User reviews

Robert Lansing (who looks like cross between Lee Majors and Steve McQueen) plays Talion, a retired bounty hunter who finds himself back in action hunting Slim Pickens, a sleazy outlaw who along with his two partners, murdered his family and burned down his home.

Teaming up with a cocky (wet behind the ears) fellow bounty hunter Patrick Wayne, the two find themselves badly injured in their first attempt to kill Pickens, leaving Wayne blinded and Talion unable to shoot.

Lansing and Pickens are good, while young Pat Wayne is okay, though a bit miscast. Character actor Paul Fix is quite dignified in a supporting role as the film's voice of reason and the always oily Strother Martin is great and gives the film's best performance as a money grubbing backstabber.

A thoroughly average production, An Eye For An Eye is helped considerably by excellent locations and some stunning outdoor photography, some of the best I've seen. Every scene looks like it belongs on a postcard!

If you are very lucky you'll be able to catch this western as it showed up on YouTube and I could see it for the first time since it was in theaters. An Eye For Eye is a taught and lean with a fine cast of second string players. That's no reflection on their quality just their star power.

In the great MGM epic Ben-Hur one of the subplots involved Sam Jaffe who was the House of Hur steward spending many years in jail and being beaten so bad he lost the use of his legs. So he made a partnership of sorts with Ady Barber playing a big strong man whose tongue had been cut out. Each supplied the other with what he was missing. As Jaffe said in the film 'we make a considerable man'.

Both Robert Lansing and Patrick Wayne have to supply some needs for the other in An Eye For An Eye. During an encounter with gunslinger outlaw Slim Pickens, both being bounty hunters kill two of Slim's running buddies but are left injured. Lansing's gun hand is crippled and Wayne's blinded.

Probably in time they could recover, but do they have that kind of time because Pickens is out to get them. They devise an imaginary clock like gambit to use when they have to face Pickens inevitably.

The leads are fine, but the two you will remember are first Slim Pickens who started out in westerns and got first notice as a goofy sidekick to Rex Allen. Slim expanded his range considerably and while most probably remember him for Dr. Strangelove and Blazing Saddles, he could play it mean. Western fans will also recall him in both One Eyed Jacks and Rough Night In Jericho as a villain. But he was never nastier on the screen than in this film.

Strother Martin is also in this playing a nasty toad like character who'll sell anybody out for a few dollars. He's done that before most notably as one of Lee Marvin's sidekicks in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but he brings that character to its lowest depths in An Eye For An Eye.

Not much in big budget production values, but western fans, this one's a must.

Embassy Pictures was the RKO Pictures of its day - making "major studio" productions on lower budgets. In this case, VERY low - it's pretty obvious that it didn't take a lot of money (or time) to shoot this western! It starts off as a typical vengeance saga, though takes a twist when the two gunfighters are injured and must work more like a team than ever. Lansing (who greatly resembles Steve McQueen here) is okay, though a little subdued. Pat Wayne is pretty decent, and shows he could have had a bigger film career if he'd been given a chance. Slim Pickens is pretty hammy, though his character is written in a very simple-minded way, like you would expect a cowboy villain to be a few decades earlier. In fact, aside from the musical score (which has the flavor of those found in spaghetti westerns starting to come out around this time), the movie in its writing and directing greatly resembles many westerns filmed in the late '40s to early '50. Only really recommended for die-hard fans of westerns.

Eye for an Eye (1966) I would recommend this only for fans of Robert Lansing (which I am). From the very first strains of the guitar and whistling over the opening credits (which was absolutely awful) I seriously wondered how low the budget was.

Two crippled bounty hunters (one blinded and one with a crippled hand) team up to seek revenge. Sounds like good fuel for a satisfying plot but somehow the spirit keeps getting lost.

Strother Martin (love Strother) is up to his usual eccentric character performance. Same with the antagonist, Slim Pickens. Lansing is laconic as usual. A very young Clint Howard plays an overly ebullient child. Not that the character was oddly too loud but that Clint himself never uses his 'indoor' voice. Even at that early age.

