The star of this film, John Clark Gable, was the only child of Clark Gable (and fifth wife Kay). Young John distinguished himself on the racing circuit before venturing into film acting with this film, a metaphysical western curio.
J.T. Coleman (John Clark Gable), B.D. Sweetman (James Brolin), and July (Richard Roundtree) are itinerant 1881 cowpokes who encounter Virgilio Segura (Pepe Serna), a hunted desperado who begs for a horse, even though he's walking beside a fine steed. Segura admits to being a cohort of Billy the
Kid, who has just been gunned down in Monterey, and the horse, which may have been the Kid's own mount, allows no rider on it except Coleman, who becomes the animal's owner through a trade. Coleman's personality changes, and he talks Sweetman and July into a life of banditry. The bank-robbing trio
eventually they make their way to Monterey, where Segura now lies buried; the horse reacts violently to the grave. When the three enter Monterey they find the streets strangely deserted. It's a trap, and only Coleman escapes the hail of gunfire alive after the horse kicks through a wall. Finally
Coleman realizes there's something anti-social about that animal, and releases Jim among a herd of wild horses.
Writer/director Clyde Ware (NO DRUMS, NO BUGLES) shows careful attention to the period details, but the meandering, hoodoo-horse plot never develops. Does the animal carry Billy the Kid's vengeful spirit, or is the beast evil itself? The transformation of the easygoing heroes into wanted criminals
occurs during a silly music-video montage, and even then the script takes pains to point out that they're still good at heart, helping settlers and respecting Indians; and in one truly strange scene Gable, after a night with an adolescent whore, agrees with the girl and her younger-brother pimp
that it was a beautiful experience for all of them, and they part tenderly. In a showcase role, John Clark Gable is awkward (his eyes hidden in the shadow of his hat most of the time), coming off the lesser beside old pros like Brolin (who, interestingly, portrayed Clark Gable in the
critically-drubbed biopic GABLE AND LOMBARD) and Roundtree. Still, there's an easy cameraderie between all three, with Gable enticing his buddies into a life of crime with nothing more than promises of fresh canned peaches; and a nice moment when Gable's character makes a gift of his last name to
rootless ex-slave Roundtree. Among the supporting cast are such sagebrush stalwarts as Ty Hardin, Rory Calhoun, and Harry Carey Jr. Less effective is the title figure. Jim just isn't an imposing animal; he's brown and friendly-looking, with a white stripe down his nose, more My Friend Flicka than
a Black Stallion. (Violence, profanity, adult situations.) leave a comment
