Rough Night in Jericho (1967) User Reviews (23)

It was real rough for Slim Pickens

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 23 July 2004]

Dean Martin for the first and only time in his career played a villain, a town boss named Alex Flood who still hasn't gotten control of the stagecoach line Jean Simmons runs. She's sold it to George Peppard and John McIntire. McIntire is wounded on the way into town and he and Peppard are put up by Simmons. This doesn't sit well with Dino, he and Simmons have had their moments in the past.

It's a good adult western with lots of action to satisfy everyone. One of the most brutal fight scenes in cinema history takes place between Peppard and Slim Pickens who's Martin's chief henchman. More brutal than the one between Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt against Barton MacLane in Treasure of the Sierra Made. More brutal because Pickens meets his demise.

The rest of the film is Peppard rallying forces to take the town away from Martin's control. Of course having Jean Simmons to come home to is enough to inspire anyone.

Simmons is no longer playing the young girls she played in the 1950s, but she gives a good account of herself as the stageline widow. She's always good, one of the most under-appreciated actresses in movie history.

Good adult western, worth a view. And if you want to see a modern remake, catch the Patrick Swayze film Road House.

"My only bad luck is you're not dead yet."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 27 September 2007]

It's a bit unusual seeing Dean Martin play the part of a villain, especially having been a regular viewer of his variety show back in the 1960's. I couldn't help thinking that any minute he would enter the Ace Deuce, hop up on a piano and start belting out 'That's Amore'. There was at least one similarity to Martin's weekly show with the presence of a gorgeous blonde babe hanging around. No, not Jean Simmons, but that saloon girl Claire (Carol Andreson), who if I had to bet, would probably have shown up on one of his shows as well.

Actually, Martin handled the role of a heavy pretty well, but I kept wondering if the movie might have been better served with Dino and George Peppard switching roles. The casting of Slim Pickens as Alex Flood's (Martin) top henchman also seemed to go against the grain. I mean, can you picture Andy Devine as a bad guy, or Smiley Burnette, or Chill Wills, or ..., well you get the idea. But at least Pickens took the role and ran with it, nasty bull whip and all.

As for Peppard, he becomes the reluctant hero after Flood pushes all the right buttons, and especially when he makes the move on Molly Lang's (Simmons) stagecoach business. Martin's character makes it a point to own fifty one percent of every enterprise in Jericho, but you know, I kept wondering why he allowed the 4 Aces Saloon to operate in town; it didn't seem like Jericho was all that big.

Hey, can you beat those medical fees back in the 1800's? For fixing up a gunshot wound in old Ben Hickman (John McIntire) the Doc charges just a dollar! Kind of makes you wonder how much it cost to go to med school. Too bad Hickman didn't make it to the end of the picture, I kind of liked his deliberate, methodical style.

Of course the ending is never in question, the fun is in watching how the good guy plan separates Flood's gang of outlaws so they can narrow the odds. The one thing I would have allowed for earlier in the story would be showing Peppard's character and his prowess with a knife. As it is, the way Dolan took out Flood made me sit up and ask, 'where did that come from'?

good performances in this adult oater!

[donwc1996 · 7/10 · 14 September 2007]

Off beat casting of Dean Martin as the town tyrant who, among other things wants the stagecoach line that his former lover, Jean Simmons, currently owns. In steps George Peppard, playing a former deputy, who comes to town and eventually gets caught up in things when his better sense tells him that he shouldn't stay. Simmons plays a hand in this. Slim Pickens, who usually played good guys, played one of Matin's henchmen. The film gets rather violent--especially the fight scene between Peppard and Pickens-which begins with Pickens using a whip. Acting was quite good. I liked Don Galloway and John McIntyre in supporting roles. It was a bit of a stretch to believe Martin as a total villain--but he pulled it off quite well

Passable Western about a rough confrontation with strong characterization

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 27 July 2010]

