Macho Callahan
Macho Callahan is a 1970 American-Mexican Civil War film directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and starring David Janssen, Jean Seberg, Lee J. Cobb and James Booth.[1] The screenplay concerns an Confederate soldier who is imprisoned in Andersonville Prison during the American Civil War. He manages to escape, but is pursued by a gang of bounty-hunters.
Plot
Placed behind bars during the war, Diego Callahan (David Janssen), also known as "Macho," travels to Texas looking for the man responsible for his imprisonment.
He quarrels with a one-armed Confederate Army colonel named Mountford (David Carradine) over a bottle of champagne and kills him in front of Alexandra (Jean Seberg), the officer's wife. Vowing vengeance, she immediately puts a $1,000 bounty on Callahan's head. She entices Duffy (Lee J. Cobb) to help her seek out Callahan, who wears the yellow boots that Callahan remembers him by.
Traveling with Alexandra through Confederate Texas, Duffy locates Callahan and challenges him to a game of horseshoes for money, but when Alexandra seeks Duffy, she finds that Callahan has hanged him.
Alexandra goes to work at a casino run by Harry Wheeler (James Booth), writing letters for illiterate cowboys. Wheeler agrees to hire a team of bounty hunters and give chase. Alexandra spots Callahan at the casino, and befriends a young cowboy (Bo Hopkins). She convinces him that her honor has been insulted. The cowboy goes over to where Callahan is playing poker and a melee breaks out. He escapes in the confusion but she pursues Callahan on her own and meets up with him, and the two travel with Callahan's partner.
Later, in Callahan's cabin, Alexandra tries to kill him, but Callahan overpowers her and savagely beats her before raping her. Despite the savage beating leaving scars on her face, Alexandra decides to stay at the cabin, likely suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. After nearly being killed by a mother bear protecting her cub, she is saved by Callahan, who shoots the adult bear. He saves the cub because it won't survive on its own. She falls in love with Callahan.
Now in love with the man who has killed her husband, she travels with Callahan and his partner, but Wheeler's posse is in pursuit. Wheeler's men are determined to collect that reward, and Callahan finds that he can't kill them all.
Cast
- David Janssen - Diego Callahan
- Jean Seberg - Alexandra Mountford
- Lee J. Cobb - Duffy
- James Booth - Harry Wheeler
- Pedro Armendáriz Jr. - Juan
- David Carradine - David Mountford
- Bo Hopkins - Yancy
- Anne Revere - Crystal
- Richard Anderson - Officer
- Diane Ladd - Girl