Director Matt Cimber kicks off Yellow Hair and the Fortress of Gold in the style of a Saturday morning serial adventure, introducing the viewer to his characters (to the cheers of an appreciative audience) before plonking the viewer in the middle of an ongoing story. It's a lively way to start proceedings, but that's where the fun ends, the exploits of half-breed Yellow Hair (statuesque blonde Laurene Landon) and lovable rogue The Pecos Kid (Ken Roberson) proving stupefyingly tedious despite plenty of noisy action—shooting, explosions, fights and chases, including the obligatory classic stagecoach stunt that sees our heroes falling between the horses.
One can't fault Cimber for trying, I suppose, but his terrible script, lacklustre direction and unengaging characters make for a virtually joyless experience. The shambolic plot meanders aimlessly throughout, there's way too much boring conversation, the comedy is exceptionally weak, and star Landon displays little in the way of acting ability. About the only aspect I enjoyed was the occasional spot of mean spirited violence: a commanchero is thrown off his horse over the edge of a cliff, another is slowly lynched, and one poor guy has his head dipped in molten gold before being decapitated.
In the tradition of the serials it seeks to emulate, the film ends on a cliffhanger, suggesting that a sequel was planned: thankfully, it never materialised.
One can't fault Cimber for trying, I suppose, but his terrible script, lacklustre direction and unengaging characters make for a virtually joyless experience. The shambolic plot meanders aimlessly throughout, there's way too much boring conversation, the comedy is exceptionally weak, and star Landon displays little in the way of acting ability. About the only aspect I enjoyed was the occasional spot of mean spirited violence: a commanchero is thrown off his horse over the edge of a cliff, another is slowly lynched, and one poor guy has his head dipped in molten gold before being decapitated.
In the tradition of the serials it seeks to emulate, the film ends on a cliffhanger, suggesting that a sequel was planned: thankfully, it never materialised.