Buckskin (1968)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Buckskin is yet another western where A.C. Lyles provides employment for famous Hollywood players past their prime. Barry Sullivan is the star here, a US Marshal come to a small Montana town with specific intent of taking down town boss Wendell Corey. For reasons I can't explain he brings his young son to the town and quite frankly had I been him I'd not have brought a child into harm's way. And since the child's mother who is deceased was an Indian all the more reason.I wasn't completely clear why Corey wants the homesteaders out of the area, he's dammed up the stream that they get water for their crops. We know a railroad is coming through the following year, but that's all.What Corey has done is pit the miners against the homesteaders and the homesteaders have their families. Not much of a fair fight, in the end though Sullivan has an ace.Some grievous plot holes is made up for a nice bit of action specifically when Sullivan blows up the dam and also in the final shootout. Joan Caulfield is the former schoolteacher turned saloon girl who Sullivan redeems. Such other A.C. Lyles regulars as Lon Chaney, Jr., John Russell, and Richard Arlen are in the cast. Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, husband and wife in real life, play a husband and wife here and I'm not sure if this isn't the only time that happened. I know Williams did a couple of Perry Mason guest shots while Hale was playing Della Street.I like the A.C. Lyles westerns even some of the bad ones and this is not a completely bad one.

A.C. Lyles made a career out of cheap westerns during the 1960s which starred actors well past their glory days. My assumption is that these folks would work cheaply and needed the money. Most of these films are what you might refer to as 'Geriatric Westerns'. Some are pretty good despite the low budgets (such as "Fort Utah" and "Johnny Reno") and some are a bit sad, as some of the actors were not only well past their primes but also sad alcoholics. In this film, Lon Chaney Jr. looks pretty bad due to his drinking problems (though this fits the character he's playing as well) but even worse was Wendell Corey. Corey died that same year at only 54--and he looked 65 or 70. And, you can see that he sometimes was reading lines from cue cards because he could no longer remember lines and you can see his hand shake if you watch carefully. It's very, very sad to see these two. As for the rest of the old-timers, you get a chance to see Barry Sullivan (in the lead), Barton MacLane (in his last role), Richard Arlen (who seemed to be in every Lyles western) and Joan Caulfield.As for the plot, it's #3. I say that because in most westerns, there are about 3 or 4 plots that are used and re-used again and again. This one is the clichéd 'evil boss-man'--the guy who wants to use his hired stooges in order to drive out the ranchers in order to own EVERYTHING. It is a very tired plot--and it made it harder for the actors to do their jobs. Unfortunately, the writer stuck with convention. When the evil boss-man (Corey) approached the Marshall (Sullivan) and threatened to kill him (as often happened in such films)...why didn't Sullivan either arrest him or just shoot him in the face?! This would have ended the problem 10 minutes into the film!! I sure would have shot him! It all limps to a predictable finale but along the way there are some silly scenes (such as when Sullivan was bitten by a rattlesnake and seemed amazingly well soon after--in reality, his arm would have swollen up and he would have been lucky if he'd only lost it!). Another odd problem was the hired gun played very well by John Russell. He only has one eye--so how can he be an expert shot?! What about his depth perception? And what about the very invasive background music?! The film also has some 1960s sensibilities--with the Marshall having a son who is half-Indian and the Marshall protects a poor Chinese guy who is being attacked by the town's thugs)--which isn't bad, but is also a bit anachronistic. Sadly, back in the 1880s (or so), I can't imagine anyone like the Marshall.So is the clichéd film worth seeing? Well, for Barry Sullivan fans, yes. Although he was NOT a western star, he did very well here. I also liked that he wasn't the usual ultra-good looking or macho hero. But despite this, the film never was able to rise above mediocrity. Not terrible...but it could have been a lot better.

