A Time for Killing (1967) User Reviews (26)

A Private War

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 10 April 2010]

A Time For Killing takes place in the southwestern territory of Arizona just days before the Civil War is to end. Several southern prisoners are held captive in an army stockade commanded by Emile Meyer. The prisoners could probably just sit things out and go home. But George Hamilton the commanding officer among the prisoners has an agenda all his own. The time and setting are similar to the 1953 William Holden film Escape from Fort Bravo and the Sam Peckinpaugh flawed classic Major Dundee which had come out a couple years earlier.

Hamilton's from the Deep South, the part that General Sherman has just ravaged. So Hamilton figures he's got some payback coming and after escaping he kidnaps Indian missionary Inger Stevens who is the betrothed of second in command Glenn Ford and does a little ravaging of his own. To give Ford a little personal incentive to come after him so he can kill some more Yankees. This mind you is after the escaping Confederates kill a dispatch rider bringing news of Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

With the Civil War so close to an end it would have taken one charismatic leader to have kept those Confederates in line for this crazy mission. And George Hamilton is too nice to really be convincing in the part of a revenge seeking southerner. It's the main flaw of A Time For Killing.

These are not John Ford type cavalrymen. You've got some real lowlife specimens on both sides Timothy Carey on the Union side and Max Baer, Jr. on the Confederate. Both are really into combat and killing, Baer who one remembers as the amiable dunce Jethro Bodine in The Beverly Hillbillies really surprises you with his role. In a small part as a Union lieutenant is Harrison Ford years ahead of his first big break in American Graffiti.

Dick Miller and Kay E. Kuter play a pair of Union soldiers who aren't exactly the greatest of patriots. Their characters are for comic relief, but in the grim proceedings of A Time For Killing, their comedy while not bad is definitely out of place.

A Time For Killing had some potential, but in the end I think the plot situation is really ridiculous and wastes a lot of talented people.

Confederate soldiers led by George Hamilton escape from prison and are pursued by a party commanded by Glenn Ford

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 12 December 2009]

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 .

Confused Civil War Western.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 9 April 2010]

In 1865, somewhere out West, around Las Cruces, a band of Confederate prisoners led by George Hamilton escape from a Yankee fort with missionary Inger Stevens as hostage. They head for the safety of Mexico. They are pursued by a unit of Federal soldiers led by Major Glenn Ford. By the time the end rolls around, all the men of both sides have either been killed or have run away except for Hamilton and Ford, who shoot it out over the outraged honor of Inger Stevens.

Now, there's a certain dramatic potential in a story like this, and the director, Phil Karlson, who has done some brutal work elsewhere, starts it off well. In the opening scene, a rebel prisoner has killed a guard while trying to get out and he is about to be shot by a firing squad. But the end of the war is near. Everyone knows it. And the squad balks. So the Commanding Officer turns the rifles over to the Colored Troops, as they were called, and orders them to fire at the prisoner. The nervous squad of ex-slaves has never handled rifles before and mostly they miss. The wounded prisoner cries out, "I'm still alive." They reload and fire. Once again they only wound the tortured man, who screams and laughs. The scene is excruciating.

From there on, it's pretty much downhill. The usual problem is that cliché is piled upon cliché. Here, it's that the narrative itself falls apart, not so much because the conventions are too strictly observed but because the writers seemed to be seated on a runaway wagon.

That Southern Captain -- Hamilton -- is a proud man and a determined one. "This war will never end," he mutters several times, a gentleman warrior. Yet, when he's alone with Inger Stevens, he slaps her around, rips her dress off, runs his spur along her naked flesh, and savagely rapes her. Whose breath blew out the light within this brain? But then nobody's motivations are entirely clear. They aren't ambiguous, as they are for you and me. They're muddled and conflicting and almost drawn up in order to suit the demands of the situation. Example: Glenn Ford is leading the pursuit but he's firm in his decision to not chase them beyond the Mexican border. Not even the pleas of the battered Inger Stevens, the now-debauched missionary and nurse, will sway him. Yet, later, when one of his men is killed, he abruptly changes his mind and charges towards the final confrontation. The dead man was not particularly important to Ford or to the plot. That is, he wasn't Ford's cousin or son or anything. So the newly formed engram is left unexplained.

The movie is "routine" by default. It doesn't carry with it the burden of ordinary stereotypes. It opens up a whole new package of problems involving mediocrity.