Compelling tale of an ex-deputy and his nemesis who is hired by a widow to protect her from revenge-seeking outlaws . In the Old west there are always the men who live breathe violence and the women who hold their breath . A ¨town tamer¨ , ex-sheriff and now professional gambler named Dolan (George Peppard) along with his old pal (John McIntire) come hired by Molly Lang (Jean Simmons) who owns the stagecoach line to rid the baron land named Alex Flood (Dean Martin)and his hoodlums (Slim Pickens , Steve Sandor) . Dolan as ex-lawman brings peace for the townspeople , meanwhile Alex takes the justice on his own hands , hanging enemies and appointing marshals and orders warnings , as wearing of guns or other weapons in town is banned . Flood is a whole villain determined to kill Dolan , he owns the Palace Casino, Saloon , General Store and lands . But the town council afraid the raw methods carried out by Flood and reunite , when Alex aware he orders to burn the place . At the end the kingpin landowner appears and attempts to murder Dolan with his own means .

This is a tremendously exciting story of an ex-deputy-for-hire who had only one more killing to go. It begins as a sluggish , slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with dark , rudimentary characters and solid plot . The tale is almost grim though full of clichés, a pacifier and his old partner come to a town just in time to make sure its citizenry but later the events get worse . The action is brutishly cruel as when Dean Martin slaps and hits Jean Simmons. The highlights of the film are the facing off between Peppard and Slim Pickens and the climatic showdown on the ending at the saloon and the town. Phenomenal and great role for Dean Martin as bad guy , he's the whole show. Vivid and lively musical score by Don Costa and atmospheric cinematography by Russell Metty. Watchable results for this offbeat Western.

The motion picture is professionally directed by Arnold Laven . Laven formed a production company along with Jules Levy and Arthur Gardner. The first Levy-Gardner-Laven movie was 1952's "Without Warning"'; in the decades since, they have produced and directed dozens of additional features . He's an expert on Western genre as cinema as television as he produced and directed several TV series including "The Rifleman," "Law of the Plainsman," , "The Big Valley" . And directed acceptable Western films as ¨The glory guys¨, ¨Geronimo¨and ¨Sam Whiskey¨.

Acceptable time-filler

[tim777ca · 7/10 · 29 September 2002]

Dean Martin plays the villain for the first time, but doesn't add any dimension to his role. George Peppard steals the movie as a gambler who doesn't want any trouble until situation becomes impossible. Jean Simmons is adorable as usual.

The plots are quite routine, the action scenes passable. It's a bit unreasonable that Simmons would let Peppard, a stranger who rides to town on her stagecoach, stay in her house. Although such arrangement is made by the writers, it's a shame that their relationship is not fully developed.

Fortunately we see some familiar supporting actors, including Don Galloway (of TV series IRONSIDE), John McIntire (of WAGON TRAIN), and it's interesting to watch comic actor Slim Pickens as mean, sadistic character again after his wonderful performance in ONE-EYED JACKS (1961).

EXCITING, IF NOT PARTICULARLY MEMORABLE, WESTERN

[Bob-45 · 6/10 · 7 August 1999]

Dean Martin plays the corrupt sheriff, who has controlling interest in virtually every enterprise in the small town of Jericho. Virtually every enterprise except the stagecoach service owned by Jean Simmons. Martin wants to control ALL of Simmons' property. In rides George Peppard, a former "town tamer" and his partner, John McIntire, a former lawman. Peppard had planned to be a driver for Simmons, but wants no part of taking on Martin and his men, including Slim Pickens. When Pickens arrives at Simmons ranch to damage her stagecoach, Simmons resists him, and is struck by Pickens. What follows is one of the most violent fights in the history of the western. Peppard finally shows the townspeople how to defeat Martin and his men. Martin beats Simmons savagely, and Peppard pursues Martin to the final showdown. Unlike most westerns the showdown takes place in the woods, and it is not altogether clear that either man survives.

