Man Called Sledge, a

A Man Called Sledge stars James Garner as Luther Sledge, an outlaw who attempts to lead his gang in a robbery of an enormous gold shipment guarded by a Gatling gun and a cavalry company. Claude Akins, Dennis Weaver, and John Marley as gang members with other recognizable faces from other spaghetti westerns. Not one of the best westerns made in Italy, but very entertaining. Very pessimistic ending. An excellent musical score( as is typical with spaghetti westerns although it isn't Ennio Morricone). Garner is very good as the lead role, a part similar to his role in Hour of the Gun as Wyatt Earp. Well worth the price!

There's a cache of gold stored in that there prison, and notorious outlaw Luther Sledge wants it. The trouble is - how do you rob a gold wagon when it's either locked up in a state prison or is being escorted by forty professionally trained sharpshooters? James Garner plays the title character in A MAN CALLED SLEDGE, a kind of good spaghetti western/big heist hybrid that was written and co-directed by actor Vic Morrow.

The movie treats us to an extended introduction to Sledge before bothering to get to the plot proper. Luther Sledge is the grimmest western character I've seen Garner play, and his foray to the dark side had me worried for a while. Sledge has none of the easy charm of Bret Maverick, or either lead character in Garner's "Support Your Local..." movies. Garner is second only to Cary Grant in his ability to charm his way through a movie. It's that ability - and Jack Elam - that make the "Support Your Local..." movies so much fun. Even cast against type Garner, though, is the best thing about this movie.

If everything in this movie were as good as Garner this one would be a classic. The wide-screen desert location photography, if not quite a feast for the eyes, is certainly a hearty snack. Co-stars Dennis Weaver and Claude Akins were veteran character actors who'd proven in the past they could work up to the material. Unfortunately their characters are underwritten, making of them something less than clichés. The character underwritten to practical invisibility belongs to poor Laura Antonelli, who plays Sledge's love interest. Although their love plays an increasingly important role in the plot, she isn't in the film for more that a couple of brief scenes. Not nearly long enough to sell us on their love, or to care all that much when it's jeopardized. Continuity is another issue that plagues this movie. Some of the action sequences are simply confusing. For instance, at one point in the movie one of the main characters is in trouble. We see the source of that trouble, hear a scream, and then see the injured character tumbling to the ground. But we never see what happened! Whenever it was sloppy editing, not enough second unit film available, or a planned and purposeful exclusion, it doesn't help the movie at all. A tepid endorsement for this one. The story's intriguing, the acting is strong, and it looks pretty.

This 95 minute 1970 western stars James Garner and Dennis Weaver, both with mustaches, both gunfighters, and robbers, is an enjoyable film. Garner is the boss of a gang of seven men, including himself. Garner hears from an old man about three hundred dollars in gold being held in a strong safe in a prison. He figures out that if he were taken as a prisoner, he and his men could release the over five hundred prisoners, and while the officials are trying to collect the prisoners, he and his men can steal the gold. But, as a song sung during the film says, there is a curse that goes along with other men's gold. Matters go wrong because of love, hate, greed, and gambling.