During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers escape from a Union prison and head for the Mexican border. Along the way, they kill a Union courier bearing the news that the war is over. Keeping the message a secret, the captain has his men go on and they soon find themselves in a battle with the Union search party who also is unaware of the war's end.
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Great Film overall
Fantastic!
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
The Civil War may be ending, but not for Captain George Hamilton (as Dorrit Bentley), a handsome Confederate prisoner. "This war will never be over," Hamilton states, "Whether we like it or not, we'll fight this war for the next hundred years!" After a Union officer maliciously orders a Southern soldier killed, Mr. Hamilton leads his Rebels on an escape to Mexico, although everyone knows the captured men will soon be granted amnesty. For good measure, Hamilton kidnaps beautiful blonde Inger Stevens (as Emily Biddle), the fiancée of steadfast Major Glenn Ford (as Charles Wolcott), who leads the pursuit for Hamilton and his men.This film starts out surprisingly well, with some nice action from director Phil Karlson and the crew. Unfortunately, it unravels into mediocrity. Though Mr. Ford is top-billed, and has one good scene, the film stars Hamilton. His "anti-hero" characterization is weakly scripted - the main thrust seems to be: let's see long it takes until Ms. Stevens gets raped.The violated Stevens (from "The Farmer's Daughter"), bugle boy Paul Peterson (from "The Donna Reed Show"), and wacky Max Baer Jr. (from "The Beverly Hillbillies") are recognizable from their TV roles. The latter two actors perform embarrassingly bad last scenes. Also interesting in the cast are handsome young Harrison Ford and Harry Dean Stanton, in early roles. Hamilton's group is hunk-heavy, with Todd Armstrong (as Pru), Duke Hobbie (as Lonnie), James Davidson (as Mo), Charlie Briggs (as Kettlinger), and Craig Curtis (as Bagnef) really beefing up the Confederacy. Its eclectic cast is the main reason to take "A Time for Killing".***** A Time for Killing (8/15/67) Phil Karlson ~ George Hamilton, Glenn Ford, Inger Stevens, Paul Peterson
I really liked the story though it was cut in parts that would have added to the story about confederate prisoners that rebel against a righteous union officer,Inger Stevens plays the love interest of one of the union officers who would later be chasing the prisoners through the desert towards Mexico. Not a typical 60's western but a well done civil war western that is nothing like the spaghetti westerns that were so popular at the time, the filming is of much better quality and the acting is above what the films had to offer. I thought George Hamilton gave one if not his best performance ever in this film. Inger Stevens looks as beautiful as she had in any film, she really shows how talented she was in her performance, many of the confederate actors were very good though most are unknowns, the story focuses on the confederates throughout most of the film so this is most likely why they cast the best in one group. I gave this film 9 out of 10, I am not comparing it to other movies that are not westerns, I am comparing it to westerns of that time era only, and this is one of the better ones, it is very entertaining with lots of action, but it has very little suspense or anything else really.
Despite his advancing age, Glenn Ford made a number of westerns during this period, this one being one of his weakest. It does have an eccentric cast, most notably George Hamilton, who doesn't fit at well here. It's not that he can't act, but his look and demeanor come off a bit too "nice" for a character who should be meaner and grittier. Oddly, he has much more screen time than Ford, though maybe that's for the best since Ford seems a bit bored and uninterested in the little we see of him. It's not like the script is inspired or anything, giving us weak characters, unfunny comic relief (despite some brutality shown or implied several times), and even offensive racial stereotypes. Not to mention an underwhelming ending that at the same time feels unfinished. The production quality is also surprisingly cheap and sloppy at times, not just with some incredibly bad editing, but with obvious post-production shots and sequences shot in a studio instead of outdoors on location. Probably wasn't the inspiration for the movie "The Hunting Party" made several years later, but who knows.
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.