The period detail is carelessly handled. The mob of Confederate prisoners wears new boots. By the end, any attempt at realism is tossed out the window. The muzzle-loading rifles of the opening scene are soon replaced by single-shot breach-loading carbines. And in the last scene, Winchester repeating rifles are used. No one ever pauses to load -- regardless of the weapon.

The musical score is by Mundell Lowe, a decent guitarist, but it's terrible. From the beginning, we're subject to the kind of theme song common to the period, with lyrics. "A man's gotta ride home. But home is nowhere...." Something like that. The rest of the score would have provided a typical and uninteresting background for a shot of cars whizzing back and forth across the George Washington Bridge.

It's not worth going on about.

Time is what gets killed when watching this film!

[Poseidon-3 · 7 October 2003]

If only for it's unusual cast, this Civil War western revenge saga merits watching one time. Unfortunately, there isn't a great deal more about it to recommend as it is uneven and unsatisfying for the most part. Stevens plays a missionary (complete with bleached-out blonde hair and '60's eyeliner) who's visiting her beau Ford at a cavalry outpost where he's holding Confederate Captain Hamilton and others prisoner. Soon after she leaves, Hamilton and a cache of his men revolt and escape. They capture Stevens and kick off a chase across the desert to Mexico with Ford in pursuit. Of main interest is the oddball cast which includes Ford (who, at 51, sure was dragging his feet in marrying Stevens!), Hamilton (his tan completely in place and with his helmet hair and come 'n go accent, a very unlikely Confederate prisoner of war!), Baer, jr (giving quite possibly the worst performance ever captured on film as a lunatic soldier who giggles when killing and fights incessantly with everyone), Armstrong (trading in his sword and sandals), Stanton (long-time character actor who appeared in many cult favorites), Peterson (fourth-billed former child star who has little to do but represent innocence) and Harrison J. Ford (hardly onscreen as a heavily side-burned Union soldier.) The film starts out with an incongruent theme song which is abruptly cut short by the action of the plot. This sets up a consistent pattern of odd music cuts and choppy editing (the music in this film is FAR too over-emphatic and insistent, not to mention repetitive.) There are some okay action sequences and some decent scenery and occasional periods of dramatic interest. They are often undone, however, by some really bad supporting cast members and awkward writing and direction. There's a Union officer with a thick New York accent, a pair of nitwit, supposedly amusing, but actually deadly unfunny soldiers who keep interrupting the drama with their awful shtick and then a passel of chatty cantina whores. The all time worst acting honor, though, goes to Baer, jr who is so relentlessly bad that it actually hurts to watch him. He's a lunkheaded, unbalanced giant whose penchant for violence is not as shocking as it is annoying. The actor claims that playing on "The Beverly Hillbillies" type-cast him, but he seems here to be unable to play anything better. The "comic" relief in the film (which couldn't be any less amusing) is at great odds with the rather visceral violence and cruelty of the rest of the film. It's all put together so amateurishly and with so little regard for nuance or real feelings that it hardly matters. Thus the opportunity to see some name/cult actors in a tough little western remains the primary attraction.

A 1967 Oddity

[tightspotkilo · 5/10 · 17 January 2008]

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.

Inger imperiled

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 23 January 2014]

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.

"Bentley would kill Bentley."

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 6 December 2015]

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.

"Major, this war will never be over."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 July 2014]

I'm sitting here trying to come up with some insightful things to say about this picture but I'm coming up blank. For me it was a so-so cavalry Western with a Civil War backdrop, and what I found interesting more so than the story was a handful of observations made along the way about the way the picture was filmed. Like, was it possible to have a woman as gorgeous as Inger Stevens show up at a Union prison camp as the fiancée of a commanding officer (Glenn Ford)? Now I don't know when eye shadow was invented, but the blue highlights in Emily Biddle's eyes managed to be an early distraction.

Another distraction was the casting of Max Baer Jr. in the role of a lunkhead Confederate soldier under the command of Captain Dorritt Bentley (George Hamilton). His character Luther was a goof-ball maniac, and if that seems an oxymoron, then you need to see him in the role. It would be similar to watching Jethro Bodine as the title character in "Raging Bull". Try to picture that.

