The Scalphunters (1968)

A fur trapper (Burt Lancaster) is ambushed by a group of Kiowa Indians who steal all his furs. As compensation, they leave him a runaway slave (Ossie Davis) that they have captured. Determined to retrieve his furs, the trapper hunts the Kiowas down but a scalphunter (Telly Savalas) gets to them first. If he wants his furs back, he'll have to outsmart the scalphunter. Directed by Sydney Pollack, this affable comedy western is hard to resist. Lancaster is a wonderful physical actor and here he seems to be having a ball. Lancaster and his co-stars Telly Savalas and Shelley Winters have been known to go overboard with their acting so I'm assuming director Pollack (THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?) is responsible for reining them in. Oh, they're still broad performances but in just the right way. But if the film belongs to anyone, it's Ossie Davis who brings both wit and dignity as well as a wink to his runaway slave. The rousing film score is by Elmer Bernstein. With Dabney Coleman, Paul Picerni and Armando Silvestre.