A Time for Killing (1967)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The greatest movie ever!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

I'm sitting here trying to come up with some insightful things to say about this picture but I'm coming up blank. For me it was a so-so cavalry Western with a Civil War backdrop, and what I found interesting more so than the story was a handful of observations made along the way about the way the picture was filmed. Like, was it possible to have a woman as gorgeous as Inger Stevens show up at a Union prison camp as the fiancée of a commanding officer (Glenn Ford)? Now I don't know when eye shadow was invented, but the blue highlights in Emily Biddle's eyes managed to be an early distraction.Another distraction was the casting of Max Baer Jr. in the role of a lunkhead Confederate soldier under the command of Captain Dorritt Bentley (George Hamilton). His character Luther was a goof-ball maniac, and if that seems an oxymoron, then you need to see him in the role. It would be similar to watching Jethro Bodine as the title character in "Raging Bull". Try to picture that.So the main premise here is that the Civil War is over but known only to Captain Bentley and Luther when a Union dispatch rider is accosted by Luther in a saloon dust-up. Already on the run from a prison break, Bentley's rage as a Confederate knows no bounds after his soldiers take Miss Biddle hostage. His pent up hostility results in the rape of his captive, so when the Major eventually catches up with the rag-tag bunch, she keeps the War's end a secret to serve her own desire for revenge.Gosh, there's a glaring continuity gaffe in the filming and I'm surprised no one else mentioned it either in the reviews or on the edits page. When Captain Bentley attacks Miss Biddle he savagely rips off the back of her dress exposing her entire back. Yet just a few scenes later when Major Wolcott (Ford) arrives on the scene, she's shown wearing the same dress with no hint of damage or repair. I can't imagine why no one connected with the film wouldn't have made mention of it because it was such an obvious lack of continuity. Thinking about it, I almost missed the bruise on Emily's face changing size and color in the scenes that followed.

During late Civil War some Confederate soldiers getaway from an Union prison and head toward Mexico. Then a battle of wits pits a tough Union captain (Glenn Ford) against sadist Confederate Major (George Hamilton) when the latter abducts his love interest (Inger Stevens) . After that, the infuriated woman seeks revenge on the man who raped her . Meanwhile , a confederate soldier kills an Union courier who holds a message saying that Civil war is over .The picture contains action Western , continuous horse riding , shootouts and some violence . This violent cavalry-Western and hard on themes is full of noisy action , thrills , chills and results to be quite entertaining , though mediocre . The gratuitous violence brought quite criticism in the newspapers, though the director declared that it was utterly necessary . Harry Joe Brown wrote a personal check to Columbia Pictures for $1,000,000 to cover the costs of going over budget . Good duo protagonist as Glenn Ford and George Hamilton , though make exaggerated acting . It appears credited prestigious secondaries as Timothy Carey , a young Harry Dean Stanton and a youngest Harrison Ford , being his first credited film role . Furthermore , the veteran Kenneth Tobey and Dick Miller , Roger Corman's usual , who appears uncredited as director . Rare and thrilling musical score for an Old West movie . Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Peach . The motion picture was regularly directed by Phil Karlson . There were no half measures in this filmmaker . He would make adventure movies or violent and noir films . As he directed Western as ¨Gunman's walk¨ , ¨They rode west¨, ¨Texas rangers, ¨Iroquois trail¨ and Gansters genre or Noir films as ¨Phoenix city story¨ and ¨Scarface mob¨ . Failure alternated with hits through his career, though Karlson's direction was more than successful in ¨ Walking tall¨ with invaluable help of Joe Don Baker . Rating : Acceptable Western ; George Hamilton and Glenn Ford fans will enjoy their idols .

This has always been one of my favorite Civil War flicks, along with Shenandoah, and Journey To Shiloh. Very gritty, exciting movie! However, I would never buy it unless it's released in the "wide screen" format, since much of the movie is invisible, due to the unacceptable use "pan and scan". Here's my vote for a DVD Wide Screen release.

Hollywood at its worst. No story, no script, wooden (Glenn Ford, Inger Stevens, and George Hamilton) or over- (Max Baer as Jethro on angel-dust) acting, even the "comic" relief is embarrassing. This leaves you with only violence and photography. Zion National Park looks good. Flick looks bad.