SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Leofwine_draca 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. There are some memorably kooky character creations here and oodles of suspense. The film gets grimmer and grimmer as it goes on, building to a climactic shoot-out which works well and fits the subject matter like a glove.

burthelukyman 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 ! As an actor himself, Morrow can get the best performances out of his cast but his direction is sometimes great, sometimes surprisingly sloppy. He's way too fond of hand-held 360 degree shots (something he also used many times in the few COMBAT shows he directed. While it might have been relevant in a war environment, in a western it's highly unusual and distracting for the viewer). He also often disregard the old rule of "not crossing the axis" with the camera, which makes for startling camera placement ! Only western I know that goes from western, to men-in-prison film, to film noir (check out the nighttime prison scene where all other prisoners suddenly start howling at the moon !! ) to a very nasty STRAW DOGS style revenge movie (with a Mexican Death Ceremony thrown in near the end) ! Soundtrack goes from efficient, to unusually jazzy to down right silly, the theme song being particularly atrocious ! 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) ... I mean COME ON ! This girl is borderline ugly !

John Macaluso I like the song sung in this movie so much that I will share the lyrics with all who might like to learn the song. Here goes.Come listen here to my story which must be told. Of how men fought and died but not for glory, only for gold. Gold was their god, gold was their guide, For it they lived, for it they lied, And my friends, for gold they died.Seven men dreamed of holding fortunes in gold, Gold that would make them rich until they grew old. 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. If you sell out your soul, then in Hell you will burn. Think of what you've been told, 'bout worshiping gold. And take care my friend, You must beware... of the curse that follows other men's gold.Seven men gambled on the turn of a card, gambling their gold away and losing came hard. They weren't satisfied until 6 of them died, only one man lived... to tell the tale of the curse that follows other men's gold.Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you'll return. If you sell out your soul, then in Hell you will burn. Think of what you've been told, 'bout worshiping gold. And take care my friend, You must beware... of the curse that follows other men's gold.Remember man, you are dust, and to dust you'll return. If you sell out your soul, then in Hell you will burn. Think of what you've been told, 'bout worshiping gold. And take care my friend, You must beware... of the curse that follows other men's gold.

westerner357 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. Once himself and Weaver are in, they get the keys from a guard they've overpowered and let all the prisoners loose so they can break into the vault during the confusion.They manage to crack the combination and get inside the safe and take the gold. In the confusion and gunbattle outside, Weaver gets killed and Sledge is pinned down until all the prisoners overpower the guards. Before they know what happens, Sledge and his gang make their escape and hold up at an oasis in order to let their horses rest.It's at this point that the film starts to get silly as the gang start gambling and losing all their shares to Sledge. He heads south to Mexico with his winnings and to hook up with his girl that is waiting for him there. Of course the rest of the gang isn't going to let him get away with this and follows and ambushes him and captures his girl. 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. It's one of those morality tales about the lust for gold and how everyone loses out in the end.The action is decent although I've seen better. The rest of it is uneven and it's missing something. I don't know if it's because I don't like the ending to it or I wasn't sympathetic to any of the characters or what.Still, I'll give it a 5 out of 10 for keeping me somewhat entertained throughout the whole thing. There are worse out there.