I liked this film because by accident I tuned into it about five minutes after it had started so I had missed all the introductions and had no idea at all who would be starring in it. Wow! It turned out to be a who's who of Hollywood B Stars and I had great fun in spotting them as they popped up on the screen. Towards the end of the film my biggest surprise was the old villain of many movies Brian Donlevy turning up all in black as an old gunfighter. Although we never get to see his fast draw as he high-tails it out of town at the first sign of trouble. Fuzzy Knight, Robert Lowery, Gene Evans, Wendell Corey, Jane Russell and a non singing Howard Keel. Definitely worth a watch.
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erica-taylor-14 February 2015
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1966's "Waco" opens with the powerful voice of BONANZA's Lorne Greene intoning the lyrics to the title song, an excellent choice to set things up for Waco, not the setting but the gunman played by Howard Keel, the new sheriff of Emporia, a lawless town in Wyoming. The folks have grown tired of violence playing out in front of the saloon of Joe Gore (John Smith), resulting in the death of previous lawman Billy Kelly (Richard Arlen), so the Mayor (Robert Lowery) has reluctantly agreed with leading citizen George Gates (John Agar) to allow the governor to pardon outlaw Waco to replace Kelly, having spent five lonely years behind bars. Gore knows how much the Jenner clan want to kill Waco (he killed one of the brothers years ago), but their attempted ambush is easily foiled, and saloon bouncer Bill Rile (DeForest Kelley) isn't a good enough shot to take him out. The one person who might be able to figure out Waco is his former sweetheart (Jane Russell), now the bride of a preacher (Wendell Corey), who himself used to ride with Quantrill but believes that a man can change. It's Waco's unpredictable behavior that maintains a high interest level, and better character touches than most Lyles oaters, with the best performance from Gene Evans as the ineffectual deputy reformed from his drunken state by Waco. John Smith, on the side of good on CIMARRON CITY and LARAMIE, is cast as the main villain, simply lacking the kind of menace the part calls for. DeForest Kelley, in the last of four Lyles Westerns, had been paying his dues in roles like this for over a decade, soon to achieve a legendary status as Dr. McCoy on STAR TREK. Among the baddies are Jeff Richards, in his final film (Howard Keel's costar in SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS), Willard Parker, and Anne Seymour, pretty Terry Moore a delight as saloon girl Dolly, Brian Donlevy in a 'blink and you'll miss him' cameo for his third billing. Howard Keel would topline two more oaters for Lyles, "Red Tomahawk" and "Arizona Bushwhackers."
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lorenellroy27 November 2007Producer A C Lyles made several low budget Westerns in the 60's and they invariably featured -like this movie -a cast of veteran stars whose golden days may have been but a distant memory but who were still very able performers .The pictures never scaled any dizzy heights but provided satisfying B movie experiences Waco does not refer to the town in Texas but is the name of the hero,played with authority by Howard Keel.A town is being terrorised by gunmen under the leadership of the black garbed Ace Ross (Brian Donleavy) who kills a prominent citizen (Richard Arlen- a regular member of Lyles stock company)The citizens then realise the one man who might be able to save them is Waco but the problem is that he is in gaol but he is released in order to tackle the bad guys and in the process stake a claim in society.
The performances are good especially from Wendell Corey as a gunman turned preacher ,Sam Stone ,and the ever radiant Jane Russell as Jill Stone with whom Waco has a romantic dalliance .Other veterans in the cast include DeForrest Kelley ,John Agar and Gene Evans It is more violent than most Lyles movies but not excessively so and certainly not by today's standards Good solid B movie making and worth your time if you like Westerns -
HotToastyRag9 February 2018If you decide to sit down and watch Waco, you'll probably think it belongs to the genre of western spoofs. I considered the possibility, but as the movie dragged on and didn't contain any actual jokes or banana peel pratfalls, I realized it was an actual western.
Jane Russell is married to Wendell Corey, a preacher, but her ex-sweetie-pie Howard Keel has just gotten released from prison and is travelling to their town to take over as sheriff. The only trouble is, he doesn't know Jane's married, and Jane still has feelings for him. Plus, the town is desperately in need of proper law and order, and when Howard shows up and causes a stir, it turns into a shooting free-for-all.