Martin makes a charming, if vicious, villain. Peppard brings more emotion than one usually expects to his western hero. Simmons, as always, is radiant. There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

even pan and scan can't ruin George and Dino

[ianlouisiana · 6/10 · 5 December 2014]

5 USA showed "Rough night in Jericho"yesterday evening in pan and scan that is generally the kiss of death to any movie and certainly the big fight between Mr Peppard and Mr Pickens loses much of its impact,but generally the whole piece held up reasonably well. Good old pros in front of and behind the camera do their stuff very professionally and Mr McIntyre is particularly good as a retired sheriff turned stage driver. Mr D.Martin plays Flood as "Dude" in "Rio Bravo" might have turned out if MrJ.Wayne had ridden away and left him after the closing titles. He has the veneer of charm and bonhomie but it is stretched pretty thin by Mr G Peppard as a former deputy who involves himself in what Flood considers to be his town and with Miss J.Simmons who he considers to be his woman. "Rough night in Jericho" would have been a very good TV Western but doesn't quite reach the heights on the big screen. Nonetheless it is pleasing enough and well cast enough to be worth your time.

Films like this helped kill the western

[Wizard-8 · 8 December 2009]

Normally I love westerns, and I am willing to accept some flaws in them, but I found this particular western a chore to sit through. The lead performances, for one thing, hurt the movie. Now, I am not saying that Peppard and Martin were miscast, but they were not directed well here. Peppard seems out of place, while Martin does not come across as ruthless enough to be believable as a villain.

But what really hurts the movie is the script. The mix between comic sequences and brutal action do not fit together very well. Also, the first half of the movie is almost all talk talk talk, and not very interesting talk. And Peppard's character doesn't do anything in that first half to try and change the desperate situation. Things do pick up somewhat in the last part of the second half, but it's too little too late.

By the way, Leonard Maltin's video guide branded this movie as "gory", but by today's standards it's not very bloody.

Decent Western, but...

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 8 January 2021]

...but I'm a big Dino fan, and I hate to see Dean here as the bad guy...really bad guy! However, it's a pretty good Western. Far from the quality of "Rio Bravo", but "good".

Dean here is fine. And George Peppard -- an actor I never cared for -- is really good here. And so is Jean Simmons in a role that seems atypical for her. Also good were the supporting actors -- the venerable character actor John McIntire, and Don Galloway, whom many may remember from the television series "Ironside" with Raymond Burr.

The plot is not that unusual -- the bad guy (Dean) has taken over the town and the good guys (primarily Peppard, Simmons, and McIntire) are going to take the town back, although part of the drama is the reluctance with which Peppard gets involved. The final scenes between Peppard and Dean are quite good as a sort of cat and mouse game.

Again, this is not a "great" Western. If you're not at all into Westerns, skip this for something like "Rio Bravo" (also with Dean). But I would say this this Western is better than average.

Watchable flick with some strengths

[adrian-43767 · 7/10 · 6 March 2018]

Martin and Peppard are not my idea of great actors, nor Englishwoman Jean Simmons of the Western female (true, she played opposite Greg Peck in BIG COUNTRY, but in that film she was a sophisticated outsider) but it is an interesting cast all the same, plus Slim Pickens in fine form. The plot has holes, direction, too, and yet something keeps you interested in watching this movie. Martin plays the villain, against type; he commands a troop of convincing heavies; Peppard comes into town, the silent fellow who ends up restoring order. ROUGH NIGHT is pleasant enough, with some quirky touches, like Martin telling Peppard to bury one of his henchmen, the poker game between the two, and a whipping of Peppard that brings to mind Marlon Brando's in ONE-EYED JACKS.

The Man in Black

[richardchatten · 5/10 · 3 December 2023]

Although the splendid title offers nocturnal action, for the most part 'Rough Night in Jericho' is all very routine, full of roughnecks, fatally lacking in humour, with much talk of hanging and punctuated by bursts of vicious violence (including an extremely nasty fight involving a whip-wielding Slim Pickens).

Although George Peppard is technically the hero, he and Dean Martin make a pretty charmless pair of leads; while rather out of place amidst all this toxic masculinity is the radiant Jean Simmons - rather mature for a leading lady (inevitably playing a widow) who gives this film what passes for a soul.