So the main premise here is that the Civil War is over but known only to Captain Bentley and Luther when a Union dispatch rider is accosted by Luther in a saloon dust-up. Already on the run from a prison break, Bentley's rage as a Confederate knows no bounds after his soldiers take Miss Biddle hostage. His pent up hostility results in the rape of his captive, so when the Major eventually catches up with the rag-tag bunch, she keeps the War's end a secret to serve her own desire for revenge.

Gosh, there's a glaring continuity gaffe in the filming and I'm surprised no one else mentioned it either in the reviews or on the edits page. When Captain Bentley attacks Miss Biddle he savagely rips off the back of her dress exposing her entire back. Yet just a few scenes later when Major Wolcott (Ford) arrives on the scene, she's shown wearing the same dress with no hint of damage or repair. I can't imagine why no one connected with the film wouldn't have made mention of it because it was such an obvious lack of continuity. Thinking about it, I almost missed the bruise on Emily's face changing size and color in the scenes that followed.

Two Violent Men and a Violated Woman!

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 11 April 2010]

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

A few missteps, but not that bad

[stagebandman · 6/10 · 22 November 2008]

I first saw this movie at the drive-in theater with my folks, when I was 7 years old. It affected me deeply, because this was the first "serious" western I had seen. Oh, sure, TV westerns had their serious moments, but most of them had healthy doses of comedy and I was just getting to the age when the good guys and the bad guys weren't so cut and dried. Plus, Jethro was in it, so it's probably pretty funny. Surprise! Still, I was glued to the screen and completely taken in by the story. Now, having finally seen it again on Encore, I still think it's pretty good. There are some major editing problems, but the acting is very good, and the dichotomy of the war is very present and really makes one think about the futility of our civil war. I didn't remember much over the years, except that the ending really struck me, and it still does, 41 years later. Maybe I'm just a sucker for westerns, but I'd really like to see this on a fully restored DVD. Oh, and as a musician, as well as a fan of Mundell Lowe's jazz stuff, his score here was intrusive and inappropriate. It sounded more like a rah-rah WWII score.

But stay with this one to the end. Maybe it'll stick with you for 40 years, too.

Strange Cast / Violent Film

[DKosty123 · 4/10 · 5 December 2015]

While watching this, was not surprised to see Roger Korman was involved though not credited. It appears that the script makes less sense than many of the horror films Roger was known for.

Glenn Ford is mixed with Jethro Bodine (Max Baer) and Harrison Ford (Hans Solo) and Inger Stevens, and attractive actress who is only a few short years from committing suicide by a drug overdose. This script has less quality than Baer's production -Macon County Line.

I do not think this film was supposed to turn out this way, it just kind of happens for no reason. Set after the end of the Civil War, it seems every bad guy tries to give her a raw deal. She is pretty crude in her answer

It is kind of fun to see the cast in this one. Besides that I would avoid a historic blender. There is a lot happening here without a safety net, but it is harmless though the sweating actors on screen would not indicate it.

A good 60's civil war western

[jamesm1068 · 9/10 · 16 November 2008]

I really liked the story though it was cut in parts that would have added to the story about confederate prisoners that rebel against a righteous union officer,Inger Stevens plays the love interest of one of the union officers who would later be chasing the prisoners through the desert towards Mexico. Not a typical 60's western but a well done civil war western that is nothing like the spaghetti westerns that were so popular at the time, the filming is of much better quality and the acting is above what the films had to offer. I thought George Hamilton gave one if not his best performance ever in this film. Inger Stevens looks as beautiful as she had in any film, she really shows how talented she was in her performance, many of the confederate actors were very good though most are unknowns, the story focuses on the confederates throughout most of the film so this is most likely why they cast the best in one group. I gave this film 9 out of 10, I am not comparing it to other movies that are not westerns, I am comparing it to westerns of that time era only, and this is one of the better ones, it is very entertaining with lots of action, but it has very little suspense or anything else really.

one-of-a-kind western

[RanchoTuVu · 7/10 · 10 December 2015]

A strange film about Confderate escapees led by George Hamilton, chased by a troop of Union mounted infantry led by Glenn Ford, with Ford's fiancé, Inger Stevens, a captive of the Confederates. Max Baer stands out as a crazed sadistic killer under Hamilton's command. Set somewhere out in southwestern Texas as the Civil War is ending, actually ends during the film, these guys carry on the fight into Mexico. There is no excuse for the idiotic editing that disjoints the whole thing, but overall it's fair to better-than-fair as a 60s violent-type western with serious sexual undertones, thanks to Inger Stevens and her part. Maybe not Phil Karlon's best film, but sets the situation of revenge over Stevens pretty well. None of the characters seem to act as if they believe in what they're saying, a definite drawback, but the cinematography is captivating and the take on the Civil War is one-of-a-kind.

