"I'M JOE BASS and I say that scalphunters are the most ornery, girl-grabbing, back-stubbers on earth. I HUNT SCALPHUNTERS!"
Forced to trade his valuable furs for a well-educated escaped slave, a rugged trapper vows to recover the pelts from the Indians and later the renegades that killed them.
The Scalphunters (1968) is a comedy and western film directed by Sydney Pollack, released on February 29, 1968 with a runtime of 1h 42m. It stars Burt Lancaster, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas and Ossie Davis. Viewers rate it 6.4 out of 10 across 125 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Scalphunters before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for The Scalphunters.
Trailer
Trailer
Burt Lancaster
as Joe Bass
Shelley Winters
as Kate
Telly Savalas
as Jim Howie
Ossie Davis
as Joseph Lee
Dabney Coleman
as Jed
Paul Picerni
as Frank
Dan Vadis
as Yuma
Armando Silvestre
as Two Crows
Nick Cravat
as Yancy
Tony Epper
as Scalphunter
Chuck Roberson
as Scalphunter
John Epper
as Scalphunter
Directed by Sydney Pollack, written by William W. Norton, produced by Jules V. Levy, Burt Lancaster and Roland Kibbee.
Average viewer score of 6.4/10 from 125 ratings.
Throw you in a pigpen, and you'd come out vice-president of the hogs. The Scalphunters is directed by Sydney Pollack and adapted to screenplay by William W. Norton from the novel of the same name written by Ed Friend. It stars Burt Lancaster, Ossie Davis, Telly Savalas and Shelley Winters. A Panavision/De Luxe Colour production, music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Richard Moore and Duke Callaghan. Joe…
Reviewed on March 5, 2019
***Amusing late 60s Western with Lancaster, Ossie Davis and Savalas*** A rugged trapper (Burt Lancaster) is forced by a band of Kiowas to trade his valuable furs for an educated runaway slave (Ossie Davis). To get the furs back, they follow the Indians and, then, a band of scalphunters, led by a boisterous bald guy (Telly Savalas). Shelley Winters is also on hand. What’s notable about “The Scalphunters” (1968),…
Reviewed on February 17, 2020
If you are looking for an antithesis to so many broody and dialogue-light westerns, then this could well do the trick. “Joe” (Burt Lancaster) is a trapper who is robbed of his winter’s work by some local Indians and left with “Joseph Lee” (Ossie Davis) by way of a trade. He is unsure what he will do with his erudite new travelling companion, but that can wait until he retrieves his furs. Before he gets the chance,…
Reviewed on February 9, 2026
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The Scalphunters (1968) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, ScreenPix Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads and ScreenPix Amazon Channel , and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of The Scalphunters (1968) includes Burt Lancaster, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, Ossie Davis and Dabney Coleman. The film was directed by Sydney Pollack. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Scalphunters was released on February 29, 1968 and runs for 1h 42m.
The Scalphunters (1968) holds an average rating of 6.4 out of 10 from 125 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy and western films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Scalphunters trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
