Catlow
Encyclopedia
Catlow is a 1971 western
film
based on a 1963 novel
by Louis L'Amour
. It stars Yul Brynner as a renegade outlaw determined to pull off a Confederate gold heist. It co-stars Richard Crenna
and Leonard Nimoy
.
Nimoy mentioned this film in both of his autobiographies because it gave him a chance to break away from his role as Spock
on Star Trek
. He mentioned that the time he made the film was one of the happiest of his life, even though his part was rather brief.
and became friends, but now Catlow is a thief and Cowan a marshal tracking him down.
Catlow is accused of rustling the wealthy rancher Parkman's cattle. Parkman has hired a vicious gunfighter, Orville Miller, to kill Catlow.
Offering to turn himself in, Catlow joins Cowan on a stagecoach to Fort Smith, but his men stage an ambush. Catlow heads for Hermosillo, Mexico, where a woman named Rosita is in love with him and a $2 million shipment of gold is arriving soon by mule train.
Cowan goes after him. He is bushwhacked by Miller, who tosses the bound marshal across a horse with a badge pinned on his backside and turns him loose. Cowan barely avoids a plunge to his death off a cliff.
Allowed to recover at General Calderon's grand hacienda, Ben becomes attracted to Christina, the general's daughter.
Catlow gets the drop on Miller during a bath and hits him with a jug that shatters, cutting Miller's vocal cords.
After stealing the army's gold, Catlow flees toward the scorching desert and into dangerous Apache territory. He rejects Rosita, who angrily recruits men to go with her after Catlow and kill him. Cowan follows, as usual, but Miller shows up and shoots Cowan, wounding him. Catlow picks up Cowan's gun and shoots Miller.
Christina will take care of Cowan. Meantime, a smiling Catlow puts on his friend's badge and gives an indication that he will turn to the right side of the law.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
based on a 1963 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
. It stars Yul Brynner as a renegade outlaw determined to pull off a Confederate gold heist. It co-stars Richard Crenna
Richard Crenna
Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
and Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
.
Nimoy mentioned this film in both of his autobiographies because it gave him a chance to break away from his role as Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
on Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. He mentioned that the time he made the film was one of the happiest of his life, even though his part was rather brief.
Plot
Jed Catlow and Ben Cowan served together in the Civil WarCivil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
and became friends, but now Catlow is a thief and Cowan a marshal tracking him down.
Catlow is accused of rustling the wealthy rancher Parkman's cattle. Parkman has hired a vicious gunfighter, Orville Miller, to kill Catlow.
Offering to turn himself in, Catlow joins Cowan on a stagecoach to Fort Smith, but his men stage an ambush. Catlow heads for Hermosillo, Mexico, where a woman named Rosita is in love with him and a $2 million shipment of gold is arriving soon by mule train.
Cowan goes after him. He is bushwhacked by Miller, who tosses the bound marshal across a horse with a badge pinned on his backside and turns him loose. Cowan barely avoids a plunge to his death off a cliff.
Allowed to recover at General Calderon's grand hacienda, Ben becomes attracted to Christina, the general's daughter.
Catlow gets the drop on Miller during a bath and hits him with a jug that shatters, cutting Miller's vocal cords.
After stealing the army's gold, Catlow flees toward the scorching desert and into dangerous Apache territory. He rejects Rosita, who angrily recruits men to go with her after Catlow and kill him. Cowan follows, as usual, but Miller shows up and shoots Cowan, wounding him. Catlow picks up Cowan's gun and shoots Miller.
Christina will take care of Cowan. Meantime, a smiling Catlow puts on his friend's badge and gives an indication that he will turn to the right side of the law.
Cast
- Yul BrynnerYul BrynnerYul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
as Catlow - Richard CrennaRichard CrennaRichard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
as Cowan - Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
as Miller - Daliah LaviDaliah LaviDaliah Lavi is an Israeli actress, singer and model.Born in Shavei Zion, British Mandate of Palestine, she studied ballet in Stockholm, Sweden, where she appeared in her first film Hemsöborna...
as Rosita - Jo Ann PflugJo Ann PflugJo Ann Pflug is a former American motion picture and television actress, who retired in the 1990s.Pflug's first major role was as U.S. Army nurse Lt. Maria "Dish" Schneider in 1970's MASH. Other notable roles include the voice of Invisible Girl in the 1967 animated version of Fantastic Four, Lt...
as Christina