Powderkeg
Their gun and guts for hire... and a blank check is their price
A Mexican bandit is about to be executed in the United States, so his brother takes over a train and holds the passengers as hostages unless his brother is released. Now both the Americans and Mexicans are baffled as to what to do. One of the passengers — who wrote the letter for their captor — has a suggestion: call mercenaries Hank Brackett and Johnny Reech. They do, and as expected they do come up with a plan, but the president of the railroad is not sure if it will work.
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Cast
Rod Taylor
Hank Brackett
Dennis Cole
Johnny Reach
Fernando Lamas
Chucho Morales
John McIntire
Cyrus Davenport
Michael Ansara
Paco Morales
Tisha Sterling
Beth Parkinson
Melodie Johnson
Miss Baker
Reni Santoni
Ricardo Sandoval
Luciana Paluzzi
Juanita Sierra-Perez
Joe De Santis
Col. Delgado
Jay Novello
Pablo Sandoval
James Brown
Sheriff Lynch
Roy Jenson
Briggs
William Bryant
Major Bill Buckner
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Reviews
Wuchak
Unique train-oriented Western with Rod Taylor and several notables of the era
RELEASED IN 1971 and written & directed by Douglas Heyes, "Powderkeg" chronicles events in 1914 when Mexican renegades led by Chucho Morales (Fernando Lamas) hijack a train for leverage to get his brother out of jail in New Mexico (Michael Ansara). Two adventurer-mercenaries (Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole) are enlisted to rescue the 73 passengers and take care of the banditos.
While this was a TV movie, it’s pretty much as good as many theatrical Westerns of the late 60s/early 70s. The two stars, Taylor and Cole, have great chemistry and the tone is snappy with a distinctive story and a couple of unexpected twists. Luscious Luciana Paluzzi is on hand (playing a role in one of the surprises) along with Tisha Sterling and Melodie Johnson in the female department. Reviewers have overstated the action/thrills, but no worries because the drama is interesting.
“Powderkeg” was the pilot for the short-lived Bearcats TV series in ‘71, which consisted of this film and 13 episodes.
THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 33 minutes and was shot at Old Tucson, Arizona, and surrounding areas.
GRADE: B+/A-
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