Spikeopath Catlow is directed by Sam Wanamaker and adapted to screenplay from the Louis L'Amour novel by Scott Finch and J.J. Griffith. It stars Yul Brynner, Richard Crenna, Leonard Nimoy and Daliah Lavi. Filmed in Metrocolor/Panavision, photography is by Ted Scaife and music by Roy Budd.One time buddies in the Civil War, Catlow (Brynner) and Cowan (Crenna), are now on opposite sides of the law. Let the shenanigans begin!Catlow is one of those Oaters that is - in spite of its ordinariness - so harmless to the point it's near impossible to dislike with genuine displeasure. Essentially it finds Brynner and Crenna as pals constantly playing cat and mouse with each other, all while they are entangled in danger (courtesy of Mexican soldiers, Indians and Nimoy's vengeful gunman) and affairs of the heart (Lavi and the beautiful Jo Ann Pflug).It's all very formulaic, and directed as such, but there's still a lot going for it. Everybody seems to be having a good time of things, with some hamming it up on purpose - obviously with a tongue in cheek nod to Spaghetti Westerns - others relishing chances to exude ebullience (Lavi) and gruff meanness (Nimoy). There's some truly funny moments, with witty dialogue to match, and the action scenes are as solid as the rock formations that boom out of the Almeria locations.Budd's musical score is a bit hit and miss, often sounding like it belongs in an episode of Alias Smith and Jones as opposed to a full feature length film, while there's a lack of an edge to make the finale be anything other than run of the mill. Tis fun though! Pic looks lovely, with TCM HD channel showing a print that extols the virtues of having a top cinematographer on lens duties. Harmless and enjoyable enough, even if ultimately it's forgettable once over. 6/10

citymanguy I don't think their is a five minute sequence in the whole movie that makes any sense! There are bunch of segways, the story is just plain very difficult to follow. Yul Brynner has the most annoying girlfriend i ever seen in a movie. You wish she'd just die, so you don't have to hear her. Nimoy barely speaks. The movie just moves from 1 scene to the next with a story that next to impossible to follow, and frankly the movie is so bad why bother to make any sense of it. I love western's & this is perhaps the worst i ever seen. It's not funny, nor amusing, just annoying. The story follows no guide. Even after the end scene i still couldn't even figure out if they got the gold! It's just plain that bad!

