La poursuite des tuniques bleues

The Civil War may be ending, but not for Captain George Hamilton (as Dorrit Bentley), a handsome Confederate prisoner. "This war will never be over," Hamilton states, "Whether we like it or not, we'll fight this war for the next hundred years!" After a Union officer maliciously orders a Southern soldier killed, Mr. Hamilton leads his Rebels on an escape to Mexico, although everyone knows the captured men will soon be granted amnesty. For good measure, Hamilton kidnaps beautiful blonde Inger Stevens (as Emily Biddle), the fiancée of steadfast Major Glenn Ford (as Charles Wolcott), who leads the pursuit for Hamilton and his men.

This film starts out surprisingly well, with some nice action from director Phil Karlson and the crew. Unfortunately, it unravels into mediocrity. Though Mr. Ford is top-billed, and has one good scene, the film stars Hamilton. His "anti-hero" characterization is weakly scripted - the main thrust seems to be: let's see long it takes until Ms. Stevens gets raped.

The violated Stevens (from "The Farmer's Daughter"), bugle boy Paul Peterson (from "The Donna Reed Show"), and wacky Max Baer Jr. (from "The Beverly Hillbillies") are recognizable from their TV roles. The latter two actors perform embarrassingly bad last scenes. Also interesting in the cast are handsome young Harrison Ford and Harry Dean Stanton, in early roles. Hamilton's group is hunk-heavy, with Todd Armstrong (as Pru), Duke Hobbie (as Lonnie), James Davidson (as Mo), Charlie Briggs (as Kettlinger), and Craig Curtis (as Bagnef) really beefing up the Confederacy. Its eclectic cast is the main reason to take "A Time for Killing".

***** A Time for Killing (8/15/67) Phil Karlson ~ George Hamilton, Glenn Ford, Inger Stevens, Paul Peterson