Land Raiders (film)

101 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Land Raiders is a 1970 American Western film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Telly Savalas, George Maharis, Arlene Dahl and Janet Landgard.^[1] It was produced by Charles H. Schneer, who was best known for producing most of Ray Harryhausen's features, three of which were also directed by Juran.

In the 1870s Arizona town of Forge River, cattle baron Vince Carden (Telly Savalas) is estranged from his brother, Paul (George Maharis). The men are of Mexican ancestry but Vince has renounced that part of his heritage. Vince hates Native Americans and pays out bounties on Indian scalps, then benefits financially by being able to buy up the cheap land caused by the strife and bloodshed. Paul is rudderless, haunted by a past romance that ended with the death of his lover, which some people think he was responsible for.

A wagon train joined by Paul is attacked by braves in retaliation for a raid that was fermented by Vince. The only survivor besides Paul is a woman returning home from her education back east. Later, Vince arranges to murder a negotiator sent from Washington to arrange a land-sharing agreement with the Indians, in a manner the Indians will be blamed for. Paul witnesses the attack but, when the townspeople gather to decide what to do about it, does not explicitly tell them what he saw.

Vince urges an all-out attack on a largely defenseless Indian village. The town sheriff is on Vince’s payroll, and the commander of the nearby fort goes along with Vince’s plan. The massacre that follows prompts a massive retaliatory assault on Forge River by the Indians, who somehow know that Vince’s machinations are responsible for their woes.

• List of American films of 1970

• Land Raiders at IMDb