Zachariah (1971)

Zachariah movie storyline. Gunfights and electric guitars in the Old West? You bet! Zachariah gets a mail order gun, practices a little, and kills a man in the local saloon. He and his friend Matthew set out to become gunfighters, joining with the Crackers, a rock band who are also (pitifully inept) stage robbers. Having quickly outgrown that gang, Zachariah and Matthew set out to become bigtime gunslingers. Before long, they part company and a rivalry grows between them.

Zachariah is a 1971 American Western musical film directed by George Englund and written by Joe Massot and the four members of the comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre (Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor). The film stars John Rubinstein as Zachariah, and Don Johnson as his friend Matthew, two gunfighters journeying through the American West.

About the Production

The film is loosely based on Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, surrealistically adapted as a musical Western. Massot said his inspiration came from when he joined the Beatles in India, when they were studying Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in early 1968. Massot said he arrived to find only George Harrison and John Lennon there, after their bandmates had left the course early, and the two Beatles “locked into some sort of meditation duel … to see who was the stronger character”.

Massot initially asked Harrison to provide the film’s soundtrack, following his work on Wonderwall, which Massot directed. According to Levon Helm of The Band, Harrison discussed making Zachariah as an Apple Films project starring Bob Dylan and The Band, in late 1968. The following April, Rolling Stone announced that Cream’s drummer Ginger Baker and The Band were to be major players in the film.

This film was billed as “The first electric Western”. It features appearances and music supplied by rock bands from the 1970s, including the James Gang[3] and Country Joe and the Fish as “The Cracker Band”. Fiddler Doug Kershaw has a musical cameo as does Elvin Jones as a gunslinging drummer named Job Cain.

Soundtrack

The music and lyrics that appear in the movie soundtrack were written by:

“We’re the Crackers” – Joe McDonald
“All I Need” – Joe McDonald
“Poor But Honest Crackers” – Joe McDonald and Barry Melton
“Country Fever” – Joe McDonald and Barry Melton
“Laguna Salada” – Joe Walsh, Jim Fox, and Dale Peters
“Drum Solo” – Elvin Jones
“The Ballad of Job Cain” – Doug Kershaw
“Grave Digger” – Michael Kamen and Martin Fulterman
“Shy Ann” – Byard Ray
“Down in the Willow Garden” – Byard Ray, Obray Ramsey, and Arthur Gorson
“Camino Waltz” – John Rubinstein

The Minneapolis group White Lightnin’ performs their rock and roll version of the William Tell Overture on the soundtrack. The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble perform Grave Digger. The soundtrack features songs by the James Gang, Joe Walsh, and Country Joe and the Fish.

Directed by: George Englund
Starring: John Rubinstein, Don Johnson, Patt Quinn, Dick Van Patten, James Gang, White Lightnin’, The New York Rock Ensemble, Peter Bergman, Country Joe McDonald, Barry Melton
Screenplay by: Joe Massot, Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, Philip Proctor
Production Design by: Assheton Gorton
Cinematography by: Jorge Stahl Jr.
Film Editing by: Gary Griffin
Costume Design by: Vittorio Nino Novarese
Art Direction by: Jeremy Kay
Music by: Jimmie Haskell
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Release Date: January 18, 1971