A Time for Killing

During late Civil War some Confederate soldiers getaway from an Union prison and head toward Mexico. Then a battle of wits pits a tough Union captain (Glenn Ford) against sadist Confederate Major (George Hamilton) when the latter abducts his love interest (Inger Stevens) . After that, the infuriated woman seeks revenge on the man who raped her . Meanwhile , a confederate soldier kills an Union courier who holds a message saying that Civil war is over .

The picture contains action Western , continuous horse riding , shootouts and some violence . This violent cavalry-Western and hard on themes is full of noisy action , thrills , chills and results to be quite entertaining , though mediocre . The gratuitous violence brought quite criticism in the newspapers, though the director declared that it was utterly necessary . Harry Joe Brown wrote a personal check to Columbia Pictures for $1,000,000 to cover the costs of going over budget . Good duo protagonist as Glenn Ford and George Hamilton , though make exaggerated acting . It appears credited prestigious secondaries as Timothy Carey , a young Harry Dean Stanton and a youngest Harrison Ford , being his first credited film role . Furthermore , the veteran Kenneth Tobey and Dick Miller , Roger Corman's usual , who appears uncredited as director . Rare and thrilling musical score for an Old West movie . Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Peach . The motion picture was regularly directed by Phil Karlson . There were no half measures in this filmmaker . He would make adventure movies or violent and noir films . As he directed Western as ¨Gunman's walk¨ , ¨They rode west¨, ¨Texas rangers, ¨Iroquois trail¨ and Gansters genre or Noir films as ¨Phoenix city story¨ and ¨Scarface mob¨ . Failure alternated with hits through his career, though Karlson's direction was more than successful in ¨ Walking tall¨ with invaluable help of Joe Don Baker . Rating : Acceptable Western ; George Hamilton and Glenn Ford fans will enjoy their idols .

Growing up, Harrison Ford was the greatest, and "A Time For Killing" was the only film I couldn't get hold of a copy of. Now, years later, I finally managed to track it down. Was it worth the wait? Not really. A mildly interesting premise, has been turned in to an extremely uninteresting film. Director Phil Karlson (with help from Roger Corman) is not exactly John Ford, but the locations are nice, and the cinematography is above average. But the script is terrible, all members of the cast looks like they are there for their paycheck and nothing more. This is still worth taking a look at, mostly because of all the great names involved: Karlson, Corman, Glenn Ford, Inger Stevens, George Hamilton, Harry Dean Stanton, Dick Miller, plus the already mentioned Harrison Ford. Forget the fact that this is the most forgettable most of them have ever done, and try to enjoy. It isn't a complete bore, it's just not particularly good.

Despite his advancing age, Glenn Ford made a number of westerns during this period, this one being one of his weakest. It does have an eccentric cast, most notably George Hamilton, who doesn't fit at well here. It's not that he can't act, but his look and demeanor come off a bit too "nice" for a character who should be meaner and grittier. Oddly, he has much more screen time than Ford, though maybe that's for the best since Ford seems a bit bored and uninterested in the little we see of him. It's not like the script is inspired or anything, giving us weak characters, unfunny comic relief (despite some brutality shown or implied several times), and even offensive racial stereotypes. Not to mention an underwhelming ending that at the same time feels unfinished. The production quality is also surprisingly cheap and sloppy at times, not just with some incredibly bad editing, but with obvious post-production shots and sequences shot in a studio instead of outdoors on location. Probably wasn't the inspiration for the movie "The Hunting Party" made several years later, but who knows.

Toward the end of the Civil War, Union officer Maj. Tom Wolcott (Glenn Ford) is hot on the heals of a band of escaped Confederate prisoners headed for the Mexican border. The mission is especially important to Maj. Wolcott as the Confederates have kidnapped his fiancé, Emily Biddle (Inger Stevens).

Overall, A Time for Killiing is a real mixed bag with the bad generally outweighing the good. One of my chief problems is inexplicable character motivation. Characters are liable to do just about anything from scene to scene. There's no consistency, with Maj. Wolcott being one of the worst offenders. The direction and plot are also weaknesses. The direction is often flat and the script does little to provide surprises. And there are moments where scenes go from location to indoor sets that's often jarring. Add to that overly bombastic and repetitive music, inappropriate comic relief, and Max Baer, Jr., and the problems are obvious.

Despite its problems, there are positives. Some of the acting is quite good. Ford gives his excepted quality performance. Stevens is both good and beautiful. And I was also impressed with Harry Dean Stanton (always good) and Todd Armstrong in supporting roles. Another plus is the scenery. When the production is on location, the scenery is breathtaking.

I'm giving A Time for Killing a 4/10.

This has always been one of my favorite Civil War flicks, along with Shenandoah, and Journey To Shiloh. Very gritty, exciting movie! However, I would never buy it unless it's released in the "wide screen" format, since much of the movie is invisible, due to the unacceptable use "pan and scan". Here's my vote for a DVD Wide Screen release.