Yes, Waco is a ridiculously cheesy western, but it's the acting that really places it in terrible movie territory. Jane Russell was the main one who made me think the movie was a spoof, because almost all her lines were delivered like she thought the cameras were off and she wanted to make fun of the terrible lines she was given. Wendell Corey gives his best John Wayne impression, but it just doesn't work to see him as a preacher, since he's usually very unlikable bad guys. This movie just isn't worth watching, unless you're die-hard fans of the cast and insist on watching every movie your favorite actor or actress made. -
Lorne Green's Ballad of Waco during the opening credits is very effective in introducing Waco(Howard Keel) as a legendary character, given the chance to redeem himself as sheriff of the notorious Wyoming town(Emporia) where he hailed from. Someone at the prison where he was housed for 5 years must have been sufficiently impressed by his devotion to reading religious material to have him recommended for release by the governor's proclamation, provided he localized himself as sheriff of Emporium, with the goal of cleaning up the crooked gambling, and bringing law and order to the town. As an added bonus, he hoped to marry his sweetheart Jill(Jane Russel) who he hoped had waited for him. But when he arrives, he soon discovers that Jill has married a preacher: ( Wendel Cory, as Sam Stone). Seems that formerly, she had been a wild woman and, like Waco , decided that she needed to get religion. Actually, her husband made that transition some years ago, as he was a member of Quantrill's raiders. Now, Waco is not so sure he wants to stay on as sheriff. The last one(played by Richard Arlen) was shot dead when he tried to snuff out the rowdies inside and outside of Joe Gore's saloon, by ordering the saloon closed. Could Waco do better?.......When Waco arrived by stage, he had a hostile group ready to fill him full of lead as he got off. But he outfoxed them by jumping off the stage before it got to the relay station. He trained his pistol on the 3 from his hiding place. Waco had them disrobe completely. He burned their clothes, and had them ride out of town. In this manor, Waco quickly established his suitability to fill the vacant sheriff position........Waco would face other seemingly impossible odds, such as when he was lured out to the Jenner's ranch, and greeted by a rifle-toting Ma Jenner, who was determined to make him pay for killing one of her sons, some years back. He was nearly branded, but escaped to tussle with the would be brander. But, he still needed the sudden arrival of the deputy sheriff((Gene Evans) to get him out of this situation.....Then, there's the climax scene, where he apparently has to face a consortium of enemies, who will be riding into town, with no backup. His anticipated backups, led by badman Ace Ross(Brian Donlevy), turn tail and leave town when they surmise the odds against their survival.. When Waco strolls out into the street, we see men all over, some low, some high, with rifles pointed at him. We are waiting for someone to shoot him. But, it doesn't happen. Turns out these are men that preacher Sam has convinced that Waco is worth saving. They are actually waiting for the arrival of the mounted would be assassins, including the Jenners, and saloon owner Joe Gore. Quite a shootout results, with the main baddies, including Ma Jenner, biting the dust. Preacher Sam even totes a rifle, and kills an enemy about to shoot Waco. But Sam then strolls out into the middle of the street, and pleads to stop the killing. Not unexpectedly, he is shot dead. Thus, widow Jill is now available for Waco to woo her. She convinces him to stay on as Waco's sheriff........There is the secondary romance between Scotty Moore(Ben Cooper) and Patricia West(Tracy Olson), daughter of the mayor(played by (Robert Lowery). Patricia was characterized as a prude, but is raped by one of the saloon revelers. She cries that she is a ruined woman, and is about to take a job as a saloon girl. But, Waco and Moore finally convince her that she needs to forget the incident and continue as Moore's girlfriend, as we see in the finale.......Some wonder if this film is supposed to be a spoof of westerns, or a conventional western. To me, it's a blend of the two, with the spoof aspects mostly subtle. See it at YouTube.
