Released in 1975, and starring James Caan, my guess is that Mr. Caan likely doesn't have it high on his resume list. Neither, I suppose would Stephanie Powers. As for Aldo Ray [who went on to do a quasi-porn film, Sweet Savage a year in 1979] but most of his filmographies don't list it. Sammy Davis, Jr. often appeared
as a comic foil, so maybe would not have minded the credits. The film got a PG Rating. how the film makers got that when there is a cockfight, a simulated rape scene -- these both early in the film -- and lots of pawings about in a brothel/saloon is beyond my understanding but, oh well. In some measure, the review is more about the writing, direction, even the theme song,than about the acting, which is ham-handed and [sometimes] silly. There is precious little dialogue. The principals - Caan as a wronged cowhand Jud McGraw, and Ms. Powers as Little Moon, a Spanish speaking half-breed [it is she who gets gang raped] - don't understand what each other is saying body language becomes a more important communication tool. with such sparse dialogue, it is odd to see two writers assigned to the project. Both with histories in television series; one apparently at the end of his script writing career [Monroe Manning - Lassie, Flipper, The Witnesses], the other [Douglas Day Stewart - Bonanza, Room 222] went on to write and co-produce An Officer and a Gentleman, so this piece of celluloid shrapnel didn't kill his career. Then there was the music: at least three times the hymn "Abide with Me" was sung be a scruffy looking counter tenor, always as a preface to a funeral, none of which were maudlin. And a Theme song about "What a Man has to be," with repetitive inane lyrics that spoke to the unfairness of life, and how men had to be men and deal with things in a manly way, even if it was unpleasant. [this maybe was to help explain the many bar brawls and a wrestling match that showed me from where some of the World Wrestling Entertainment moves were born] Finally, I want to say a little about the print copy I watched. Although the movie was originally filmed in color, the folks in China who were violating copyright protections to burn the DVD had a dark, grainy sepia-toned version that could pass for intentional but every now and again a strong red or blue would stand out. This dark, at times, almost opaque quality of the image, actually served to increase its unintended humor aspect for my friend and I. I am guessing that it is bootleg from the "Digiview Entertainment Made in China with the copyright protection extending only to the DVD cover art. Would I watch it again? You betcha! Am I glad I didn't pay full price to see the film in a theater? You got that right. But for 50 cents per film with the price to go down per each time viewed, as they say at VISA, "priceless!.
February 14, 2009