A rather sleazy 'modern' Civil War film

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 27 January 2016]

"A Time for Killing" is a very bad film--mostly because although it is supposed to be about the Civil War, the attitudes and actions you see are really revisionist and represent the angst of the 1960s...not the 1860s. In addition, at times, the film is just plain nasty and has no reason to be. As a retired history teacher, I really hated this movie.

When the film begins, a Confederate prisoner is being executed and everyone is behaving angst-filled and disgusted by the commanding officer's order. This makes no sense, as the prisoner killed a guard while trying to escape...but such is the 1960s stamp on the film. Hating authority and officers was much more a vestige of the Vietnam War and not the Civil War.

Soon a group of Confederates escape and the second in command balks at chasing the escapees down and returning them...saying the war is all but over. Again, this is a Vietnam era attitude...you didn't argue with your superior like this. But chase them down he must-- especially when it turns out that they are more depraved than the guys from "Deliverance" and start raping and murdering for no reason. Again, more a 1960s attitude as is the overall nihilistic attitude of the film. Seeing Jethro Bodine running amok and killing and George "the Tan- Man" Hamilton getting all rapey was just too much, too nasty and too pointless.

Weak western

[Wizard-8 · 4 December 2003]

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.

Hollywood at its worst. No story, no script, wood...

[dash · 2/10 · 3 September 1998]

Hollywood at its worst. No story, no script, wooden (Glenn Ford, Inger Stevens, and George Hamilton) or over- (Max Baer as Jethro on angel-dust) acting, even the "comic" relief is embarrassing. This leaves you with only violence and photography. Zion National Park looks good. Flick looks bad.

Better than expected from reviews

[Maverick1962 · 6/10 · 30 October 2019]

As a lifelong Glenn Ford fan this was a must see western. My mag review only gave it 2 stars out of 5 but I would up that to 3 as although it has some jerky editing, the cinematography is pretty good with some really interesting angles and landscape. Inger Stevens was a beautiful blonde actress who tragically died far too young and it was nice to see her again after many years. She plays a too young love interest for old Glenn who must be in his 50's here and I always find these age differences jarring in the sexes. George Hamilton plays a Confederate captain with a rag tag of serving men who have been captured by Ford's Union troop and they subsequently escape, kidnapping Inger, forcing Ford and his men to persue them across rugged terrain and desert which I found very entertaining. Oddball supporting cast has the late great Harry Dean Stanton giving the best, low key performance. Harrison Ford was supposed to be there somewhere on the Union side but I couldn't spot the few seconds he must have been on screen so perhaps that's some fun you can have watching this. The action is one of the best things as it's quite relentless so I was never bored and it's well staged. Quite brutal in places but has humourous moments too. I enjoyed it anyway.

Protracted mess that's nearly saved by the high action quota.

[hitchcockthelegend · 4/10 · 27 January 2019]

Confederate POWs escape a Union camp and make for the Mexico border chased by Union troops. This in spite of the fact that the war has just been declared over...

Directed by Phil Karlson with Roger Corman on hand for uncredited duties, this stands up as an odd, interesting, but messy Western. The production problems involved do show, for we get a pic that more or less consists of similar scenes strung together as a whole. The pursued can be found squabbling and bickering, in fighting and macho posturing, while the pursuers do the same.

No opportunity is wasted for some violence on tap, lots of gunplay, bloodletting and noise, while sexual aggression rears its ugly head. Sadly it just comes off as trying to keep the pic interesting, to stop the viewers from falling asleep as the narrative fails to offer anything of substance. Oh it's trying, the futility of war and its corruption of the soul are bubbling away, but it never bears out, buried under the urgency for an action scene and awful over acting (Max Baer Junior is appalling).