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drystyx16 May 2018WACO is the name of the character who is the stereotypical Western hero in Hollywood Westerns. He's fast on the draw, tough, and an outlaw in the beginning, which is standard for Western heroes.of that would be okay, except we never really care for this Waco guy played by Howard Keel. Don't expect the joy ride of THE WAR WAGON. This is strictly Hollywood hate formula. Waco has absolutely no credible motivation. Keel comes across a bit like Joe Don playing Buford, but without the incentive. Absolutely none. Motivation has to be a key, but in the sixties, Hollywood would have none of that. For about three decades, they threw characters who were spoiled brats with unrelenting and unprovoked hatred at us, expecting us to empathize with them. Well, only the sickest and most demon possessed were able to do that, and they were generally the control freaks who decided what the rest of us had to watch. This is a perfect example of what was wrong with the Hollywood era of mid sixties to mid eighties All of that is made worse by the big names being wasted here. As in the hero, motivation is suspect, although Waco is the worst written character perhaps in any Western. That takes away any thrills, and makes this all ho hum, no matter how many horses you see, no matter how many gunshots are fired.
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bkoganbing6 December 2012A.C. Lyles turned out another good geezer western with Waco starring Howard Keel a recently released outlaw from prison who's been hired to clean up a really bad town run by saloon owner John Smith and his hired gun DeForest Kelley. Keel is kind of hoping to take things up where they left off with Jane Russell, but turns out she's gone and married preacher Wendell Corey. That sort of disillusions him as he wavers back and forth between doing the job he was hired or resuming his old outlaw ways.
If it's action you want than Waco will not disappoint. Keel in the title role and we never do learn his real name because he probably was not born with that name, has a number of nasty fights and shootings. Besides Smith and Kelley, he's also got the Jenner family to contend with he killed one of them years ago. Willard Parker and Reg Parton are the remaining Jenner brothers and there's Anne Seymour, Ma Barker of the old west. In many ways, she's the one you'll remember from this film.
Waco's also a pretty adult western with such themes as infidelity lightly touched upon and rape of Tracy Olsen an integral part of the story. The final shootout in the town involves just about every member of the cast.
If you like western action you can't go wrong with Waco. -
planktonrules30 November 2012You might be surprised when you hear the film's title song as it's performed by Lorne Greene. Greene's style was odd--talking the lines more than singing them. But it was also very effective and he made some very well-selling albums during this era.
Like other A.C. Lyles productions during the 1960s, it's a 'geezer western'--a film starring lots of actors who were well past their prime--thus, inexpensive to cast. Few of these films were brilliant but they were consistently entertaining. In the case of "Waco", it features Richard Arlen (67), John Agar (45), Brian Donlevy (65), Howard Keel (47), Jane Russell (45), Wendell Corey (52), DeForrest Kelley (46), Gene Evans (44) and Terry Moore (37). Several of these folks were in MANY of Lyles' films (Arlen was in almost every one), as he seemed quite loyal to these actors.
The film begins in a town that's become more and more lawless. In reaction, Waco is sent there--even though he's a violent man with an awful reputation. I guess the thinking is that with the town in trouble, they have nothing to lose! Naturally, the evil element in town isn't about to fall into line with the arrival of this gunman. However, at each turn, Waco is able to get the better of the baddies. Will he continue to be THAT lucky throughout the film--especially when three groups of evil jerks band together to off the new sheriff? Throughout the entire film, Waco snarls and acts constipated--all the result of him learning that his girlfriend has married. At first you can understand that but after a while it became a bit tiresome and one-note. Even when the townsfolk offer to help him in his ultimate battle with the baddies, he's STILL a snarly jerk! It made little sense and got old. I also thought it strange that although Waco is supposed to be so tough, every time he beat up a baddie, he did NOT arrest them or hang them! What gives?! Some tough guy! It's a shame, as some of the other characters in the film were pretty interesting--such as the preacher, the deputy and that crazy lady with a shotgun! Not a terrible film but it sure could stand room for improvement! The best thing about the film? Greene's singing. -
boblipton2 June 2020The town is falling apart, so the decent people petition the governor to free Howard Keel so he can serve as their sheriff. He returns to find things changed: his girl, Jane Russell, is married to preacher Wendell Corey, and Brian Donleavy is leading one of the factions trying to own the town. What the town doesn't realize is that Keel has changed too.