But despite the mostly adequate performances the plodding pace and discouraging themes push me toward 'thumbs down'. No saving overall payoff for the 92 minute investment.

The film packs violence , continuous shootouts , high body-count , and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. The movie gets the ordinary Western issues, such as avenger antiheroes , violent facing off and exaggerated baddies. Dealing with a former bounty hunter called Talion (Robert Lansing) is away from his farm with many enemies who still want him dead. Three wanted men, Ike Slant (Slim Pickens) and the Beetson brothers (Henry Wills, Jerry Gatlin), burn Talion's farm after killing his wife and son. As Talion returns to see his house ablaze and his family dead. He then sets-out to track the bad guys to kill them. On the way Talion teams up with a younger one, Benny Wallace (Patrick Wayne), who also is tracking the Slant gang. One man's eyes ...another man's hands ...between them they held the strangest gun in the west!. The Ultimate Revenge. Between them they held the strangest gun in the west!

There is plenty of action in the movie with quick scenes, guaranteeings gun-play, Western action, thrills and bloody spectacle and stunts every few minutes . It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the starring: Robert Lansing, Patrick Wayne against their enemies: Slim Pickens, Strother Martin, Jerry Gatlin , among others . Robert Lansing is fine as a veteran bounty hunter who goes out to track down and kill the wanted gang leader who murdered his wife and little boy, while Patrick Wayne is nice as the young who seeks personal recognition in front of his legendary father who is none other than Wyatt Earp. Both of whom strike an enjoyable friendship, the development of this peculiar relationship is the best part of the film. The main novelty here is that the movie stars two crippled gunmen, on the one hand, one of them has a broken hand and on the other hand, the other is blind, but both complement each other's disabilities. Screenplay with interesting premise about a 'blind gunfighter', though its origin results to be a Japanese series starred by ¨Zaitochi¨, a blind swordsman from the 60s and being subsequently remade by Takeshi Kitano . This interesting theme about a blind gunslinger is also treated in other films such as ¨The Blindman¨ by Ferdinando Baldi with Tony Anthony and Ringo Starr , ¨Blind Justice¨ by Richard Spence with Armand Assante and ¨Minessota Clay¨ by Sergio Corbucci with Cameron Mitchell. An agreeable secondary casting with full of western familiar faces, such as: Slim Pickens, Gloria Talbott , Paul Fix, Jerry Gatlin . Special mention for Strother Martin in his ordinary role as a treacherous and cunning baddie, he is terrific, and bears a hysterical and mocking aspect , subsequently he would play similar characters . And brief appearances from Rance Howard and his son, Clint Howard (Ron Howard's brother) who later developed a long career as a supporting role in films of all kinds of genres.

Notably photographed by the Lucien Ballard, a prestigious cameraman who photographed most of Sam Peckinpah's films . The motion picture was well directed by Michael D. Moore. He was a child actor of the silent screen (under contract to Famous Players-Lasky), who later became a noted second unit director. His most important credits include Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid (1969), Patton (1970) and the first three Indiana Jones movies. He was also an assistant director and actor, known for The War of the Worlds (1953), Never Say Never Again (1983) and Willow (1988). An Eye for an Eye(1966) rating: 6.5/10. Decent and acceptable Western, worthwhile watching.

Exactly in 1980 I'd watched this unusual western, from whom I had never hear about ever since, on TV, VHS's era, Cable TV and DVD's advent neither until now, thus I have to resort to our last hope Youtube where has whatever you want are there, I'd found a washed out video in reverse print, no subtitled, the sound is cut in a some sequence, worst it stayed mute mostly of the time, anyway you have figure out by body language what's they say and the meaning, a true effort to watch it again to make my reassessment process of the movie, as the image is the heart and soul of picture the remainder is a piece of cake, on next search luckily I'd found a Youtuber reviewer comment on the picture with several key sequences are totally restored, I've stay baffled that such picture soon it will available on DVD, this is my desire.

