A Man Called Sledge

Plot synopsis:
Luther Sledge (Garner), a wanted outlaw, is visiting his prostitute girlfriend, Ria (Antonelli), when one of his gang is shot over a poker game. Sledge kills the murderers, and is recognized by an old man (Marley), who follows him. Sledge waylays the old man, who then relates a tale of a periodic, gold shipment that is heavily guarded by forty riders, but stops at a prison where the old man was incarcerated for years.
Sledge assembles his regular gang (including Joyce, Bice, Gutherie, Beetle, Kehoe, and Hooker), they investigate the story, and equip themselves for the endeavor. The local sheriff (Preston) recognizes the old man from the prison, causing a shootout, and Sledge and his gang flee.
The gang begins observing the gold guards and testing their defenses. Seeing how difficult it is to approach, the gang decide to get into the prison, turn the prisoners loose, and steal the gold in the ensuing havoc. Sledge is taken to the prison by Ward (Weaver), who poses as a US Marshal needing to lock up his prisoner for the night. The warden (Garrone) is reluctant to incarcerate Sledge because he thinks it is the sheriff's business, but the sheriff arrives and attacks Sledge for killing a deputy earlier, convincing the warden to allow them to stay in a cell for the night. Later, Sledge, Ward, and nearby prisoners overpower the warden, killing him in the process. Taking his keys, they free the remaining prisoners, who begin to take over the rest of the prison. Sledge's gang dynamites the prison gate, creating enough noise to be heard in town, and the gold guards head to the prison.
The gold is held in a safe in a cell, but only the warden knew the combination. Sledge locks the old man up in his former cell, adjoining the cell with the safe, which he heard being opened for years. By sound, the old man guides Bice (Corazzari) through opening the safe. The gold guards arrive and encounter armed, rioting prisoners and Sledge's gang. Ward is killed in the battle with the gold guards. The sheriff arrives again, and is killed in a running, horseback rifle-fight with Sledge.
The gang escapes and later stop to split the gold, with Sledge taking a double share, which the old man notes aloud. A musical montage shows a myriad of poker hands in which it appears the old man wins a substantial amount of the other outlaws' gold. Playing against Joyce, the old man finds that he has been cheated with sand substituted for gold dust and kills him. Guthrie (Piani) objects to this, and angrily leaves after Sledge defends the old man's actions. Sledge then proceeds to win the old man's gold at poker, and most of everyone else's as well.
Sledge leaves with his winnings despite the gang's protestations, and the old man proposes they kidnap Ria. With her, they follow Sledge to a Spanish Mission town, deserted for a local festival. The old man, now leading the gang, attempts negotiating with Sledge, while one of the others tries to ambush him. Sledge is wounded while killing the bushwhacker, Kehoe, but still refuses to bargain, so the old man reveals their kidnapping of Ria, who is then badly hurt by Bice throwing her from a high wall.
Hearing her screams, Sledge abandons the gold while fighting his way to Ria, who says they did not need the gold to be happy, and uses her dying breath to warn that Bice is behind him with a rifle. Sledge kills Bice, then Hooker (Akins), and wounds the escaping old man, who threatens that he has hidden the gold where it can never be found without him. Remembering Ria's words, Sledge kills the old man and rides away empty-handed as the town refills with locals.

Tags: violence

Review:
If nothing else can be said about it, A Man Called Sledge is a slightly above average spaghetti western.
It boasts James Garner,playing against type, as Luther Sledge, a brutal robber who gets involved in a plot to steal a shipment of gold stored in a prison.It's a departure from his usual easygoing roles and he gets good support from TV western stars Dennis Weaver,Claude Akins,and Wayde Preston.
In the Old West, a gunfighting outlaw called Sledge(James Garner) connives his way into a prison in hopes of getting his hands a cache of gold on stored there .
Sledge join forces with a varied bunch of bandits (John Marley , Dennis Weaver , Claude Akins , Bruno Corazzari , among others) attempting to take a large shipment of gold into a prison fort .
It is a mainstream Western amusement with a lot of surprises , thrills and including a love story between James Garner and a whore played by gorgeous Laura Antonelli .
This film realized in Spaghetti style contains action-Western , gun-play , fist-play and is pretty bemusing .
Vic Morrow's spaghetti western, probably won't be making too many top ten lists, but its an agreeable flick .
Although by many to be director Vic Morrow's finest film , this is a tale of fear , greed and murder , as some partners fall out over the gold they have robbed from an impenetrable safe .
Furthermore , John Marley is very good as a cunning old man and remaining support cast is pretty well .
"A Man Called Sledge" is unique among the spaghetti westerns I have seen so far because it is the only one directed by an American.