George Peppard

[etoiwins · 9/10 · 11 June 2013]

George Peppard is very wonderful in this movie. His acting is very well done. His character in this movie reminds me of the character he will later play on the A-Team. (Plot Spoilers) His character rides into town and saves the day. He even sets up a trap to catch the bad guys like he did at the end of every episode of the A-Team. (Plot Spoilers)Dean Martin plays a very good villain in this movie. Dean Martin plays a bad guy that is almost nice until you get on his bad side. Sim Pickens who played bad guys before in movies like Blazing Saddles, One Eyed Jacks, and a few others. Top all other bad guys he played before in this movie. John McIntire was a lovable, kindhearted and tough lawman.Jean Simmons plays a head strong woman that has a independent spirit. This has got to be one of my favorite George Peppard movies.

Good Men Do Nothing And Too Much

[boblipton · 6/10 · 11 July 2019]

Dean Martin owns 51% of everything in town, except former lover Jean Simmons' stage line. When he and his hired guns start squeezing her, she writes former marshal John McIntire. He shows up, but remains abed while George Peppard scouts out the situation.

This metaphorical western about the corruption of society by business interests makes use of symbolic values of B westerns, and balances the traditional B Western values of action with some decent speeches, with Dean Martin playing the darker edge of his screen persona in the midst of his Matt Helm era. Miss Simmons also gives a fine performance that reinvigorated her career. She and Peppard have a great drinking scene. Yet there are issues with this movie that are disturbing, both in the way that the film makers seem to have forgotten how to make a western -- the score by Don Costa is overly dramatic in a TV-Western manner that makes it seem that the events are less important than they should be within the movie, and cinematographer Russell Metty shoots the action sequences with a zoomed-in telephoto lens that makes those passages weightless.

The net impact is that the film makers feel the movie is simultaneously more important and less important than it is. Perhaps the only way to get this film made was to populate it with major talent in front of the camera. Certainly the actors take the subtext seriously. It's too bad the people behind the camera overburdened a good story with unnecessary technique, making this an interesting and watchable western, but little more.

A bad combination of comedy and violence.

[plan99 · 4/10 · 15 February 2024]

Trying to add some comedy to a very violent film was never going to work was it. This film fails to be entertaining enough to be worth watching as a result.

Dean playing a very nasty character with touches of comedy results in both a bad comedy film and bad western film, it should have been one or the other rather than a poor mish mash attempt to be both.

Nicely shot and with seemingly a cast of thousands and with two normally good male leads but the script and poor direction let them down.

Watch Blazing Saddles and not this very poor effort otherwise be prepared to be disappointed greatly.

Worth to see just for Peppard and few scenes!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 17 December 2018]

Dean Martin as producer offered wisely to George Peppard a good guy's role to catch him to the picture, still stay with Jean Simmons as romantic pair, but put all this on the table is quite clear that the whole thing survives for few good scenes only, like the whip fight between Peppard and Pickens was bloody and impressive, another is when they playing poker, it's seems that Martin was loosing on purpose to Peppard leaves the town and at last the final showdown at the desert when Dino tried to ambush him, with those shaped blondie hair on the front face as long trademark, Simmons didn't added too much, Mcintire was average appearance, l'd to watch it twice to reach a final conclusion over it, watch out when Dino was involved in something, he can try to sing during in kitsch way...avoid!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2011 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

Apple Juice? I Don't Think So!

