It's only from reading other reviewers here that I've become aware of a series of films featuring the character of Winnetou as a principal with actor Pierre Brice in the lead role. Though this is titled "Winnetou and Old Firehand", I caught it on the Encore Western Channel as "Thunder at the Border", and it seemed to me that the Apache Chief was merely an ancillary character. Actually, he and his sister Nscho-tschi (Marie Versini) almost seemed out of place in the story to me, appearing as if they had just stepped off an Indian fashion runway while the rest of the cast was suitably attired for the Mexican desert.
Regarding Old Firehand, that would have been actor Rod Cameron using yet another name, Jason Waade, a fur trapper sidelined in a Mexican village about to come under attack by an outlaw who's brother winds up dead after killing a villager in a card game. Quite coincidentally, Waade's old flame (firehand/flame?) Michelle (Nadia Gray) resides in the village along with their son who Waade never knew. This is all quite comical actually, as Waade offers enough hints for the viewer to figure things out, but young Tom (Todd Armstrong) is quite clueless. Going by 'Jace', he can't seem to figure out that they both have the same first name, even after Waade reveals that he knows his mother and knows how old the boy is.
At least there's a fairly intriguing element introduced in the story when the bandido Silers (Harald Leipnitz) sends a Mexican wagon train back to town planted with explosives. They're set off in a fiery display that provides about the most excitement the film has to offer.
With the eventual reconciliation between Waade and Michelle, Tom/Jace finally makes the connection, while proceeding to help the villagers defeat Silers' bunch. Now I don't know about you, but it sure seemed to me that Silers had a smile on his face when Old Firehand put him away with the second arrow. It was as if he signaled his pleasure to get things over with while the good guys had to stick around to mop things up.
Regarding Old Firehand, that would have been actor Rod Cameron using yet another name, Jason Waade, a fur trapper sidelined in a Mexican village about to come under attack by an outlaw who's brother winds up dead after killing a villager in a card game. Quite coincidentally, Waade's old flame (firehand/flame?) Michelle (Nadia Gray) resides in the village along with their son who Waade never knew. This is all quite comical actually, as Waade offers enough hints for the viewer to figure things out, but young Tom (Todd Armstrong) is quite clueless. Going by 'Jace', he can't seem to figure out that they both have the same first name, even after Waade reveals that he knows his mother and knows how old the boy is.
At least there's a fairly intriguing element introduced in the story when the bandido Silers (Harald Leipnitz) sends a Mexican wagon train back to town planted with explosives. They're set off in a fiery display that provides about the most excitement the film has to offer.
With the eventual reconciliation between Waade and Michelle, Tom/Jace finally makes the connection, while proceeding to help the villagers defeat Silers' bunch. Now I don't know about you, but it sure seemed to me that Silers had a smile on his face when Old Firehand put him away with the second arrow. It was as if he signaled his pleasure to get things over with while the good guys had to stick around to mop things up.