The Shadow of Chikara

7/15/19771h 54m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The Lure of the Mystic Wild river Was Diamonds. But What Was Frightening Was the Men Who Never Came Back. ~

Overview:

Two former Confederate captains try to remove diamonds hidden in the Arkansas mountains, but a native spirit guards the sacred site against intruders.

Director:

Earl E. Smith

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

arkansas
treasure hunt
ghost
confederate soldier
american civil war
damsel in distress
diamonds
horror western

Cast

Joe Don Baker

~ as ~

Wishbone Cutter

Sondra Locke

~ as ~

Drusilla Wilcox

Ted Neeley

~ as ~

Amos Richmond - Teach

Joy N. Houck Jr.

~ as ~

Half Moon O'Brian

Dennis Fimple

~ as ~

Posey

John Davis Chandler

~ as ~

Rafe

Grady Wyatt

~ as ~

Dancer

Linda Dano

~ as ~

Rosalie Cutter

Slim Pickens

~ as ~

Virgil Cane

Robert Ginnivan

~ as ~

Confederate Officer

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 7 month(s) ago
6
Western set in northern Arkansas with Joe Don Baker and Sondra Locke

After one of the last battles of the Civil War, a captain and his half-breed scout (Baker and Joy N. Houck Jr.) team-up with a college geologist (Ted Neeley) to find a deposit of diamonds in a cave in the Ozarks. On the way, they are joined by a woman (Locke), but are hindered by shadowy pursuers.

"The Shadow of Chikara” (1977), also known as “The Curse of Demon Mountain” (amongst other titles), is worth seeing because of the unique locale for a Western, as well as the quality cast. Speaking of which, Locke and John Davis Chandler (in a small part) previously appeared together in “The Outlaw Josey Wales” from the year before. Sondra’s new beau from that flick, Clint Eastwood, visited the set a few weeks into the shoot for a respite, checking out the area and doing some fishing.

I’ve heard this referred to as a cheap production, but it’s not. For instance, the opening Civil War battle scenes are convincing, not to mention the characters are fleshed out and well acted. The second half does get tedious though, yet there’s a nice surprise at the end.

The blurry version currently available on streaming runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, but the original cut runs 23 minutes longer, which explains the abrupt (amateurish) editing in the short version. It was shot in north-central Arkansas at Bull Shoals State Park; and Yellville, which is a dozen miles to the southwest, as well as Buffalo National River, which is 15 miles further south.

GRADE: B- (if I saw a quality print of the original version, I might rate this higher)