[angelsunchained · 7/10 · 3 May 2019]

Dino's daughter would have you believe that her dad was never drunk, but drank apple juice substituted for whiskey. Well, Dino's eyes look glazed and watery this whole film. Some scenes he looks terrible and really hung over. Maybe it's a good thing because he was definitely miscast as a brutal psycho. Entertaining enough if you are a fan of Dean Martin; which I am. A bit of brutal violence which was not needed and a bland triangle love story without any sparks at all. Jean Simmons looks tired and plain and her so called love spell over Martin and Peppard just seems unbelievable. A rough night for everyone involved in acting in this film. Just pass the Apple Juice.

evil Martin

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 5 January 2021]

A stagecoach bound for Jericho is ambushed by Alex Flood (Dean Martin). He's a bad man and he takes over the town with his brutal gang. He hangs the stagecoach driver for shooting one of his men in self-defense. Stagecoach owner Molly Lang (Jean Simmons) tries to save the driver but fails. She happens to be Flood's ex and he still holds a flame for her. A wounded Ben Hickman (John McIntire) and his former deputy Dolan (George Peppard) arrive in town to take partial ownership of the stagecoach line with Molly. Molly had informed Ben of her dire situation but Dolan was unaware and is unconvinced of joining her. Flood is demanding 51% of everything including the stagecoach.

It's interesting to see Dean Martin play against type. He's actually pretty good at playing evil. It's an interesting tense stand-off for the first half of the movie but I kept wondering about Dolan's plan if he had any at all. I really like Flood losing the poker hand to Dolan. It would have been even more interesting if the losing was deliberate as a way of enticing him to leave. On the other hand, I don't like the inciting incident with the deputy tearing up the stagecoach. It's too haphazard and rescuing a damsel is too bland. A better inciting incident would be killing Ben. That would lead to Dolan going on a revenge war against Flood and that would be a better movie. Once Dolan killed a deputy, Flood would have hung him without a trial. That section do not make sense. It's not until the saloon shootout that the movie finds its violence. It's a long time coming and about thirty minutes late. The shooting is still a little old fashion but at least, there is plenty of it.

Begins well, one of Dean's finest hours, worsens to the end

[adrianovasconcelos · 5/10 · 1 April 2023]

Arnold Laven has never impressed me as a director and it will not start happening with this ROUGH NIGHT IN JERICHO effort.

Despite having a decent cast to work with, from the outset he does not seem to know what to do with Jean Simmons, clearly too good and beautiful an actress to appear in wild Jericho town, run with an iron fist by ruthless, evil, control freak Dean Martin, in one of his finest hours - I do not rate it the inferior of his part in RIO BRAVO.

Pretty boy Peppard with his deprecating gotcha smirk forever on his lips, complies with Dean's every whim, but beats the latter at poker, scores a small fortune and is told to clear town or he too will hang by his neck and kick the bucket. George waits until the situation is hopeless to start shooting the hell out of Dean's cutthroats (Dean's order actually is: Get me 12 men in 5 minutes!)

What sets George apart from other silver screen gunhands is that he only uses his Colt .45, regardless of his distance from Winchester-toting Dean and sidekicks. The man is so good with that six-shooter that I do not recall seeing him reload it!

At the end, when George and Jean seem ready to ride off into the sunset loving each other forever, only George disappears into the bush, and it is not Jean's, which left me with rather frustrated.

To cut a long story short, ROUGH begins well and only gets worse from halfway on. Its 104' felt like 3 hours, I couldn't wait for it to end... and when I saw George gently tapping the rock behind which he is hiding with his Colt, thereby giving Dean his exact position, to then throw a knife at Winchester-wielding Dean... I marveled at my own stupidity for watching it all to the end.

5/10: one of my most generous assessments ever.

Terrific western

[grafxman · 10/10 · 10 October 2019]

This is a very unusual western movie. It has a terrific and original story line. I was astonished to see actors playing against type. They all did a terrific job with their characters. I never really thought of Dean Martin as anything but a singer. In this flick he showed me that he can really act. They delightful Jean Simmons is present and does an excellent as a strong, tough woman. All in all this is a western worth watching.

I had to switch this garbage off

[ratiocinator · 1/10 · 8 April 2021]

Yet another movie ruined by the perverse desire of the filmmakers to have actors endlessly eating throughout entire scenes, and eating while speaking. It made this movie utterly intolerable. Why Hollywood insists on having actors eating so often in movies, and talking at the same time, the Devil only knows. It ruins countless movies, and adds nothing to their stories. It's pointless, repulsive, odious, and just ruins movies. This particular movie was looking rather bland, anyway.