Vic Morrow must have been a big fan of spaghetti westerns himself, because he really got it right.
It must have been a lot of fun for an American director to go to Spain and Italy to shoot an authentic spaghetti western back when the genre was still being pumped out.I wasn't expecting much spaghetti style from this film because I knew it was by an American director with mainly American actors, but the movie really surprised me.
A couple of parts sound a little too much like jazz for me, but most of it is well-suited for the genre, especially the tunes with vocals and over-the-top cheesy lyrics.Don't let the fact that this movie is one of the later-era spaghetti westerns and has James Garner in it fool you into thinking it's one of those goofy comedy type of Euro-westerns.
James Garner and Dennis Weaver, both of whom have usually portrayed happy/funny do-gooders in American films and television shows, do an excellent job here in their roles as seriously bad people.
I've got nothing against James Garner, but he just didn't say "spaghetti western protagonist" to me.
I am really glad that I did dispel these initial reservations, because Man Called Sledge makes great viewing from beginning to end.Luther Sledge (Garner) is introduced to us as he enters a bar with one of his cohorts.
The old man recounts how he spent time in the jail, with his cell sitting side by side to the safe.The lure of the gold is too much for Sledge, and he is soon devising a scheme to get his hands on the horde and allow him to settle down and lead an honest life with Ria. And what better way to get access to the treasure than to find ones self imprisoned in the jail......A simple yet highly enjoyable idea for a story, with double crossing aplenty and a cracking soundtrack.
If truth be told, I am still not completely sold on Messrs Garner and Weaver in the spaghetti genre, but the film itself more than makes up for such minor grumbles.
If you have read my profile I am a huge fan of Spaghetti Westerns, Film Noir, and Italian Giallo..this film has a mixture of all 3....in many ways this film does not look like a Spaghetti Western, almost like the recent film Open Range about average cowpokes who are very human and have to get by the best they can....Soundwise it is a very Spaghetti i.e. the high-pitched carbine sounds of the weapons and in an Italian Western it could be anything from a Derringer, rifle or Gatling Gun or even a small cannon, but that is what gives the Spaghetti Western its own identity, like bad effects are novel for a Godzilla film....anyway the storyline is very nourish especially James Garner who is quite excellent in this atypical role of a ruthless and merciless outlaw.....The Giallo comes in at 2 points, the creepy and ghoulish way one of his men ride thru town sacrificing his life shooting from his horse a la EL CID...and all 3 of the genres in the latter 3rd of the film.....the score by Gianni Ferrio is quite moody and hip for its day, today it is a little dated, but hey I like dated, again it gives it an identity...I am very proud to own the film finally on DVD in its original widescreen format of 2:40 to 1 ratio....and I enjoy anything that Dino De Laurentiis has produced, from Ulysses 1954 to most recently RED DRAGON with Anthony Hopkins...if you are a Italian Western buff I highly recommend this film..p.s. this film was shot in English but as most Italian productions most of the audio is Post Production, that explains why actors like Tony Young was evidently not available for post ADR and they had to re-voice it with another actor.....
Maybe someone will demand a director's cut one day, but I seriously doubt it.James Garner decided to cash in on the spaghetti western market and in doing so brought a whole lot of Americans over to fill the cast out.
And of course we have Vic Morrow who both wrote and directed this film.Garner always gets cast as likable rogues because he's so darn good at playing them.
But A Man Called Sledge can't be counted as one of his successes.He's got the title role as Luther Sledge notorious outlaw with a big price on his head.
After partner Tony Young gets killed in a saloon and Garner takes appropriate Eastwood style measures, he's followed from the saloon by John Marley.Marley's spent time in the nearby territorial prison and it seems as though gold shipments are put under lock and key there on a rest stop for the folks transporting the stuff on a regular run.
But in this one Garner decides to break into the prison as a prisoner of fake US Marshal Dennis Weaver and cause a jailbreak at which time the gold will be robbed.
But I will say for those who like the blood and guts of Italian westerns, during that prison break there's enough there for three movies.That's not the whole thing, of course the outlaws fall out and we have another gore fest before the film ends.
A Man Called Sledge is directed by Vic Morrow and Morrow co-writes the screenplay with Frank Kowalski.
It stars James Garner, Dennis Weaver, Claude Akins, John Marley, Laura Antonelli, Wayde Preston and Ken Clarke.
Music is by Gianni Ferrio and cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller.Luther Sledge (Garner) is a wanted outlaw who upon hearing about a huge gold shipment stored in a prison, promptly assembles his gang and sets about executing a daring robbery.A Pasta Western filmed in Technicolor/Techniscope out of Andalucia in Spain, A Man Called Sledge is a most interesting and entertaining addition to this splinter of Westerns.
