''Cain's Cutthroats'' is a 1971 western-themed

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

. It is a story of brutality, betrayal, and revenge set in the period immediately following the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The film was released under the alternate titles ''Cain's Way'', ''The Blood Seekers'', and ''Justice Cain''. It stars

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

Darwin Joston Francis Darwin Solomon (December 9, 1937 – June 1, 1998) was an American actor known professionally as Darwin Joston (sometimes credited as Darwin Jostin during the early years of his career). Joston began his career as a New York stage acto ...

Valda Hansen Valda Joanne Hansen (November 3, 1932 – July 21, 1993) was an American actress, known for her performances in a number of B-movies in the 1950s and 1970s. Her most famous role was that of the White Ghost in Ed Wood's ''Night of the Ghouls'' ( ...

, Robert Dix, Tereza Thaw, and Adair Jameson.

Plot

After the end of the Civil War, Confederate army captain Justice Cain (

) retires from the military. He becomes a farmer and lives a peaceful life with his son, Jody (by his deceased first wife) and his new wife, Angie (Tereza Thaw), the

biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

ex-slave of Cain's former father-in-law. Unbeknownst to Cain, a group of six soldiers previously under Cain's command (and known as "Cain's Cutthroats"), Ameson (Robert Dix), Billy-Joe (

), Tucker (Bruce Kimbale), Farrette ( Don Epperson), Mason, and Crawford, has recently been released from a Union prison. The former Confederate soldiers have become a roving band of homicidal highway robbers, and their ultimate goal is to re-form a squadron led by Cain and renew attacks upon Union targets. The men find Cain and tell him of their plans, but when Cain refuses to join them, tells them that the "Old South" is dead, and derides their unrealistic plan to attack the north, they become enraged, attack him, and tie him up. Ameson, the leader of the group, rapes Angie while Cain watches helplessly. Billy-Joe, the most deranged and volatile of the men, attempts to rape her afterwards, but she fights him off. Fuming about what he perceives as Angie's sexual "rejection" of him, Billy-Joe kills her. Cain then screams insults at Billy-Joe, who shoots both Cain and Jody, killing the little boy instantly. Realizing that Billy-Joe's uncontrollable rage has set them on the path of no return, the men attempt to cover their tracks by burning down Cain's farm, but they leave unaware that Cain is still alive. With the help of Preacher Simms (

), a bible-quoting bounty hunter, and Rita (Adair Jameson), a former prostitute (and Tucker's ex-girlfriend), Cain systematically tracks down and kills the men. However, Cain becomes increasingly sadistic with each killing, and Simms begins to question whether Cain is more interested in achieving justice or indulging his own bloodlust. After killing most of the men, Cain finds Billy-Joe and shoots him in the crotch several times, so that he dies a slow, excruciatingly painful death. This disgusts Simms and Rita, and they abandon Cain. Cain then sets out alone to kill Ameson, the last surviving member of the gang. However, Ameson is captured by Union soldiers and executed by firing squad before Cain can reach him. Cain, now alone in the world and robbed of the satisfaction of killing the man who raped his wife, sinks to the ground and weeps in despair.

Cast

as Preacher Simms *

as Justice Cain *

Robert Dix Robert Warren Brimmer (May 8, 1935 – August 6, 2018), known professionally as Robert Dix, was an American film actor. He appeared in 35 films between 1954 and 1974. Biographic data Dix was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor R ...

as Amison * Don Epperson as Farrette *

as Billy Joe *Adair Jameson as Rita *Bruce Kimball as Tucker *Tereza Thaw as Cain's Wife *

as Zelda

Different versions of the film

Two versions of this film were released. The earlier ''Cain's Way'' cut was released in 1970,New York Times synopsis of ''Cain's Way''
/ref> and the later, better known ''Cain's Cutthroats'' version was released in 1971. The ''Cain's Way'' cut is slightly longer, because the scenes showing the Confederate gang on a rampage are interspersed with documentary footage of a modern day biker gang terrorizing people.
The biker scenes were then cut from the film, and it was released in 1971 as ''Cain's Cutthroats'', a version that has a more straightforward narrative structure than the original cut and takes place entirely in the 1860s.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, cains_cutthroats_2015, Cain's Cutthroats

1971 films American historical films American exploitation films 1971 Western (genre) films 1970s historical films 1970s exploitation films American Western (genre) films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films English-language Western (genre) films English-language historical films