Rough, tough, gritty, bloody night and day in Jericho.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 9/10 · 28 April 2020]

This western is among my favorites of the late sixties, the transition between the old western genre of the John Wayne era - forties, fifties and early sixties, which resume in the early seventies with Burt Kennedy and Andy McLaglen movies - and the Monte Hellman and Sam Peckinpah golden period. You can put this disenchanted western in the same batch as HOMBRE, MAJOR DUNDEE, HANG EM HIGH, HUNTING PARTY, WILD ROVERS, CHATO'S LAND, THE LAWMAN, THE PROFESSIONALS, RIO CONCHOS, and so on...The kind of stuff which John Wayne would have never accepted to play in; though, I admit he gave us THE COWBOYS and THE SHOOTIST, two films not on the fifties spirit, nothing to do with RIO BRAVO soul. Downbeat at the most. The other westerns Wayne played in during this period, were close to the old genre schemes. Well, sorry for those side notes, folks, now back to this movie. I won't add much, but I noticed that no user had pointed out the camera work at some moments, such as the fight scene between Peppard and Pickens, near the barn. The camera angles, shot behind some furniture, weird, bizarre angles, which reminded me THE APPALOOSA, with Marlon Brando and John Saxon.

Spoiler. Great Western with gritty performances.

[don-49159 · 9/10 · 19 September 2021]

SPOILERS!!

GREAT WESTERN WITH unusual role placement for consumate good guy Dean Martin. Great character acting by George Peppard as the good guy who traps the evil land grabbing, money grubbing bad guys at the own tactics.

Harsh at times with a brutally honest looking no holds barred fight between Slim Pickens and Peppard that rivals the fight scenes in the more modern Road House between Patrick Swayze and Ben Gazara.

Only question arises from the beginning and that is who dies between the Good guys camp verses how many perish from the bad guys and how long it takes for the Hero(Peppard) to get angry enough to do it.

Overall great character acting by all involved from Martin and Peppard on down. Worth watching on a slow Saturday night.

Dean Martin Vs George Peppard

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 30 May 2023]

Believe it or not, Dean Martin plays the villain in "Glory Guys" director Arnold Laven's above-average western "Rough Night in Jericho," while George Peppard stands on the side of law & order. This Universal Pictures release qualifies as Laven's best frontier fracas. The cast is robust, specially Don Galloway as a beleaguered lawman and Slim Pickens and Steve Sandor as two Martin's slimy henchmen with a sadistic urge to inflict as much pain as possible on our heroes. Basically , Dean runs the town, the same town he saved from chaos initially when he tamed it and then crowned himself top dog with all the advantages that come with it. Jean Simmons is fed up with Dean's tyranny and summons crusty old Marshal Hickman (John McIntire of TV's "Wagon Train") and his deputy Dolan (George Peppard of "Tobruk") to straight things out. It is fun to watch Martin as Alex Flood play such an unsavory character. Not only does he bushwhack Hickman and Dolan on the trail as they head to Jericho, but also he orchestrates the hanging of a merchant who accidentally killed of his ruffians. At the same time, Flood fires the stubborn lawman Jace (Don Galloway of "Gunfight in Abilene") who refused to promptly hand the innocent store keeper over to an unruly mob. Literally, Jace has no choice but to turn him over to Flood's deputies because they threaten to drop a bundle of explosives down the smokestack of the jail and blast him out.

George Peppard packs two six-guns in shoulder holsters like Tyrone Power did in the original "Jesse James," and his man-in-black outfit with matching hat give him an intimidating allure. Since Universal Pictures released this sagebrusher, all the town scenes were staged on the studio's venerable backlot where Gary Cooper version of "The Virginian" was lensed. "Rough Night in Jericho" has some humorous moments, such as when Dolan and Molly Lang (Jean Simmons of "Elmer Gantry") drink themselves into a stupor. Otherwise, it is largely a straightforward oater that.