zardoz-13 Actor turned director Sam Wanamaker and Academy Award winning "King and I" lead Yul Brynner teamed up for the second time as director and star respectively in "Catlow," a harmless, featherweight adaptation of bestselling western writer Louis L'Amour's novel. Wanamaker and Brynner collaborated earlier on the espionage thriller "The File of the Golden Goose." Anyway, this 101-minute, PG-13 rated oater deals with the camaraderie between roguish cattle rustler Jed Catlow (Yul Brynner), and Richard Crenna's determined, arrow-straight, U.S. Marshal Ben Cowan."Star Trek" star Leonard Nimoy is cast against type as Catlow's nemesis who wants to put a bullet in him. Daliah Lavi and Jo Ann Pflug provide suitably distracting love interests for both Brynner and Crenna. The austere scenery around Almeria, Spain, substitutes marvelously for the Old West in this frivolous frontier yarn about maverick steers, two million dollars in stolen Confederate gold, Mexican soldiers, and savage, bloodthirsty Indians. Roy Budd's orchestral soundtrack enlivens this tolerably entertaining epic.One of the gags in the average but unexceptional Scot French and J.J. Griffith screenplay appears to have been lifted from Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West." Our amiable anti-hero Catlow surprises a bad guy and shoots at him through the sole of his boot with his six-shooter concealed in his footwear. Jason Robards performed a similar stunt in the train sequence of Leone's classic. The most distinctive feature of this otherwise ordinary but entertaining oater is Nimoy's hand-to-hand combat with Brynner in the nude. That's right. Mr. Spock shows his butt and a glimpse of something else when our protagonist catches him off-guard with his britches down. Nothing dirty, mind you.As "Catlow" unfolds, Cowan has a warrant to bring Catlow in for rustling cattle, but the charges have been trumped up by greedy cattlemen who don't want anybody rounding up maverick steers. It seems that their own hands demand extra pay that their bosses refuse to pay for the hardship involving in such activities. Ben Cowan is on Catlow's trail when Apache's jump him, wound him in the leg with an arrow and about about to kill, when Catlow's opportune intervention saves Ben's bacon. Meantime, the cattlemen have hired a hardcase, Miller (Leonard Nimoy), and several gunslingers to corral Catlow. During a showdown in the desert, Catlow spoils Miller's necktie party. As he is putting on his boot, Catlow shoots at Miller through the sole with a gun. A brief gunfight erupts, and Catlow's men scatter Miller's minions. After Catlow sells his steers for $23 dollars a head, he allows Ben to take him into custody. Ben claps Catlow in irons, and they take a stagecoach back to Fort Smith. Catlow's men rescue him in route. Naturally, the cattlemen aren't happy about Catlow's escape.Cowan rides into Mexico and Miller trails him. In a border town, Cowan finds Catlow long enough for our hero to lock him up. Catlow has set his sights on a mule train loaded with stolen Confederate gold that the Mexican army has discovered in a cave. Audaciously, Catlow hijacks the mule train right out from under the Mexican Army's nose. Cowan sounds the alert inadvertently when he stumbles onto the vicious Miller and all hell breaks loose. Catlow leads his unwilling men into the desert with the army nipping at his heels. One of Catlow's oldest accomplishess, Rios, doesn't cotton to Catlow's plans and plots mutiny.No sooner has his men and he plunged into the desert than they find themselves at the mercy of the vicious Seri Indians. Catlow and company reach a fortress in the desert that lays in ruins. Cowan beats them to the fortress and spoils an ambush that the jealous Rosita has set up for Catlow. Catlow and his men cut down most of her gunmen and Catlow ties her up. Meanwhile, Rios decides to double-cross Catlow, join forces with Rosita and take the gold. They steal all the guns from Catlow's men and leave them unarmed to face the advancing Seris. Catlow, Cowan, and the outlaws are between a rock and a hard place when the Mexican Army ride to their rescue.The ending is entirely improbable. Miller's reappearance, however, restores some drama. Nimoy excels as a rough and tumble villain with hate in his heart. Sadly, "Catlow" doesn't have enough grit to qualify as genuinely dramatic. The antics between Catlow and Cowan become rather childish and unbelievable, particularly the last minute reversal. "Catlow" isn't a bad western, but it is neither top drawer. The performances are adequate, the scenery is rugged, and the editing is incisive, but the story unravels toward the end.

ma-cortes The film talks about a rustler named Catlow (Yul Brynner) and his bandit underlings (Jeff Corey , Robert Logan , John Clark , Michael Delano) who are pursued by a sheriff (Richard Crenna) and a bounty hunter gunslinger (Leonard Nimoy ) with the aim to steal the Mexican gold formerly robbed to Confederacy during the American civil war (1861-1865) . As Catlow attempts to avoid interference as he journeys to pull off a $2-million gold robbery , but everyone wants him dead and buried . The Mexican cavalry wanted him murdered . The Apache nation wanted him massacred . Texas Rangers wanted him mangled and his only hope was a marshal who wanted him hanged . Meanwhile , he'll confront Apaches , Mexican Army and some cutthroats.In the picture there's western action , shootouts , comedy , tongue-in-cheek and a little bit of moderated violence . The movie has the comic observations of the Western parody genre originated in the late decade 60s by Burt Kennedy and Andrew McLagen and with references to Spaghetti Western . Based on a Louis L'Amour's novel is basically a humorist Western . The motion picture was well filmed on location in Almeria (Spain) , where during the 6os and early the 7os were shot several Spaghetti/Paella Western . Thus , there appears usual Italian/Spanish Western secondary actors as Angel del Pozo , Julian Mateos , Jose Nieto, Rafael Albaicín , Tito Garcia , Dan Van Husen and Victor Israel , among others . Yul Brynner plays perfectly as outlaw Catlow , interpretation similar to ¨Indio Black¨ (by Frank Kramer) who'll play later . Richard Crenna as the friend and enemy sheriff is very fine . Leonard Nimoy as the tough and cruel gunfighter is splendid , this film 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 . Excellent and lively musical score by Roy Budd and colorful cinematography by magnificent cameraman Edward Scaife . The movie was regularly directed by Sam Wanamaker who replaced Peter R. Hunt . The film will appeal to humor-western enthusiasts and Yul Brynner fans . Rating : Mediocre but entertaining .