A lawless town asks the state governor to pardon an imprisoned gunfighter in order to hire him as sheriff but various factions plan to kill the new sheriff and take over the town.A lawless town asks the state governor to pardon an imprisoned gunfighter in order to hire him as sheriff but various factions plan to kill the new sheriff and take over the town.A lawless town asks the state governor to pardon an imprisoned gunfighter in order to hire him as sheriff but various factions plan to kill the new sheriff and take over the town.
Photos
Regis Parton
- Ike Jenner
- (as Reg Parton)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOriginal Pressbook publicity announcement: MAJOR MUSIC SPECIAL - Lorne Greene Records "Waco": In a major music promotion for Paramount's "Waco", Lorne Greene has recorded the title song for an RCA Victor Records single being released in coordination with the general release of the film. Greene, star of TV's famed Bonanza (1959), has recorded the Hal Blair-Jimmie Haskell number in a style highly reminiscent of his successful "Ringo". The "Waco" platter will be given heavy disc-jockey coverage and retail promotion throughout the country.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Farewell: DeForest Kelley--A Tribute (2003)
Featured review
Waco is directed by R.G. Springsteen and adapted to screenplay by Steve Fisher from the novel Emporia written by Max Lamb and Harry Sandford. It stars Howard Keel, Jane Russell, Brian Donlevy, Wendell Corey, Terry Moore and John Agar. Music is by Jimmie Haskell and cinematography by Robert Pittack.
Gunfighter Waco (Keel) is given a pardon from his jail term to go clean up the town of Emporia.
Released in 1966 but feeling like it belongs in an earlier decade, Waco is a poor Western. As most Western fans will tell you, the "B" Western has its place in the heart and can quite often bring enjoyable rewards when the mood fits, unfortunately Waco is bad film making all round. Everything about it is tired, it's like it's desperately clinging on to the glory Western days of the 50s but doesn't know how to grasp with any conviction.
Filmed in Technicolor and Techniscope, not that you will notice, from the very beginning where Lorne Greene sings a cheese sandwich theme tune, film plays out as some sort of amateur dramatics production. Keel thinks he's in a hard-boiled film noir and voices it as such, often resorting to auto-cue line reading, and Donlevy shows up after an hour looking awful and literally doing a cameo to pay for his next bottle of Rye. Russell doesn't fare much better, phoning it in and the most memorable thing about her input is her bullet brassier!
The action is poorly constructed, with the big shoot-out proving to be more along the lines of a Keystone Cops skit, Haskell's music is simply rubbish, while what interesting character threads are in the story are sadly given short shrift by the writers (for example Corey's Reverend is briefly noted to have been part of Quantrill's Raiders). There's a level of glib humour about Keel's performance that keeps it just about watchable, while his indestructible capabilities makes him come over as a Captain Scarlet of the West. But really he's never convincing as a tough mutha and that just about sums up what an out of time Oater this is. 3/10
Gunfighter Waco (Keel) is given a pardon from his jail term to go clean up the town of Emporia.
Released in 1966 but feeling like it belongs in an earlier decade, Waco is a poor Western. As most Western fans will tell you, the "B" Western has its place in the heart and can quite often bring enjoyable rewards when the mood fits, unfortunately Waco is bad film making all round. Everything about it is tired, it's like it's desperately clinging on to the glory Western days of the 50s but doesn't know how to grasp with any conviction.
Filmed in Technicolor and Techniscope, not that you will notice, from the very beginning where Lorne Greene sings a cheese sandwich theme tune, film plays out as some sort of amateur dramatics production. Keel thinks he's in a hard-boiled film noir and voices it as such, often resorting to auto-cue line reading, and Donlevy shows up after an hour looking awful and literally doing a cameo to pay for his next bottle of Rye. Russell doesn't fare much better, phoning it in and the most memorable thing about her input is her bullet brassier!
The action is poorly constructed, with the big shoot-out proving to be more along the lines of a Keystone Cops skit, Haskell's music is simply rubbish, while what interesting character threads are in the story are sadly given short shrift by the writers (for example Corey's Reverend is briefly noted to have been part of Quantrill's Raiders). There's a level of glib humour about Keel's performance that keeps it just about watchable, while his indestructible capabilities makes him come over as a Captain Scarlet of the West. But really he's never convincing as a tough mutha and that just about sums up what an out of time Oater this is. 3/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Dec 4, 2013
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content