Hell to Pay (2005)

From my favorite movies..

Brilliant and touching

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

When I was in my early 20s The Over The Hill Gang came out and the oldtimers were such folks as Pat O'Brien, Chill Wills, Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine and a bunch more old character actors who gave us so much pleasure on the big screen. It came out in 1969. In 2005 Hell To Pay came out and while the leads were young, the players in various supporting roles were a bunch of players I knew from back in the day from current TV westerns. They're the best part of this film.Kevin Kazakoff and William Gregory Lee star here as a pair of brothers who split the family with their differing views on the Civil War. Kazakoff became a war hero in the Union Army while Lee just sat out the war and sharpened his poker hand and his connections with various loose women. Kazakoff has settled on a new claim and wants to be a farmer. Lee hasn't seen any need to reform, but as we know in these westerns family ties in the end are the strongest of all.However the real treat is to see a whole slew of people who starred in TV westerns back in the day back for a last hurrah. Several men and one woman Stella Stevens who it is certainly adding something to anything she appears in.Best in the film of the oldtimers is James Drury as the town sheriff and Peter Brown as the town banker.Not the greatest of westerns, but nostalgia fans like me will enjoy it.

I simply cannot believe the folks that made and performed in this movie really took it seriously. The skits on SNL look more real. Everything was laughably fake. The goofy gunfights, the ridiculous fist fights, the dialogue, the sappy background music, and even Bo's blind eye. Had it been billed as a comedy, it still would have made more sense but still would be bad. I can see this as "entertainment" only if you get a room full of stoned college kids watching it like it were Rocky Horror Picture Show. Imagine some of the stuff you saw on Blazing Saddles, like Mongo knocking the horse down or the old lady gettinf stomach-punched. Now imagine the producer wants you to take those scenes seriously and you get the gists of this disaster.

I'm not sure what the point of making this film was. It looked as if it was made by some historical society to be shown in your local 'Pistol Pete' museum. At first it appears that it could be the beginning of a Mad TV or SNL sketch. But then the joke is on you when there is no punchline and you realize that someone was taking this seriously. The story wasn't bad but the inclusion of the SASS members seemed to be a ploy (that worked) to get me to see the film. I swear, the trailer listed every character in the film down to "dead cowboy #5". The reason Westerns are so fun is the atmosphere and the characters it brings. I just had the feeling I was watching Civil War rean-actors dressed up as cowboys. Not even worth the digital video it was recorded on.

This is a cute little movie that provides pretty much what it promises - some good entertainment. After all, when a movie proclaims it features top SASS shooters, you have to figure that it is not a likely candidate for the "Best Picture" Oscar. Those guys are shooters, not actors. Your next clue is that the movie doesn't star Nicholas Cage or Jennifer Aniston, i.e. you shouldn't expect to see the current hottest names. It was meant to be just plain old entertainment and in that regard it is every bit as good as a lot of the old "oaters" I have seen through the years.SO what do you get with "Hell To Pay"? You get 100 minutes of good old entertainment. You get a chance to see some stars from past years, who act pretty much like what they did in their prime but a little older. You get to see some good SASS shooters in major roles and a few SASS hams in the background. It was a lot of fun for me seeing people that I have shot with, visited in their homes and who are my good friends get to do something that a lot of people only ever dream about - they're in a real, live honest to gosh movie. They're doing something a lot of wannabe actors and wannabe shooters will never get the chance to do and I think that alone makes it worth the watch.Admittedly, not everyone is a SASS member and so I saw lots of fun and humor that others may miss, but it is still good, old-fashioned entertainment, and frankly, there are a LOT of movies in the theatre right now that I wouldn't give a nickel to see, so save the money to go see "Brokeback Mountain" get "Hell to Pay" and watch some real cowboys have some fun.