Robert Lansing as fair I known is a decent actor, he plays Talion a bounty hunter that coming home, when he saw his Ranch in flaming, where his wife comes to die burned, Talion swears revenge it by all means, there sudden appears an old man Trumbull (Strother Martin) that gives a hint most probably Ike Slant's gang (Slim Pickens), he tracks down them, nonetheless in the way he meets with another bounty hunter Benny Wallace (Patrick Wayne) just on small chat Talion suspicious over him actually is lying about something which he must keep for yourself for personal reasons, also Talion invites Benny to catch Slant's gang due it has a profitable reward over their heads, live or dead.

Aftermaths they head to a Trading Post nearby managed by Brian Quincy (Paul Fix) where he lives his daughter Bri Quince (Gloria Talbot) and his young savior coins kid Joe-Hi Quince (Clint Howard), after a dinner they got the info whereof they needing for over Slant's gang, however Talion and Bri have a mutual romance interest, it sounds a bit weird due Talion just lost your wife, anyway it happens, at dawn Talion and Benny go toward the Ike last sighted spot, after a day ridding they finally reach at Ike Slant's gang at campfire in near sundown, both get ready on best position behind the rocks to shooting them, sadly in crossfire Talion receives a bullet at his right hand stayed wounded, meanwhile Benny being shot a glace brown near forehead fainting on the ground, soon he perceives his eyes slight overshadowed and later blind, Talion figures out that just two of them comes to die and Ike Slant got escape.

Talion packet the two dead outlaw in an improvised stretcher drawn by horse, also lead the blind Berry along the way, now Talion wondering how they can defeat the quick draw Slant if his hand was crippled and his partner blind, then he starts training Berry at voice command in order he hear where the sound coming from like a watch, Talion also moving at Berry front expecting Berry figures out where is his possible target, a few days practicing they are ready to face Ike in gunfight, Talion will be Berry's eyes and Berry will be guide by Talion's speech command and no mistake is allowed.

Fine picture in a breathtaking landscape on the mountains as backdrop, further an awesome performance by the little boy Clint Howard and the drunkard double-cross Strother Martin, hope see it comes to light totally restored at my Western's rack section!!

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1980 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 7.

Pretty-Good B-Western that Helped Fill the Void in the Genre when the Western was "Out of Favor", for the Most Part, in the Time Period.

Except for Spaghetti-Western Imports and an Occasional Outing from Hollywood, the Western was Suffering from the Previous Decades "Overkill" on the Big and Small Screen.

The Genre also was Not Completely in Line with Trending Social-Issues that were Evolving and Expanding Beyond Black-Hat vs White-Hat Scenarios.

So the Production Team on this Outlier was Directed by Michael Moore, a Steadfast and Prolific "Second-Unit" Director that had a Long and Sold Resume on some "Block-Buster" Films.

The Cast, Featuring Robert Lansing, a Respectable B-Actor who Filled "Manly" Rolls on TV and in B-Movies.

Patrick Wayne, second-son of John, was an On-Screen Presence with Broad Shoulders and a Toothy, Handsome Smile and Tried the Acting-Game with some Success.

The Supporting Cast was Stellar with Slim Pickens in a Rare Vile Villainous Outlaw Role, and He Chews the Scenes along with Strother Martin as a Typical Gutter-Trash, Immoral Snake.

Gloria Talbott, a Familiar Face in Many Sci-Fi Movies is the Love-Starved Spinster and Paul Fix is the Magistrate.

The Revenge-Chase is On, by Bounty-Hunter Lansing after Picken's Gang Murders and Rapes His Wife and Kills His Child and Burns-Down Their House.

The Off-Beat Script Adds Physical Handicaps that sends the Movie in a Bizarre Direction.

Worth a Watch.

This summary is influenced somewhat because this reviewer has been a Robert Lansing fan as long as can be remembered. Every single time Lansing has acted in a production (TV, play, or movie), his performance has made me forget about the actor practicing a craft and to become engrossed in the role and the particular story. That is what makes a truly fine actor, in my opinion, and it is sad that Lansing had been unrecognized by the entertainment industry in general and not given more roles to portray during his career.

