which portrays the title character was actually a registered Appaloosa stallion named Cojo Rojo. He was born in 1960 and just prior to being used for the film he was racing on the California tracks. He sired several foals, including several race champions. During filming a few other similarly marked horses were used as stunt horses, but the majority of work was done by Cojo Rojo.

Quotes
Matt Fletcher: The next time you point a gun at me, you better pull that trigger, because I'm going to blow you into so many pieces your friends will get tired of looking for you.

Connections
Referenced in Enemy at the Gates (2001)

The Appaloosa (1966)

** (out of 4)

Rather bizarre Western has Matt (Marlon Brando) having his horse stolen by Chuy (John Saxon) so he sets out to get him back. The two men had previous run-ins over a woman (Anjanette Comer) who will come into play as the story plays out.

THE APPALOOSA is a film that Marlon Brando didn't really want to make but the paycheck was good so he took the role. When production started he realized that he really didn't want to do the film so the shooting was somewhat of a disaster with the legend battling director Sidney J. Furie. The end result is a fairly forgettable film that tries to be something different than your typical Western.

The biggest problem with this movie is the story. In all honesty even by Western standards the story here is quite weak and would barely fill up one of those 50 minute "B" films from the 30s. We basically have the two men running into each other a couple time and the film tries to be psychological and it fails pretty bad. There are really bizarre and weird camera set-ups that are meant to be deep or to bring you into the mental state of the characters but it just doesn't work. Whatever vision director Furie was trying to bring just doesn't come across and we're left with a pretty boring movie.

The always entertaining Saxon manages to be the best thing here. With his thick Mexican accent and the paint on his face, Saxon manages to make for a fun villain but it's too bad more wasn't done with the character. I thought Corner was also good in her wasted role and especially early on when she fears for her safety after trying to break free from Chuy. As for Brando, I don't think he's bad here but it's certainly not into what he's doing. He ends up mumbling more than anything else and just doesn't bring any energy or passion to the part.