Sam Whiskey (1969)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Arnold Laven

Writer:

William W. Norton (written by)

Release Date:

1 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Don't mix with "Sam Whiskey" - It's risky!

Plot:

Sam Whiskey is an all-round talent, but when the attractive widow Laura offers him a job, he hesitates: he shall salvage gold bars...

Plot Keywords:

Mint | Gold Bar | Sunken Ship | Widow | Underwater Scene

Cast

Burt Reynolds	...	Sam Whiskey
Clint Walker	...	O. W. Bandy
Ossie Davis	...	Jed Hooker
William Schallert	...	Mr. Perkins (mint superintendent)
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Thorston Bromley (Treasury inspector)
Rick Davis	...	The Fat Man
Anthony James	...	Cousin Leroy
Del Reeves	...	The Fisherman
John Damler	...	Hank (night guard at Mint)
Robert Adler	...	Pete (night guard at Mint) (as Bob Adler)
Chubby Johnson	...	Blacksmith
Ayllene Gibbons	...	Big Annie
Sidney Clute
Wallace Earl	...	Mrs. Perkins (as Amanda Harley)
William Boyett

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some violence. (2005 re-rating)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Norway:12 | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2005) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Silver Springs, Florida, USA

Company:

Brighton Pictures

Quotes:

Narrator: General Sherman said, "War is hell." "Worse than that," Sam said, "The pay's bad."

Soundtrack:

Mary McCarty

One of the funniest western comedies ever made

It's no mystery that Burt Reynolds is one of the most underestimated actors of our time. In this particular film, he gave us one of his best comedy-stilish acting ("no-one noticed it", he said) which makes this movie working. Burt's acting would be enough to make it watchable, but also Ossie Davis and Clint Walker fit well in their roles.

For me the remarkable of this movie is a) the way it is directed and edited (it ain't dull for one second), although there are some silly situations (e.g. Burt firing with a machine gun to save his friends killing all his enemies without hitting his friends...), but hey, it's a comedy and it's not the story which is most interesting. It's the mood of the film and the way characters are portrayed. It contains a lot of fine jokes and dialogue ("I'm not riding this long way to bury your bird") and chemistry between Burt and Angie Dickinson is amazing. Also the more serious parts of the film (stealing the gold out of the fort) are working well.

Also, there are some things which seem to be rare in a film: The fact that no-one of the "thieves" have intentions killing his buddies to keep the gold for himself. No, they even break in to return it back to the government! It's hardly believable, but it is that fact that make the film and these characters charming.

I give it a 7 of 10