The 1971 Zachariah captures the era when everyone wanted to be a cowboy. Television shows constantly featured Western heroes riding off into the sunset, and bringing law to the lawless. In Zachariah, a self-proclaimed "electric Western," the torch is passed from one set of history's rebels to another as the times and tastes began to shift. Pop culture went from idolizing gunslingers to worshipping rock stars. Zachariah waxes experimental rather than commercial and makes its relatively laid-back philosophy that easier to digest. The movie stars John Rubinstein, Don Johnson, Pat Quinn, Elvin Jones, William Challee.

Rubinstein plays the eponymous hero, a scrappy lad with his head in the clouds. As an electric ensemble jams over the opening credits, Zachariah tears into a package he's been waiting for: a mail-order pistol. Eager to join the ranks of the world's greatest outlaws, Zachariah recruits his pal, Matthew (Johnson) and hooks up with a gang of misfits known as the Crackers (played by members of the activist rock band Country Joe and the Fish).

John Rubinstein and Don Johnson

While Matthew and Zachariah are not exactly Butch and Sundance to start, the boys hijack enough coin to seek out bigger fish to fry, specifically famed gunfighter Job Cain (Elvin Jones). But while hotheaded Matthew jumps at the chance to blast his way to fame and fortune Zachariach becomes uneasy, embarking on a journey that comes to show him a reason why the West had to be won.

Zachariah came out only a year after El Topo  - the first film among other surreal Westerns. Although Zachariah was inspired to some degree by its cult contemporary, as well as by the era's other hippie odysseys, it's not infused with psychedelia (or at least not as much as the angrier, more passionate El Topo). And although its disposition is gentle, it's wise to the ways the world turns itself. It's as much of a deconstructionist Western as it is a case study on rock 'n' roll at the time.

Just as Zachariah learns that he doesn't need to be the fastest gun around, the story suggests that being patient and virtuous will weather all manner of storms €“ including commercialism.

Pat Quinn & John Rubinstein

A chilled attitude also means that Zachariah rarely gets hung up on conventions. Everything comes naturally, extending to the featured musicians and their dustbowl concerts. Flow in this story is vital, and director George Englund sustains it by keeping the film's aura nice and homey. While he occasionally dwells on the mundane and breezes by many chances to juice up the plot, Zachariah as a whole is neither too impenetrable nor too simplistic. It's earnest to the core, and it shows through most in performances that evoke empathy without forcing it. Rubinstein's Zachariah is always innocent but never naïve. And though Zachariah could have been a real whiner, Johnson €“ who would later play Nash Bridges €“ steers the character through his crises with subtle restraint. Unfortunately, not many others get to share the stage, save for Jones as a stoic gunman as quick on the drums as he is on the draw.

Zachariah may be an odd flick, but it never calls attention to itself. Its cards are modestly laid out on the table, doing what it does in its own way and leaving midnight movie status completely up to the viewer. With a wisdom well worth moseying up to movies like Zachariah pop up only so often on the dusty roads of film.

Director: George Englund

Writers: Joe Massot and the Firesign Theatre (Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, Philip Proctor)

Cast: John Rubinstein, Don Johnson, Pat Quinn, Elvin Jones, William Challee

Rating: PG (violence, brief nudity)

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Run Time: 92 minutes

Studio: ABC Pictures

Format: Color, widescreen

Photo credit: ABC Pictures