Framed

A rather nasty, low-budget revenge thriller starring Joe Don Baker as a high-rolling professional card-player who encounters a deputy sheriff after escaping an earlier shoot-out set-up. When he kills the cop in clear self-defence, he's quickly railroaded by the so-called justice system, which includes his own solicitor and it seems the rest of the police department, is coerced into taking the rap for the "crime" and so goes to prison. The baddies even send a couple of heavies round to Baker's nightclub-singer girlfriend to stop her background efforts to help him and in fact take this to extremes by raping her under threat of a gun.

Rather like the internee in Stevie Wonder's great contemporary song, "Living For The City", Joe Don unsurprisingly leaves prison embittered and hardened, determined to exact revenge on those who put him inside and abused his girl. While in prison, he's made a couple of useful buddies, one a crime boss with connections and the other a paid hitman, who both come in very handy later on in the proceedings.

From there, you can pretty much get out your abacus to tally up the acts of violence and body count both of which steadily accumulate. You know how these things regularly turn out and this last-man-standing scenario isn't about to offer up any surprises in that respect.

With plenty of brutal scenes of violence depicted, including an unnecessarily cruel slaying of a guard dog, I suppose we must be grateful for the small mercies of the director not going all "Straw Dogs" in the treatment of the sexual attack on the singer, but nonetheless the acting is mixed in quality, although Baker certainly projects his tough-hombre persona even, it seems, while wearing crimplene slacks and a safari jacket.

Listen, I never watched any of the "Death Wish" movies which probably inspired this and I note as a sidebar that this type of feature has sort of come back into vogue, with Liam Neeson's "Taken" movies, not to mention Denzel Washington's "Equaliser" films, but this effort is a rather cheap and nasty affair, being a lot less well acted and directed, making me wish I'd done what Baker failed to do and that is, turn the other cheek when it came up on the screen.

I haven't seen either the original Walking Tall or the new one but I found this movie to be a great revenge type picture. It has a good lead up to the incident that leaves the protagonist to be framed, it then shows his suffering for that and moves on to payback. There are all sorts of great supporting actors that really looked the part. There is plenty of brutal violence that will have you cheering because it is the protagonist who is dishing it out. Look out for a Tarantinoesque scene. You'll know when you see it. I think Tarantino mentioned he liked the original Walking Tall somewhere so hes probably seen Framed too. I wouldn't watch this movie again but I would check out the director's work especially Walking Tall.

I was finally able to see this thanks to the new Legend DVD release. Just like WALKING TALL before it, the film certainly covers a lot of ground and hits about 50 different genres including Southern revenge, police corruption, political corruption, rape-revenge, prisons, mean guards, gambling, mafia, hit men, and lounge acts. As always, Joe Don Baker is great as the rugged Southern type who seeks personal justice. In the end, the script tends to be a bit flabby and it could have been cut down by about 20 minutes though. Make sure to keep an eye out for a stunt involving a car vs. train that is insane. No way anyone in Hollywood would attempt that today!

"Framed" seems like it would be well received on the drive in circuit. You have a very sympathetic character, Joe Don Baker, framed and sent to prison, by at least a bunch of corrupt city officials. I could have done without a couple of boring lounge songs, but then you wouldn't get easy on the eyes, Connie Van Dyke. John Marley as an imprisoned mafia type adds considerably to what is already above average acting for an exploitation film. There are some nice car wrecks, including a train creaming a Chevy, and more than enough violence. Surprisingly there is no nudity, which seems inappropriate considering the intended audience. "Framed" is a good revenge flick, and is recommended. - MERK

Rough, tough, gritty, I find here our good old Phil Karlson, his pure, authentic, genuine trademark, the same he gave us in the late forties and fifties, with the likes of KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL or 99 RIVER STREET. Here, Joe Don Baker replaces John Payne but who cares? Till the end of his career, Karlson remains faithful to his DNA, his trademark, his lines. Of course there were some lousy films which he was obliged to make, to pay his bills and fill up the fridge. This one could be seen as a modern western, announcing ROADHOUSE (89) in the atmosphere, and after all this is the WALKING TALL sequel. Karlson's last stand and not the weakest nor the smoothest one. Some sadistic moments which are quite surprising, regarding of the cool atmosphere, sometimes cheesy, like an oater. But those gritty, grue(awe)some torture of fist fight scenes !!!! Oh my God. RIP Phil. I recognized you here.