Hardcase (1972)

Redundant and unnecessary.

Let's be realistic.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

You'd have to crave watching Clint Walker in anything to tolerate "Bounty Man" director John Llewellyn Moxey's "Hardcase" with Alex Karras and Stephanie Powers. This is the lamest, low-budget western you've ever seen. Most of the action transpires in the wilderness. The "Cheyenne" star has just gotten back to America after fighting in the Spanish American War. Jack Rutherford (Clint Walker of "Yuma") is searching for his wife. She sold their ranch and has hightailed it to Mexico with a revolutionary named Simon Fuegus. The Harold Jack Bloom & Samn Rolfe teleplay pits our brawny hero against an army of revolutionaries as well as the Mexican Federal Police as he struggles to retrieve his better half. Once our hero resigns himself to losing his wife who tells him that she has all hope of finding him, Jack wants his cut of the ranch sale. He demands $5000 from Simon (Pedro Armendáriz Jr. of "License to Kill") and then abducts him to take him to the border. Simon's men follow them, but they clash with the better-armed Federal soldier and suffer at their hand of their rifles and sabers. Although they are shown riding across half of Mexico, they have nothing interesting to talk about and the dialogue is nothing comparable to earlier Walker oaters "For Dobbs" and "Gold of the Seven Saints." There are some interesting camera angles here and there but this shoe-string sagebrusher provides nothing in the way of genuine surprises. Eventually, Jack sees that his wife is happier with Simon and cuts both of them loose. This is quite possibly the worse Walker western ever, despite his different look, i.e., wearing an automatic pistol across his chest like a big city detective. The music is pedestrian and Alex Karras adds nothing. Women waiting to see Clint's big hairy pectorals are going to be disappointed. He keeps his shirt on throughout this western's forgettable 74-minute run time. Interestingly enough, Hanna Barbera produced this oater. I believe that I saw this western first on the ABC-TV Movie of the Week television program.

This 1972 made-for TV western features big Clint Walker and Stephanie Powers in a tale of graft, corruption and survival on the western plains. The script, budget and casting in this one all seem to be pretty average....... a typical '70's TV movie.Clint Walker was always in his element in a western and he turns in his usual interesting performance here. Powers is beautiful and talented and their chemistry together here is pretty good.While western fans will enjoy this one, it does not measure up to the Clint Walker films of the '50's and 60's. I guess "they don't make them like that any more ........."

Well done western, one of the early 'Good guy is not so good' characters. The scene where Walkers tries to stay awake by braiding a circle if thorns around his neck (so he doesn't nod off) shows what a hard case he is. Alex Karras shows some football players CAN act, and Stephanie Powers makes for a pretty distraction. Walkers sheer size, and depth of voice make him a threat to the bad guys, and he handles himself very well, not like the muscle-bound movements you see in a lot of todays large actors. The films stars get dusty, dirty, hungry, thirsty, backaches, tired and trail sore. They don't stay clean shaven, with shiny guns sweat-less shirts. Gritty, hard men in a unforgiving and uncompromising. Real hard cases.