Johnny Firecloud (1975)

Lack of good storyline.

How sad is this?

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The exploitation legend started taking his career in a slightly more mainstream direction around this time, producing such things as this racism themed revenge saga. Of course, it's just trashy enough to amuse, if not altogether satisfy, fans of 1970s drive-in features. A major studio production (from 20th Century Fox), "Johnny Firecloud" is well cast and well acted by familiar faces from both A and B pictures. It's nicely photographed in widescreen on picturesque locations, and it's got some bare breasts and some really delicious gore devised by Joe Blasco (Cronenbergs' "Shivers").Victor Mohica ("Don't Answer the Phone!") stars as the title character, an Indian who fought in the Vietnam war and who now lives in a small town dominated by a big shot rancher, Colby (Ralph Meeker, "Kiss Me Deadly"). Colby and his gang of goons are a bigoted bunch and make life miserable for Johnny's grandfather White Eagle (Frank DeKova, 'F Troop'). Their vile actions enrage Johnny to the point where he escapes from jail and goes about administering his own sadistic brand of justice.Mohica is effectively intense as Johnny, and Meeker is appropriately despicable as his nemesis. The supporting cast likewise does solid work: David Canary ('All My Children') as the sheriff with a skeleton in his closet, Christina Hart ("The Stewardesses") as Colby's daughter who'd been in love with Johnny, and busy & reliable character actors John F. Goff, Richard Kennedy, and George 'Buck' Flower (Buck was also the casting director) as Colby's associates. Adding curiosity value is the presence of the notorious Sacheen Littlefeather as Johnny's friend Nenya.Unfortunately, director William Allen Castleman doesn't give this quite as much energy as one might like; the movie is a little plodding and dialogue heavy. The good thing is that Johnny's revenge is so nasty that it makes the wait worth it. However, the resolution may not be to everyone's' taste.Still, this is an interesting little obscurity that people may want to seek out.Six out of 10.

Gritty, pulpy but professionally handled 70s revenge exploitation that could have easily been a Western. It has a familiar selection of characters, plot themes and set-pieces that could easily have been set 100 years previously, substituting horses for cars.The performances are more than adequate for this sort of thing, the redneck hicks coming across as bug-eyed, one-dimensional and evil, whereas the more sympathetic characters are given more sensitive treatment. It does have a real comic book feel interspersed with some very nasty action, which may sit awkwardly with those unfamiliar with grindhouse cinema from this era. If you're used to films like 'Fight For Your Life' or 'Gator Bait', you will probably love this.The pacing is pretty good. It threatens to drag a little towards the end but redeems itself with some strong dialogue between Johnny and the sheriff character. One of the unexpected things about this film is the dialogue - it's hardboiled stuff but cleverly done. The cinematography and score are also effective, again with some clever touches that elevate this movie above many of its ilk. Recommended.

Johnny Firecloud borrows heavily from the other stand up and fight action/revenge flicks of it's day like Walking Tall and Billy Jack. Comparing it to the latter, it's less pretentious and overtly political, making it much more entertaining in my book, although it does have a slight problem with being overlong.I think Johnny's goal of working hard and trying to find a place to fit in his hometown and as an Indian in modern America, is quite admirable. It makes the eventual (very bloody) war on the town bully and his group of nasty rednecks very satisfying.The final scene isn't particularly exciting but still worthwhile.Another thing that struck me about this film is the number of complex characters (for a drive-in movie) and sympathetic whites among the population of Johnny's town. Most of the time in these type of movies the only good white person is the town's lone attractive female. It blunts some of the other over-the-top redneck stereotypes presented in the film.For the perverts out there, Marlon Brando's favorite fake Indian, Sacheen Littlefeather, shows off her breast implants in a gratuitous rape scene where we're "treated" to the sight of a greasy fat redneck reaching up her skirt and snatching off her panties, holding them up to the camera and grinning!One of the morals of this movie is that when you have the cops on your side, don't abuse it. The same policeman that's going to let you get away with murder is liable to look the other way while your own throat gets slit!

I always saw David F. Friedman as basically a low budget Roger Corman. Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed many of the David Friedman classics (such as Two Thousand Maniacs and She Freak), but those films paled in comparison next to the wraith of Johnny Firecloud.The movie plays out like Charles Bronson's Deathwish, only more violent. The bad guys, a group of country fried bigots lead by head bigot Mr. Colby, are truly wicked. This wickedness, which includes rape, murder, and torturing of the elderly, is truly disturbing, but in the long run makes the bad guy's deaths even more enjoyable to watch. The good guys (Johnny Firecloud, the Sheriff, and Chief White Eagle), have qualities that make them likable as heroes, but also flaws that make them seem more human (like White Eagle's drinking problem, and the inner turmoil faced by the Sheriff caused by his "sexual secrete"). But with any David Friedman film, the main draw is the gore, and this film has it....boy does it have it.Granted, there are flaws, mainly in the acting. Sacheen Littlefeather gives a rather stiff performance and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, some of the bad guys tend to put on the southern act a little too thick.So with that said, Robot Rancher's Final Score is a big 7 points. A solid film with enough eye gouging, scalp lifting, crotch socking violence to keep any David Friedman fan happy.