My first experience with Canadian culture was watching Richard Simmons as Sergeant Preston of the Yukon with his trusty husky King. As a kid at least we Americans were taught that Mounties were straight arrow heroes, a concept that has lasted right down to the television series from the last decade, Due South.

Apparently Andrew Stevens has been brought up that way as he reports for duty to Sergeant Lee Marvin up in the Yukon Territory. Marvin's an old and tired Mountie, but a real professional at his job. Better let these men who live in a forbidding landscape train fighting dogs and bet over them than start killing each other. Because when that happens he has to go to work in earnest.

Because that's what happens over a trivial incident involving a trapper saving the life of a fighting dog that Ed Lauter owns. I'm surprised that Lauter didn't see in Charles Bronson's eyes that this was not a man to trifle with. I guess he figured there was safety in numbers because he goes after him with friends.

It gets to be one bloody bit of business as Mounties, Marvin, Stevens, and Carl Weathers and a host of bounty hunters go after Bronson. Only Marvin understands him, respects Bronson for his skill at being able to live off the land and says quite frankly that if he had been in Bronson's shoes, Marvin would have behaved exactly as he did.

Death Hunt is one fine acting duel between Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson even though they only have one scene together. The cinematography of the forbidding landscape of Alberta, standing in for the more forbidding landscape of the Yukon is beautiful and spectacular. I think Lee Marvin wins the duel, but not by much. His Mountie sergeant is one of his best characters ever brought to the screen.

I liked Andrew Stevens also. That scene where Ed Lauter makes a very direct pass at Stevens is shocking because it comes from nowhere. This is a place where women are scarce, but Stevens isn't about to substitute.

Based on a true incident from the Thirties in Depression Era Canada, Death Hunt bares somewhat of a resemblance to the Kirk Douglas film, Lonely Are the Brave. But this one was done on a much bigger budget. Catch it if all possible when broadcast.

Now this is just the sort of film I like: a lean, mean, taut and pared-down thriller, made without any of the gloss and gimmickry we usually associate with Hollywood productions. It's a simple story of confrontation, of one man versus many, of the kind we're very familiar with (very similar to FIRST BLOOD in fact, as both films detail men going 'back' to nature and confronting overwhelming numbers of well-armed opponents). Just in case you were wondering whether the film could get any more macho, a cast list that reads like a who's who of tough male actors enforces that this is a guy's film all the way.

The slim storyline works a treat. Bronson is perfectly cast as the grizzled trapper, and the icy, rugged terrain seems as if it's reflected in his stony features. He's given about the same number of lines as Schwarzenegger was in THE TERMINATOR, but the script makes up in quality what it might lack in quantity. Bronson certainly has his work cut out, as facing him are a whole host of notables: Lee Marvin has one of those great roles as a sympathetic opponent who's actually got more in common with Bronson than his own side, while Andrew Stevens reminds us of why he got cast in big-budget films before his star waned. Also on hand are the likes of Bronson regular Ed Lauter as a redneck, Carl Weathers as another tough guy (possibly a dry run for his turn in PREDATOR?),sleazebag William Sanderson and even Angie Dickinson in a cameo.

This film has a ton of action to complement the short running time, and the thrills never stop coming. The opening sequences remind one of DANCES WITH WOLVES, as Bronson befriends a vicious dog in an act that proves his undoing; we're then treated to an extended siege sequence at his mountain cabin, which is my favourite part of the movie. After this, the film becomes an enduring chase across the superbly-shot snowy terrain with one or two great twists thrown in along the way. It ends on a high, too, making this one of my Bronson favourites – right up there with the likes of BREAKHEART PASS and trash-fest DEATH WISH 3!

The Yukon territory in 1931. Rugged, laconic loner trapper Albert Johnson (a splendidly terse and stoic Charles Bronson) saves a badly wounded canine from a brutal dogfight. The guys involved in the dogfight decide to pay Johnson a visit. Johnson shoots and kills one of the men in self-defense. Tough Mountie Sergeant Edgar Millen (a strong, steely turn by Lee Marvin) tries to arrest Johnson, but he gets away and so begins one of the deadliest manhunts in history. Director Peter Hunt relates the gripping story at a steady pace, vividly evokes the Great Depression period setting, stages the action scenes with rip-roaring flair, and frequently punctuates things with startling outbursts of raw, bloody violence. Bronson and Marvin both excel in the leads (their one big confrontation scene is a taut, crackling doozy); they receive fine support from Andrew Stevens as eager, by-the-book, fresh-faced rookie Alvin Adams, Carl Weathers as the jolly Sundog, Ed Lauter as gruff, huffy troublemaker Hazel, Angie Dickinson as the sweet, enticing Vanessa McBride, Henry Beckman as wily veteran tracker Bill Lusk, August Schellenberg as the hot-tempered Deak De Blearque, Maury Chaykin as the scruffy, dim-witted Claurence, Len Lesser as the grizzled Lewis, Scott Hylands as cocky airplane pilot Hank Tucker, and Willam Sanderson as the clumsy Ned Warren (he gets his arm caught in a bear trap). James Devis' slick, expansive cinematography, Jerrold Immel's rousing, majestic score, and the desolate wintry landscape all further enhance the overall sound quality of this cracking good and stirring picture.