Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

In the deserts of Texas near El Paso, a band of thieves drive a herd of horses into a corral.  Nearby, several state police officers prepare to arrest the rustlers.  It goes badly when the rustlers outmaneuver the police and quickly surround them.  Before the lead rustler can kill the police, Ranger J.J. McQuade (Chuck Norris) entered the fray.  In short order, he dispatched the rustlers and rescued the police officers.  One officer, Arcadio Ramos (Robert Beltran), is particularly grateful.  Upon returning to the office in El Paso, his captain (R.G. Armstrong) upbraided him for his slovenly appearance and Lone Wolf antics.  He was assigned a partner, none other than Arcadio "Kayo" Ramos.

Happenstance at a horse racetrack led to a meeting with Lola Richardson (Barbara Carrera) and her business partner, Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine).  Wilkes was a former Karate champion and McQuade was widely known for his hand-to-hand prowess.  Though tempers flared and both displayed their martial arts skills, Lola prevented them from fighting one another; that must wait for the finale.  It was now clear that Wilkes is the bad guy and Lola the love interest.

The movie plays like a Spaghetti Western and has a soundtrack that feels like it came from a Sergio Leone film.  There are several characters who follow standard tropes.  Dakota (LQ Jones) is the old veteran who is a reliable ally and doomed to die.  Kayo is the greenhorn youth who follows the hero and matures into a hero himself.  Snow (William Sanderson) is the sniveling snitch who reveals the plans of the villain and provides for some initial action in the investigation.  Sally is McQuade's daughter who is repeatedly entangled in the story and needs rescuing.  Of course, there are training montages and travel montages, accompanied by a powerful musical score.

The same year this appeared in theaters, Barbara Carrera was also opposite Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again.  In that, she was an over-the-top femme fatale.  In both movies, she dies.  Tough year for her characters but a high point in her career.

As David Carradine was best remembered for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu, there was much excitement over his match with Karate World Champion Norris.  Norris commented that Carradine's martial arts was about as good as Norris's acting.  Nice.

Great popcorn fun and recommended.

The Long Riders (1980)

While robbing a bank, Ed Miller (Dennis Quaid) becomes anxious and shoots the bank teller.  In the gunfire that follows, Jesse James (James Keach) is wounded.  After the gang makes good their escape, Jesse ejects Ed from the gang.  Ed's brother, Clell (Randy Quaid), agrees with Jesse and rides away with the rest of the gang.  The James-Younger gang consists of Frank (Stacy Keach) & Jesse James, Cole (David Carradine), Jim (Keith Carradine), & Bob Younger (Robert Carradine), and Clell Miller.  After returning to their Missouri home, the Ford brothers, Charlie (Christopher Guest) and Robert (Nicholas Guest) try unsuccessfully to join the gang.  Despite their rough profession, the gang pursues a fairly ordinary life when not robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches.  While Jesse woos Zee (Savannah Smith Boucher), Cole has a long-standing arrangement with Belle Starr (Pamela Reed), whom he gladly calls a whore, which is why he likes her.  The Pinkertons' pursuit of the gang figures heavily and the fact that many Missourians preferred the James-Younger gang to the law explains how they often lived normal lives.

The movie pieces together some of the tales of the gang in an entertaining fashion.  The climactic battle in Northfield, Minnesota, is well done.  The famous gang met its match in a bunch of armed civilians.  Though the Northfield Robbery was in 1876, the story jumps to 1882 when Jesse has the Ford brothers over to discuss 'business.'  Of course, Bob Ford was more interested in the price on Jesse's head.

The big selling point of this version is that four sets of siblings were cast to portray these criminal families.  Though that is cool, it is beside the point.  In fact, it may have detracted from the film.  This is a good story and mostly well-acted.  The weakest parts are James Keach, who is surprisingly wooden, and David Carradine, who lacks range.  This is a problem because these are the two leading characters.

Good popcorn fun and recommended.