Cain's Cutthroats (1970)

Instant Favorite.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Even if you are as big a western addict like I am, I can't imagine that you'd find "Cain's Cutthroats" entertaining; it's not even entertaining on a so-bad-it's good level. For starters, it's painfully obvious that the so-called budget was brutally low - among other aspects, the costumes look cheap and amateurish, and there is a minimum of props and set dressings. I guess the movie could still have succeeded under those circumstances, but there are other bad things that get in the way of it. The musical score is strident and too contemporary for a western. The acting (except maybe for John Carradine's) is lazy and amateurish. The direction tries to be rough, but comes across as crude and heavy-handed. The worst problem, however, is the script. It takes a third of the movie to set up the situation and characters, and it unfolds both at a slow pace and with important information missing here and there. The screenplay does come up with a somewhat unexpected ending, but it's too little too late. Only for Carradine fans who have wanted to see their idol wearing a dress in one scene.

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!

I first saw this as a kid on local television back before infomercials and their credit card wielding enablers banished entertainment from late night TV.The one thing I remembered from the first viewing was John Carradine as the preacher/bounty killer who preserves outlaw's heads in a barrel of brine so he wouldn't have to carry the whole body in for a reward.Seeing it again years later I have to say there's much more madness to Cain's Cuttroats than I remembered. It is a nasty, cynical little drive-in movie with lots of bloody gun shots and tons of insane characters and situations.The plot involves a group of ex-Confederate marauders who try to enlist their former commanding officer (Scott Brady) in their crimes. Rebuked, they proceed to rape his wife and kill her along with his son. Saved by Carradine he and his new partner go on a grim hunt, killing and collecting the heads of the marauders.The standout performances are by Darwin Jostin (best remembered for John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13) as a pitifully disturbed murderer, who's death scene was great and makes me wonder why he wasn't a bigger star and Robert Dix as the loathsome one-eyed leader of the vicious pack. The scene where he takes his eye-patch off so Brady's wife would have to look at his empty socket as he rapes her is very disgusting!Cain's Cuttroats sags a bit in the middle but the fascinating and bleak conclusion is worth waiting for.

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!!