From Sam Sherman’s Independent International productions comes one of the worst contemporary westerns of all time, Al Adamson’s FIVE BLOODY GRAVES (1970). Adamson struck up a friendship with Richard Dix, who aided Al in creating several of their exploitation epics like HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS (1970), SATANS SADISTS (1969), and BLOOD OF DRACULA’S CASTLE (1967). The film also stars Scott Brady of DESTINATION INNER SPACE (1966), NIGHTMARE IN WAX (1968), HELL’S BLOODY DEVILS (1970), and Jim Davis of DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (1971), JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER (1966), and MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL (1958). Also in the cast is frequent Al Adamson collaborator John "Bud" Cardos, who went on to direct the superior KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977), THE DARK (19790, and MUTANT (1984). FIVE BLOODY GRAVES also features a bravo performance from John Carradine. Spicing up the cast is Darlene Lucht from those Frankie Avalon beach movies and Adamson regular Vicki Violante. Surprisingly, FIVE BLOODY GRAVES boasts cinematography by Vilmos Sigmond, who eventually won an Oscar for his work on CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977). Brentwood Communications releases this low budget oddity on DVD in 2002.

Satago (Cardos) is at the command of a renegade band of mad Indians called the Yaqui. Satago buys arms from the white man to provide weapons for his own Yaqui army. Leave it to the heroic Ben Thompson (Dix) to save the day. Ben doesn’t like Satago because the crazy Indian chief killed Ben’s wife. So now Ben makes stopping Satago his own personal vendetta. Ben teams up with Satago’s more reasonable half-brother Joe (Cardos again) to try and wittle down Satago’s evil forces, who get their kicks by killing white folk and scalping their women. Ben and Joe join up with the folks from a stranded wagon train –folks who don’t always get along. There’s Kansas the prostitute (Paula Raymond), Jim Wade the gambler (Scott Brady), Althea the nurse (Darlene Lucht), and Boone the reformed minister (Carradine), among others. Ben and the wagon train folks are joined by the gunrunners who sold the Yaquis their weapons. These outlaws gain the trust of everyone in the wagon train, but plan on selling them out to the Yacqui later on. However, everyone must get along if they plan on surviving the onslaught of the attacking Yacqui tribe!

I have to commend Al Adamson for tackling the Western genre with his own particular no-budget style, but he couldn’t get the job done. The action and editing are really poor--I’ve seen much more cohesive filmmaking in Westerns from the 1940s. Richard Dix as the lead character fails to generate charisma or the hard-guy edge needed to be a believable hero (he looks like an accountant or something). The movie also contains a cheesy voice-over narration (representing death personified) which quickly becomes tiresome. FIVE BLOODY GRAVES does have a few things going for it, however. There’s the excellent photography of the mountainous regions where the picture was filmed (in Utah). The cinematography is expansive and there is not a single interior shot in the whole movie. The other major thing going for it is the supporting cast of character actors like John Carradine, John "Bud" Cardos, Jim Davis, Darlene Lucht, etc. FIVE BLOODY GRAVES also contains a lot of violence, but none of it believably staged. There’s gun fights, knife fights, cat fights, scalpings, burnings, etc. but ultimately, FIVE BLOODY GRAVES is not even as pleasing as a mediocre Spaghetti Western.

Brentwood presents FIVE BLOODY GRAVES in the full frame ratio of 1.33.1. Sadly, their full frame print ruins the wonderful desert photography of ace cinematographer Vilmos Sigmond. The full frame print also lacks sharpness, depth, and is slightly washed out. The best thing I can say about this print is that it is pretty clean as far as scratches and blemishes are concerned. Blacks are solid though, and the many scenes at dusk are atmospheric. The sound is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0, and it’s a solid mix with strong frequencies and touches of bass. The dialog and sound effects are clear and without distortion. The odd thing about FIVE BLOODY GRAVES is the score which features numerous stock cues from many other films. The music ranges from acid rock to jazz to full orchestration. The combined music track is very loud in the mix and often overcomes the other sound elements. From the Special Features menu, you can access a photo gallery (grainy screenshots from the film actually). Also here is the amusing three minute trailer which is way better edited and more pleasing than the movie. You can listen to the audio commentary by producer Sam Sherman and co-creator Richard Dix. These guys have some interesting things to say about the production and the no-budget film industry itself.

FIVE BLOODY GRAVES is a cheap, inept production with good cinematography, that is seriously impaired by the full frame transfer. As bad as this film may be for Western fans, there is still a lot here for Adamson enthusiasts (you poor devils). The commentary by Sherman and Dix is far more entertaining than the feature itself, and they talk about FIVE BLOODY GRAVES like it was CITIZEN KANE. I’d feel a lot better recommending this one to bad movie mavens if it was in widescreen. C’mon, Brentwood get with it.

FIVE BLOODY GRAVES is available from DVDEmpire.com

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