In its favour is the cast list, which contains Glenn Ford, George Hamilton, Inger Stevens, Timothy Carey, Kenneth Tobey, Harry Stanton, Harrison "Indiana Jones" Ford and Todd "Jason Of The Argonauts" Armstrong - amongst others. It's a strange roll call befitting the strangeness of the piece, compounded by Mundell Lowe's awfully intrusive musical score - on the evidence of this it's not hard to understand why he had such a short and mundane career as a composer. The Utah and Arizona locations however are a treat, so props to Kenneth Peach, his work deserves a better picture.

A Time for Killing (AKA: The Long Ride Home), more a curio piece than a genre pic to avidly seek out. 4/10

Not even good enough for killing time

[clore_2 · 3/10 · 11 April 2010]

It aired on TCM last night and as I remembered that when it came out in 1967 I walked out of it, I wanted to see just how bad this thing was, or if I was that impatient. I rarely walk out on films.

As soon as the credits ended, I was reminded of one of the initial negative reactions I had to the film. We get a title song under the credits (left over from when the production title was "The Long Ride Home") and as soon as the director credit disappears, so does the song. As in someone picked the needle up off the phonograph record before it was done. That's only the first example of the kitchen blender editing that goes on in this film.

A group of Confederates are in a Northern fort, caged in a big pen and apparently treated decently by Major Glenn Ford. The leader of this group is played by George Hamilton and when his accent isn't atrocious, it's gone. The editing faults show up again when somehow a bunch of the rebels kill some guards, turn the fort's cannons around and begin firing on it. We just don't get to see how they managed to get out of the holding pen in which they were confined

They escape through some magical tunnel that leads to the river, but with no establishing shots, we have no idea of how far that tunnel goes. We never even get a shot in the tunnel. The rebs manage to catch up to and defeat a previously departed detail that includes Ford's betrothed Inger Stevens and they accomplish this by magically hiding in trees that manage to be right in the path of each Union soldier in the detail as they attempted to scatter when fired upon.

There's all sorts of exposition here to show us what a mean bastard Hamilton is - he's left most of his men behind when he should have waited for them at the river. There's so much exposition that we forget that top-billed Glenn Ford is even in the film since he disappears for about a half-hour. Ford's search party includes two comic relief types (one of whom is Dick Miller) who seem to have walked in from another movie or an episode of "F Troop." This is made more apparent as they are frequently seen in obvious studio shots that don't match the surrounding footage shot on location.

It was at this point that I recalled that this film was started by Roger Corman but it was usurped by the studio and given to Phil Karlson. Corman's involvement would explain Dick Miller, but the handling of his scenes might explain why Corman was dismissed. Apparently it was enough of a disaster for longtime producer Harry Joe Brown to quit the business.

Harrison Ford (billed with middle initial "J") gets reasonably prominent billing but he disappears once the film leaves the fort - we don't see if he's killed while the rebels escape. Paul Petersen is given very prominent billing above the title, but he doesn't show up with any dialogue until Glenn Ford comes back into the film in the last half-hour. That's just as well, Petersen is horrendous in his few scenes.

Even worse is Max Baer, Jr. as a whacked-out Confederate who loves killing and physically sparring with a buddy. This goes on my list of all-time worst performances and it indicates why Baer never got beyond Jethro Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies." Surprisingly effective is Todd Armstrong as Hamilton's sympathetic second-in-command yet this was his last feature film. As George Hamilton's moral conscience, he has the most well-written role in the film.

There is one strong plot twist here involving Inger Stevens that is quickly thrown away. En route, Baer comes across a Union dispatch carrier and kills him, taking from him the message that the war is over. The message couldn't have been that important to the carrier anyway as he's hanging out in a cantina with a bunch of whores. Hamilton swears Baer to silence (this way he "can kill more blue-bellies") as he wants to engage in a cat-and-mouse game with Ford.

This makes no sense as there would be no need for further pursuit but that would mean that the film would end just as abruptly as the title song. So just in case, Hamilton rapes and beats Stevens after telling her that the war is over. He leaves her there, but when Ford (the Glenn one, not Harrison) catches up to her, she fails to tell him that the war is over. She wants vengeance for having been spoiled. The film makes little more of that motive.

I could go on, but the film isn't really worth the verbiage I've given it thus far. Consider this a public service message and beware at all costs.

