A Time for Killing

Somewhat scattered drama set in the last days of the Civil War. Glenn Ford is the top billed star but he disappears for almost the entire middle of the film and it's really George Hamilton and Inger's show.

Partly a chase story and partly a drama of how once fastidious men can be corrupted and destroyed by war. George does fine as the Confederate soldier who can't face the war's imminent end since it has given him purpose and he has nothing to go back to. This was made towards the end of his short serious actor phase before he slipped into the overly tanned caricature he became and he gives it his best effort.

Inger Stevens, breathtakingly beautiful in the first of several westerns she made in the period between the end of her series "The Farmer's Daughter" and her too early death, registers strongly as the missionary who is in love with Glenn Ford but must contend with her captive status against George and his increasingly unruly band of refugees.

It also affords a chance to see several notable actors starting out. Max Baer of Beverly Hillbillies Jethro fame plays a total whack job with brio and Harry Dean Stanton shows up in a small part. Most surprisingly right at the top of the film is a baby faced Harrison Ford who vanishes after a few minutes.

Not really a western nor a great film by any means but a decent effort if you like dramas set in the West.

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

Others have nailed it. It's the casting that makes this movie interesting. Makes it worth watching too. Many names here. Ironically, Harrison Ford, probably the biggest name of all when one takes the long view, was an absolute total no-named nobody in 1967. Glenn Ford was the only true Hollywood movie star in the cast, although probably a little past his prime at this point. Meanwhile, Paul Peterson, Inger Stevens, and even Max Baer, Jr, who were household names in 1967, might well have younger folks these days scratching their heads, saying "Who?" But they were names then, mainly TV names of the day, but names nevertheless.

Based on the inspired casting, clearly somebody had some higher aspirations for this movie. Somebody was trying hard to inject superior production values into this project. Somebody wanted this to be a box office success, maybe even a noteworthy film. But, alas, whatever it was, something was lost along the way. We could speculate about it 41 years later, try to pin it on somebody, but why? No point to that. Suffice it to say that somehow somewhere before all was said and done it lost its edge.

Another consideration is the year, 1967. How could this offering ever hope to compete? As I've written elsewhere, 1967 was the very best year ever for movies. The Graduate, Cool Hand Luke, In The Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Bonnie and Clyde, The Dirty Dozen. Remarkable films all. There might be one such notable movie of the caliber of those in any one year. Two would be better than average. But six in one year? Extraordinary indeed.

The point is that 1967 was a remarkably good year for movies. Of course it's hard to flatly state that it was the very best movie year ever, because how could one possibly measure that? It is based on pure opinion. But try this: name another year that was any better than 1967. No can do. So this is the stuff A Time For Killing was up against as competition for the box office dollar back in 1967. It never really had much of a chance. In another year it might have fared a little better. But in 1967 it got lost.

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.

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.