User Reviews

This unjustly obscure and pretty good quintessentially 70's "fight back" revenge drama could easily be subtitled "Billy Jack Goes Fishing." Earnest, taciturn, fiercely self-reliant and independent no-nonsense blue collar Native American fisherman Joe Bass (firmly played with a pleasing blend of stubbornness and a steely backbone by Henry Bal) fights tenaciously for his fishing rights at a tiny North Michigan lakeside hamlet, butting heads with all-powerful rich racist jerk George Hanson (a perfectly hateful Mike Millner). The already tense rivalry between Bass and Hanson intensifies to a dangerous fever pitch when Bass falls in love with Hanson's rebellious young daughter Karen (sweetly essayed by the pretty Molly Mershon). This in turn leads to Joe being further harassed by the corrupt local authorities, who push Bass around so severely that he eventually has no choice but to exact a harsh revenge on Hanson and his cronies. Cleanly directed by Thomas G. Reeves (who also produced and co-wrote the insightful script), with plain cinematography by Bob Baldwin, a fine bluesy country and western score (the harmonic theme song sung by Elizabeth Perry is quite catchy), sound acting from a solid no-name cast, a strong lone autonomous man standing up to the crooked, imposing system central theme, a few thrilling outbursts of brutal violence, a well-observed depiction of small town social dynamics, a shockingly downbeat ending, and plenty of surprisingly tough-minded commentary on how the wealthy go out of their way to keep the oppressed poor in their place (there's some equally meaty remarks about the white man's vile loathing towards and gross mistreatment of Native Americans as well), this modestly produced, occasionally a bit too slow and talky, but overall still gripping yarn packs a really potent wallop.

I found this one to be fair for a low-budget film. I love any film where Natives are in the plot. But I thought this film was anti-Native as it clearly showed. We have an good, honest and innocent hard-working Joe Bass who only wants to make his living. But he was endlessly harassed by the racist, bigoted corporation of American greed. In this case, it came in the form of the Ministry of Natural Resources decision to make a Native person's life hell for no reason other than the fact that he was Native!

He was also being harassed by his girlfriend's father who didn't want to see him hanging around her. So that's racism on 2 fronts, one in Joe's professional life and the other in his personal life. If I was Joe Bass, I wouldn't even be hanging around with anyone because I just can't be bothered with people. He should have just done his job every day and go home alone without anyone. People are nothing but trouble and it would have been wise for him to avoid others except for the ones he had to work with. The film's opening and closing songs made me cry a lot. I just found them to be really sad. Anyway, I give this one a 7 out of 10.