The story of Talion (aka An Eye For An Eye) is offbeat from the average western story, as it focuses on personal relationships between humans more than the shoot-'em-up aspects of the Old West. There is action in the gunfighting, a bit of history in Ben's background, the creativity used to surmount physical shortcomings in order to achieve a set goal, a view of family life in the hardscrabble wilderness of the 1800s, the dignity with which an aging ranch owner strives to raise his children to be honest, confidant,and respectable adults, and even some romance in the longing the early settlers must have experienced when living in a relatively lawless location and era, often far away from neighbors, family, and the diversions of city or even town life. And, it contains a lesson in morality and conscience in that the story shows even a mature adult can learn to see life from a different perspective, regardless of the events of the past.

The general production values were appropriate if not lavish, but with what appeared to be the use of genuine antiques for household props. The cinematography was outstanding, lending a real feel to what life on an isolated ranch must have been like. The ending was unusual as well, and not predictable. This is not a large production or epic western (such as THE BIG COUNTRY which was peppered with big name stars), but a lonely and tender but still a little gritty family-appropriate production.

Serve a batch of buttered popcorn, a bowl of chocolate and nuts to munch on, and your favorite beverage over ice. Curl up on the couch and turn the lights down low to enjoy this simple story of the Old West.

I'd say this film is ahead of its genre.

From the very start this film is dark (nothing graphic, this was 1966, but the intent and actions of the villain Slim Pickens are down right bad) and the tone and story is set up. At one point it tries to be Shane, but with a twist that ends up closer to a spaghetti western when harm befalls the two heroes, this film turns into a compelling pulp shoot out movie.

Robert Lansing has to reign in the mean. Patrick Wayne is a star who just didn't crack the big time, but is always worth watching. And the two of them play well together.

It's always great to see Clint Howard.

And director Michael D Moore must be one of the best directors not to have made a plethora of classic movies for himself judging by his second unit directors credits.

A must for any western fan.

This is a true unusual, surprising little western that you have to watch, enjoy - because you can only enjoy such a gem - and then talk about it to your movie buffs friends; don't keep it for you. Such a rare and terrific little movie, I repeat: so rare, deserves to be shared, discovered. The best example of what small productions can provide, because without any producers pressure. Yes, the best example, but every B movie is not the same. Beware. I saw this western in France, aired on a TV channel during the mid seventies and I never forgot it. Especially the second part. I guess Quentin Tarantino knows such a piece of jewel. How could it be else?

If you watched TV in the late 60s into the 70's, you will remember the faces of most of the actors in this otherwise mediocre western. The story, although clichéd from our vantage point, maintains enough interest to keep watching, despite the washed out film print. The production values also high enough not to interfere with enjoying the picture. Mostly, it's seeing all these familiar actors once again coming together to breathe life into Hollywood's vision of the old West.

With the emergence of films such as Little Big Man (1970) and Soldier Blue (1970), the "revisionist" had become the new version of the West, until the disastrous Heaven's Gate (1980) which finally ended the genre. It was left to the Europeans with the Spaghetti westerns of the mid-60's and the rise of Clint Eastwood as a "movie star" (transitioning from his TV western side-kick work in Rawhide) to return the Western to the big screen.

But, this mid-60's entry to the classic Western genre gives us a last act with so many famiar faces from the Golden Era of the Western Slim Pickins (playing against type as the villan), Paul Fix as the surrogate town marshall, Strother Martin, in his usual role as the whiny snitch, Rance Howard (father of Ron) and his son Clint (although without his bear!) and finally Patrick Wayne, standing in for his father John Wayne, to give the film it's final nod to the great westerns of the near past.

Seeing all these western players in one last Hollywood movie is fun enough to make up for any flaws in acting or production. Making An Eye for an Eye a worthy entry in the Western canon.