Cain's Cutthroats (1970)

Yes. There are some Westerns out there that I find so bad that (hey!) they're actually good.And then, there are other Westerns out there (just like Cain's Cut-Throats, in fact) that I find so bad that (p.u.!) they stink like a freshly dumped load of pure you-know-what.This ugly, cheap, grubby Cowboy tale (from 1971), about rape, revenge and religious hypocrisy, certainly scraped the absolute bottom of the barrel when it came to its cheesy story, its z-grade production values, and its pathetic performances by one and all of its cast members.Cain's Cut-Throats was such lousy Western junk that it had this viewer literally hating all of its characters with an angry passion, regardless of what side of the law that they were supposed to be riding on.Of course, as a means of spicing up the story and attempting to appeal to all of the hot-blooded males in the audience, Cain's Cut-Throats underhandedly inserted some gratuitous female nudity into a number of key scenes. But this film's story was just too cruel-minded and sadistic in nature for a pair of ripe boobs to make any difference, one way or the other.In a nutshell - DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS RUBBISH!

Good revenge Western with Scott Brady on the hunt for the 6 men who killed his wife and son, and burned his home, shot him and left him for dead. Thing is that they used to be Confederate soldiers under his command. They are now thieves, killers and they want to be mercenaries, but he refuses to lead them, for good reason, and that turns them against him, plus they're not happy that he has a black wife.After they take off, he's saved from death by John Carradine as a self-ordained minister who's also a "Dead or Alive" bounty hunter who, rather than bring in a whole body, only brings in the head, to collect the bounty, keeping them pickled in a barrel. Grisly yet humorous.Brady shows no hesitation in slaughtering the renegades, and why should he? They killed his wife and son with no remorse. Even in situations when he could let some of them them live, he won't. He's so intent that eventually the bounty hunter even questions his motives. Regardless, we root for him to succeed. Plenty of good gunshot violence and shoot-out scenes.The renegades are certainly a group of morons and imbeciles, and the smart Brady is more than they can handle. This is a public domain title that isn't too hard to find, and well worth it

"Cain's Cutthroats" is an amateurishly made post-Civil War western saga about a renegade unit of Confederate guerrillas that are still fighting for the Stars and Bars. This low-budget, drive-in movie oater features uniformly shoddy acting by everybody except the venerable John Carradine and character actor Scott Brady. Director Ken Osborne specialized in grade Z exploitation movies and the evidence is apparent in this poorly-paced, ineptly written, and slovenly staged western. The overall idea, however, isn't irredeemable. Scott Brady of "The Storm Rider" plays Justice Cain, formerly Captain Cain, C.S.A., who led a band of merciless Southern raiders called 'Cain's Cutthroats.' The shallow, formulaic screenplay by TV writer Wilton Denmark, Ralph Luce, and Osborne doesn't reveal much about the notoriety of 'Cain's Cutthroats' during the Civil War.After the 'Cutthroats' ambush a U.S.Army payroll shipment and hack off a sergeant's hand off to get the strongbox, they ride off hooping it up because they have stolen so much money. Amison (Robert Dix of "Five Bloody Graves), the gang leader, convinces his renegade cohorts that they must persuade their former military commander to lead them again so that they can raise a new army to fight the Union. Justice Cain isn't pleased with the remnants of his guerrilla unit appear at his isolated house in the wilderness. Although he lets them feed and water their horses as well as crack open the strongbox, Justice wants nothing to do with them. Amison and the others are shocked when Cain won't lead them so they tie him to a hitch rank, beat him up, rape his high yellow African-American wife, and murder his adolescent son. The 'Cutthroats' set fire to Justice's house and put a bullet in him. Predictably, their lone bullet doesn't finish off the grief-stricken husband/father who had to suffer through the ordeal of the villainous gang raping his wife and repeatedly using the politically incorrect N-word. Justice recovers from his bullet wound and finds himself in the back of a wagon while a preacher utters some final words over his dead wife and son. John Carradine of "The Grapes of Wrath" happens along and digs the bullet out of Cain. Although he appears well-dressed in a black suit and hat, Preacher Simms is more than a minister of God. He is also a bounty hunter. He rides in a horse-drawn wagon and keeps the heads of men that he has shot for bounty soaking in salt in a barrel until he can get them to the authorities and obtain his reward money. Simms and Cain team up and pursue the bad guys, killing them off one by one. Osborne directs this nasty little western—in some ways it resembles Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales—without style. The shoot-outs are ineptly staged and none of the characters—even Cain—are remotely sympathetic. The rape scene is particularly repellent. The blood and violence in the opening robbery is rendered without subtlety. The photography looks really bad. Incidentally, the advertising campaign with John Carradine with a noose around his neck has nothing to do with the plot of "Cain's Cutthroats." Cutting your own throat would be easier than suffering through his atrociously awful nonsense.

Cain's Cutthroats is a fast paced and violent western worth seeking out. It is the story of an ex-Confederate army captain named Justiss Cain who is one day visited by his ex-gang of thieves and killers who served with him during the Civil War. The gang has hopes of Cain joining them in order to "give it to those blue belly yankees." When Cain (who has changed for the better since the war) refuses, it leads to a fight which ends with his family being killed and him being left for dead. Once Cain is nursed back to health by a preacher/bounty hunter passing by, the hunt is on for the gang. For Cain it is revenge he seeks. For the preacher, it is the reward money to be gained!The performances by the cast are fine. The actors playing the gang do a very good job of making the audience root against them. John Carradine is probably the most memorable as the preacher. He is funny, witty and at times very crazy! The action scenes, although well handled, are a bit excessive due to some very bloody exit gunshot wounds. As for the ending, although satisfying and just, I found it too abrupt. Fans of rare westerns will want to seek out this little known oddity and also the Barry Shear film, The Deadly Trackers; which Cain's Cutthroats reminded me of. Happy Hunting!!