Brutal and Senseless Violence

[angelsunchained · 4/10 · 2 May 2022]

This movie has no redeeming value,unless to show that human beings are sadistic, brutal killers, rapists and torturers. Great cast is wasted in third rate script and worthless dialogue. Max Baer, Jr is embarrassing to watch as a dim witted psychopathic killer. One of the worst screen performances in history. Not much else to say; worthless junk.

Almost a cult movie!

[pierre_dausse · 9/10 · 30 January 2023]

This weird western could have been a masterpiece but was totally ravaged by a criminal cut and music randomly chopped everywhere.

Despite those painful moments, there are some real cult scenes that could delight Tarantino' fans.

It is as if there were three personalities inside the same movie.

The first, is the classic westerns one that in 1967 was yet obsolete, with goodwill heroes and not so villain villains.

The second is a weird spaghetti western style one (brave for a 67 american production) with pathetic fights between villains that wanted to be funny. The fights of Bud and Hill in "Trinita'" were still to come.

The third "personality" inside this movie is the most interesting one, with shocking unespected pure violence acts among characters that surprise us and slowly bring spectator deeper into their mental sickness and disturbing will not to stop (personal) war. This long before Peckinpah or Leone.

Absolutely innovative for the times. Strong and interesting storyline plot, deserved a much better production too.

A Time for Killing

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 28 January 2024]

After what can only be described as one of the most ludicrous firing squad scenarios I've ever seen, the irritated confederate prisoners under the command of "Bentley" (George Hamilton) decide that they are going to avenge themselves on their blue-shirted counterparts and so they duly kill some guards, trash the fort with the cannon and skedaddle. "Maj. Walcott" (Glenn Ford) is duly dispatched to apprehend them and what ensues now is quite possibly the worst main-stream western I have ever seen. Ford just doesn't look like he cared and no amount of facial hair is going to lend enough gravitas to the perpetually underwhelming Hamilton as the story heads down the same wagon trail as quite literally thousands of it's civil war cinematic forebears. The production is almost as bad as the script, which is back of an envelope stuff - and the contribution from Inger Stevens as the kidnapped, wronged and vengeful "Emily" (the fiancée of "Walcott") is just bizarre. Keep an eye out for a young-ish Harrison Ford if you can be bothered sitting through this, and you may also spot Todd Armstrong - having fallen quite a way since "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963) but it's a long and unfulfilling old slog riddled with banal dialogue to an ending that I could have done with about seventy minutes earlier.

A Time For Killing

[Patrick Duffy · 28 December 2003]

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.

What happened to this poor, poor movie?

[shoobe01-1 · 4/10 · 19 August 2022]

A Glenn Ford movie this bad is shocking.

And man is it bad. It's mean spirited, and can't decide why or when. It's confused and many things seem pointless or are unexplained.

There are comedy bits. I mean, two guys who are cowards and regularly don't do their duty then trip over things or fall into a horse trough... in the middle of a violent battle. Who decided on that?

George Hamilton is horrible. One of the most scenery chewing performances ever put on film. Shocked he didn't just have a long moustache he twirled while laughing at his evil plans.

At least it is mostly lazily filmed also. Poorly framed, indifferently exposed with no color grading step so every scene is a bit different looking.

And on and I could go. It's just shockingly bad. Please, do not watch it even as an academic exercise or to be a Ford completist.

Mediocre time killer

[adrianovasconcelos · 5/10 · 14 February 2024]

I have always liked watching Glenn Ford. Never one of the Hollywood greats, never an Oscar winner, and yet a versatile performer who clearly took acting seriously, and could deliver a dramatic part with the same quality as a comic one.

Unfortunately, in A TIME FOR KILLING he appears only for short bursts, and his motivations and actions are less clear and honorable than I would expect from a senior Union officer.

His opposite number in the film and in the ranks of the captive Confederate soldiers is George Hamilton, who I have always rated a mediocre actor, with the exception of his roles in THE VICTORS and HOME FROM THE HILL. Hamilton's motivations - apart from wanting to escape and get some payback on the "yellow bellies" - are even more enigmatic than Ford's: he actually allows, even endorses, two of his men to engage in a knife fight just to keep things lively, when in fact the escapees should be trying to put a greater distance between themselves and the Unionist pursuers led by Ford.

In the end, inevitably, the underdogs are defeated but pretty Inger Stevens takes some of the sheen off Ford's victory by rather high-mindedly walking away.

Pedestrian cinematography, acting, and script. 5/10.