Added into the mix is a rather cheeky premise, that of gold being stored in a working prison, which is naturally heavily fortified, protected and seemingly impossible to breach, but Sledge and his cohorts have other ideas that gives the narrative and dramatic drive much strength.You couldn't take it with a pope!In spite of the odd flecks of humour, such as a terrific organ sequence and Akins' constant cynical asides (both orally and visually), pic is grim in texture, there will be blood and the unfurling of other hateful human traits.
The story plays out through differing back drops, be it a snow storm, an arid landscape or a sweaty bar - not least the imposing prison at the centre of the plot - Morrow is taking his story through visual variations.I would have died for you Sledge!There are a number of great scenes to enjoy, usually where action is concerned, not least the quite exhilarating show-piece involving a jailbreak, where here we are treated to top stunt work as dynamite and a Gatling Gun join the usual bullets and blood carnage.
James Garner leads an outlaw gang with gold fever.
Released in 1970 and directed by Vic Morrow (and Giorgio Gentili), "A Man Called Sledge" stars James Garner as the leader of an outlaw gang, who experience gold fever after hearing about a cache of gold temporarily stored at a desert prison.
Dennis Weaver and Claude Akins play members of the gang while John Marley appears as an old man who joins them.
Laura Antonelli is on hand as the striking babe while Wayde Preston appears as the sheriff.Aside from his TV work with shows like Maverick and Cheyenne, Garner only appeared in nine Westerns with just four being serious Westerns (rather than comedy-tinged Westerns).
And his band of owlhoots get zero sympathy from the get-go.While often referred to as a Spaghetti Western, "Sledge" is actually a Dino De Laurentiis production with an American director/writer (Morrow) and main cast, but shot in Spain with Italians and other Europeans in peripheral positions (cast & production); for instance, the Spaghetti-flavored music by Gianni Ferrio.The movie comes across as a mish-mash of Sergio Leone Westerns, "The War Wagon" (1967), "Mackenna's Gold" (1969), "The Wild Bunch" (1969) and "There was a Crooked Man" (1970).
Unfortunately, the movie features some clumsy editing in the third act starting with the card game and the immediate aftermath.The film runs 93 minutes and was shot in Almeria, Andalucia, Spain, and Rome (interiors).
Although there are a lot of familiar "television" names associated with "A Man Called Sledge", there is nothing extraordinary about the film itself or about any of the performances.
Unfortunately his earthy likability works against him, as Sledge is a humorless character written to cash in on the popularity of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti western character.
But Eastwood's stuff was not this flat and uninteresting.I suppose that "A Man Called Sledge" could be classified as a spaghetti western although the pacing is too slow to really fit that sub-genre.
Fans of the slow-paced "Combat" television series will feel an instant connection as Vic Morrow directed the film and co-wrote the script with Frank Kowalski.
The plot is the standard "big heist" thing (insert "The War Wagon" here) with Sledge plotting how to heist a $300,000 gold shipment.
Garner does not allow any of his charm to leak into his characterization and the film does not generate enough suspense to hold a viewer's interest.The thing finally crashes and burns shortly after the heist when the gang engages in a contrived and totally illogical card game.
A Man Called SledgeThe main proponent of laxed prison sentences is always the man who prints the Wanted Posters.Mind you, the outlaw in this Western doesn't need any likeness to land him in jail – just the promise of untold riches.Tipped off to a regular gold shipment that is locked up overnight at the nearby prison, notorious bandit Luther Sledge (James Garner) rounds up his gang (Dennis Weaver, Claude Akins) and plots to purloin the bullion by getting himself apprehended.Incarcerated, Sledge frees the inmates and escapes with the booty during the melee.However, infighting amongst Sledge's men over the gold during a poker game results in bloodshed, and the kidnapping of Sledge's prostitute girlfriend.An unorthodox Western thanks to its substantial Italian influence, A Man Called Sledge features a refreshing departure from the affable gunslinger characters that Garner usually played.Furthermore, pioneer prisons were notoriously ineffective on account of their sod roofs.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca.
Dreams of the thrill, as they feel their dust spill, through their fingertips, And they laugh at the curse that follows other men's gold.Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you'll return.
to tell the tale of the curse that follows other men's gold.Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you'll return.
of the curse that follows other men's gold.Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you'll return.
A Terrific Spaghetti Western with James Garner and Dennis Weaver!.
Many American leading men trailed Clint Eastwood to Europe during the heyday of the Spaghetti western in the 1960s and 1970s.
