The Copied Sky

Sometimes I really don't know why I watch the movies I watch. My internet was down last night due to a rainstorm so I went through a pile of old disks that came in a box of my books from the U.S. I came across a disk I'd labelled just "The Crooked" but it ended up being a 1975 Western called Against a Crooked Sky. It's a cheap knock-off of The Searchers starring Richard Boone and I have absolutely no memory of why I tracked it down and made a copy.

A frontier family encounter three Indians from a tribe they don't recognise. They capture the beautiful young daughter, Charlotte, played by country singer Jewel Blanch. She sings the movie's theme song so badly it makes me wonder why her Wikipedia entry primarily identifies her as a singer.

Her father (Clint Ritchie) goes off to search for her and orders her teenage brother, Sam (Stewart Peterson), to stay at home for some reason. Sam feels guilty because Charlotte had been captured partly because she'd protected him so he goes off looking for her anyway. He immediately loses his horse when trying to swim with it across a river and he's rescued by a grizzled old prospector called Russian (Richard Boone).

Despite the name, he's an American and the most entertaining part of the movie. He's usually drunk and seems to spend a lot of time in his underwear, singing a song the lyrics of which mainly consist of shouting, "I killed a bear." He also has a dog named Bear Killer.

Another interesting aspect of the film is the mystery around the Native American tribe. They wear a lot of gold jewellery and skirts so I think the idea is that they're supposed to be a surviving remnant of an Empire from before the Europeans came to the New World. There's an interesting scene where Sam discovers the way into their lands by how the light filters through a crack in a cliffside.

Though I think, ultimately, the reason for the tribe being made up is so the writers can ascribe whatever plot convenient customs and traditions to them they want. But even with that handy consideration, the climax still doesn't make sense on its own terms.

The worst part of the film, though, is how the characters react to rape and murder, which is hardly at all. When it looks like Charlotte's finally been done for, the film cuts to the family laughing and enjoying their newfound friendship with Russian. Mention is made of how the mother (Shannon Farnon) doesn't talk as much as she used to, as though this is inexplicable behaviour. It's like the screenplay was written by androids.

Against a Crooked Sky is public domain so you can see the whole thing on YouTube.

Twitter Sonnet #1470

A four plus ten accepts the present gift.
The graceful unicorn could kneel on cue.
The extra power clogged the ancient lift.
A buried green returned with Mountain Dew.
Involving streams conduct the eyes to now.
Forgotten mirrors cracked to make a fake.
We tied the ribbons all about the plough.
The hotter store could house a simple rake.
A crooked disk revealed a blooming sky.
The stranger's belt enticed the waist to bind.
We divvied forks to eat the giant pie.
Beneath the bridge we ate a pumpkin rind.
The plastic tray resides in boxy dark.
The answer's stuck beneath the golden ark.