Barry Sullivan of "Forty Guns" plays a buckskin clad lawman with a half-breed Indian son in director Michael Moore's hackneyed frontier western "Buckskin" who must clean up the town of Gloryhole, Montana. Meanwhile, Wendell Corey is the city slicker who owns this dusty little town and has built a dam to dry up the sodbusters and drive them away. The villain's plans appear to be working out nicely until Marshal Chaddock (Barry Sullivan) rides into the valley and on a crusade to bring law and order. The villain tries to bribe our stalwart hero, but Chaddock turns the money down cold. He has come to make a new start for himself after his Native American wife passed away from small pox. Furthermore, Chaddock is set on giving his own buckskin clad son a makeover into a white kid. Along the way, Rep Marlowe (Wendell Corey), tries to buck him. Paramount Pictures producer A.C. Lyles made this potboiler with six-guns in his usual style. He has resurrected several saddle sore stars for this 1968 production who made westerns in the 1950s. Joining Sullivan and Corey is veteran western character actor John Russell of the TV series "Lawman"; Russell went on to star opposite Clint Eastwood in "Pale Rider." He plays a vengeful, ex-cavalry officer named Patch for the patch he wears over his scarred face. He wants to kill Chaddock. Joan Caulfield is a dance hall girl who was once the town's school teacher. Lon Chaney, Jr., is the corrupt town sheriff that Marlowe keeps in his pocket."Killers Three" scenarist Michael Fisher's screenplay qualifies as predictable pabulum from star to finish with minor surprises. In other words, a couple of people that you don't think will bite the dust end up dead. The dialogue brims with clichés and sometimes these people wax loquacious. Half-way through the action, the grudge-bearing gunslinger named Patch changes sides before the big showdown. Marlowe has aligned the miners with him against Chaddock and the sodbusters and storekeepers. If you enjoy old-fashioned westerns (this one was lensed on the Virginia City set of TV's "Bonanza," then you will find this comforting and reassuring. Sullivan gives his usual amiable performance and Corey is dastardly as the well-heeled antagonist.

BUCKSKIN (1968) is one of thirteen low-budget westerns churned out at Paramount Pictures in the 1960s by producer A.C. Lyles. The distinguishing feature of these westerns was the peppering of the casts with former Hollywood stars getting one last shot at cinematic glory. Here the cast is led by western stalwart Barry Sullivan and includes such former Paramount contract players as Joan Caulfield, Wendell Corey, and Richard Arlen, backed by such other veteran performers as John Russell, Lon Chaney Jr., Barbara Hale, Bill Williams, Leo Gordon, George Chandler and Barton MacLane.The hackneyed plot features Sullivan as a marshal seeking to bring law and order to Glory Hole(!), Montana, by stopping the land-grabbing tactics of gambler Rep Marlowe (Corey), who's aided by an eye-patch-wearing hired gun (Russell) and a portly, corrupt sheriff (Chaney). The townsmen, including a kindly doctor (MacLane), are loath to help Sullivan because he seems to be outnumbered, but gradually Sullivan enlists such allies as a homesteader couple (played by husband-and-wife acting team Williams and Hale); the old storekeeper (Chandler) and his Chinese assistant (Aki Aleong); a drunk who lost all his savings to the gamblers (Gordon); and a schoolteacher-turned-saloon girl (Caulfield). Each of the cast gets their chance to emote, making this film much talkier than it needed to be, but also ensuring the participation of name performers who would have balked at mere cameo appearances. After the sturdy Sullivan (always a dependable western star), Russell comes off best as the conflicted hired gun with a complicated past.There are a couple of interesting racial twists provided by Sung Lee, the Chinese worker who is a victim of prejudice and comes to respect Sullivan for standing up for him, and Sullivan's young half-Indian son (Gerald Michenaud), whose presence at the side of Sullivan causes a bit of controversy.It's not the best of Lyles' westerns, nor is it the worst. It moves well and the cast always keeps it interesting, even during its slow and talky moments. There are a few shootouts, including one sprawling gun battle with Corey's henchmen at a dam that Sullivan is trying to open to get the homesteaders their necessary water. Western fans will find a few pleasures here and will no doubt wonder why more Lyles westerns are not available on home video.