Surprisingly, lightweight leading man James Garner crossed the Atlantic for "War & Peace" producer Dino De Laurentiis to star in a savage western "A Man Called Sledge" with former "Combat" star Vic Morrow at the helm.
Fellow "Combat" alumnus Frank Kowlaski co-scripted "A Man Called Sledge" with Morrow.
Dennis Weaver of "Gunsmoke," Claude Akins of "Return of the Seven," and "Colt .45" star Wade Preston fleshed out the "Sledge" cast along with fellow Americans Ken Clark and Tony Young.
Essentially, "Sledge" emerged as an impossible heist western, similar to director Don Taylor's "The 5-Man Army" (1969) with Peter Graves and James Daly."A Man Called Sledge" opens--in Sergio Corbucci country--with Luther Sledge (James Garner) and Mallory (Tony Young of "Taggart") robbing a stagecoach on a snowy mountain trail.
An old man (John Marley of "Love Story") witnesses the gunfight.
The old man goes berserk after Sledge trusses him up so he cannot watch an escort of 40-armed riders take a gold payroll into a nearly prison for safekeeping.
Paper money don't whisper to you like gold does through six inches of steel." Sledge decides to steal the gold, but Ward (Dennis Weaver) and Hooker (Claude Atkins) are leery about the heist.
I want a little taste of living before I go." Sledge and company follow the gold from mine to prison but find no flaw in the security precautions.
After the death of one of their own, Ward and Hooker are really reluctant about the gold shipment robbery, until Sledge devises a daring plan.
The way that Sledge gets out of being taken by Ripley to the Rockville City Jail is clever, too.Thematically, "A Man Called Sledge" concerns greed and the song 'The Curse that Follows Other Men's Gold' summarizes the storyline.
"A Man Called Sledge" qualifies a gritty but entertaining Italian western!.
Even Brian Garfield in his book, 'Western Films' says that this one is "brainless but well acted." I happen to like it more than he does since James Garner is out of type here, but I can never see him as a totally convincing evil guy although this film tries to make him out as one.Anyway, James Garner, Claude Atkins and Dennis Weaver plot to rob some gold that's stored in a maximum security prison for safe-keeping.
The plan is that since Sledge (Garner) already has a price on his head, they take him there so he can get on the inside.
In the confusion and gunbattle outside, Weaver gets killed and Sledge is pinned down until all the prisoners overpower the guards.
They wind up killing her and take the loot off of Sledge's horses.Although Sledge wins in the end, he loses all the gold because his dead partners hid it and he doesn't know where it is.
We ought to have liked A Man Called Sledge; BUT.....BUT...
Sledge has a pretty girl friend, but there's no reason why she slobbers all over the guy or why she wants to be in the same room with this no-account pig.The film also suffers from an intrusive and gawdawful musical score, and from extremely bad writing and direction by Vic Morrow.Of the last 30 older movies rented from Netflix or Video Vault, this was the rock bottom, the only true dud in the bunch..
A MAN CALLED SLEDGE is a US/Italian western featuring a starring role for TV actor James Garner.
It very much feels like a US rather than a spaghetti western, and it has a notably dark and nihilistic streak that makes it worth a look for those who think they've seen everything the genre has to offer.
Garner plays the usual sharpshooter who teams up with a few ne'er-do-wells (including character actors Claude Akins and Dennis Weaver) in order to rob a gold shipment that's heavily guarded.The most entertaining part of the movie is the midsection which sees Garner going undercover in prison in order to effect a breakout.
A Man Called Sledge is a lackluster western, with great ideas.Thinking about this film as if I was to describe it to someone, I can't see how I wouldn't put it in a good light.
Dennis Weaver should have been cast as Sledge, he would have brought intensity to the role.
Shot in Spain and Italy (check out all the Italian names in the credits) with American stars and director, this is one unusual psychotronic Spaghetti western !
A few years before he was to find a bloody horse head in his bed in THE GODFATHER, veteran actor John Marley (as the Old Man) shows us he could actually ride one for real ;) Finally, I don't care what the credits say, this is definitely NOT gorgeous Italian beauty Laura Antonelli playing Ria (Sledge's girlfriend) ...
Ruthless outlaw Luther Sledge (a splendidly nasty performance by James Garner in a rare change-of-pace full-blooded villain role) and his band of thieves try to figure out a way to steal a fortune in gold that's stored in a prison fortress.
The sturdy acting from the sound cast qualifies as another major asset, with stand-out contributions by Laura Antonelli as Sledge's loyal and worried main squeeze Ria, Dennis Weaver as the laid-back, pragmatic Erwin Ward, Claude Akins as the fierce, hot-tempered Hooker, John Marley as a wily and rascally old man, and Wayde Preston as the vengeful Sheriff Ripley.