THis is one of the Geezer Westerns produced by A.C. Lyles for Paramount, a chance to squeeze out the remaining juice from aging stars like John Agar and Richard Arlen. Its themes are very good, with the ideas of perception and aging brought squarely into focus. Keel is no longer the singing slab of beef he had been for MGM fifteen years earlier. Now he looks beefy and a bit worn around the edges. So does everyone, except for Wendell Corey, who seems to have been 50 when he first appeared on the big screen, and the same age when he last appeared on it.
Where the movie falls apart is in the mechanics of the western. There are no vistas, no beautiful landscape, and the fight that wraps up the plot looks random, with poor stuntwork. The result, despite a promising start, is just average. -
akhl-jkl7 May 2002I love this film because it shows that people can and do change for the better, and that's what Waco thought he hadn't changed after a long time in prison, but he had and for the good of the town and the people in it.
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35541m31 March 2014Waco is a typically terrible AC Lyles production full of ageing alcoholic actors struggling to read their lines, incompetent choreography where actors hold their hats as they fall over whilst the main plot (recycled the following year in Arizona Bushwackers) consists of a sheriff failing to arrest those who keep trying to kill him.
The budget must have been especially low since this one features no outdoor location shots at all (those that exist are obvious bits of stock footage) but does include a pathetically unconvincing sagebrush backcloth which doubles as both a cemetery and a ranch corral.
Laugh as director RG Springsteen repeats the same footage every time we see a raucous outside the saloon, John Agar tells Ben Cooper that his girlfriend will get over being raped "in a few days", Wendell Corey slurs his lines and is so visibly drunk that even Springsteen has to cut away before the man starts to topple over after being shot and a film whose morality is such that a man of God has to be killed for no good reason than that the hero wants to cop off with his wife without offending the Hays Code.
This was De Forest Kelley's last film before being snapped up for Star Trek and immortality as Dr McCoy. Billed 12th, but with a much bigger part than several of those listed above him (Brian Donlevy gets third place for a five minute cameo), he's actually pretty good as the saloon 'bouncer' who keeps smirking behind Howard Keel's back. Kelley seemed to have done nothing but westerns in the 5-6 years before Star Trek and made a pretty good B western villain. In these movies he stood out possibly because he was one of the few actors sober on set and capable of doing more than read his cue cards ! -
CatRufus559120 June 2020Honestly, you have to watch a terrible film like 'Waco' to realize what a work of genius the truly classic westerns ('Stagecoach', 'McClintock', 'The Searchers', etc., etc.) really are. They're a miracle of filmmaking. But 'Waco'...My God, what a disaster. How could a movie with such a cast be so bad? Howard Keel's haircut is...well, it's stylish, but wrong for the 1880's, I'm guessing. But this is a 1956-era Western released in 1966, so you get what you get -including a poor man's version of 'High Noon' at the end.
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mema-033843 May 2018A who's who of bad B westerns. Watchable only to see who shows up. Plot is blah, writing is tongue in cheek and acting is bearable, almost. Watch the background characters for familiar faces.
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Waco is directed by R.G. Springsteen and adapted to screenplay by Steve Fisher from the novel Emporia written by Max Lamb and Harry Sandford. It stars Howard Keel, Jane Russell, Brian Donlevy, Wendell Corey, Terry Moore and John Agar. Music is by Jimmie Haskell and cinematography by Robert Pittack.
Gunfighter Waco (Keel) is given a pardon from his jail term to go clean up the town of Emporia.
Released in 1966 but feeling like it belongs in an earlier decade, Waco is a poor Western. As most Western fans will tell you, the "B" Western has its place in the heart and can quite often bring enjoyable rewards when the mood fits, unfortunately Waco is bad film making all round. Everything about it is tired, it's like it's desperately clinging on to the glory Western days of the 50s but doesn't know how to grasp with any conviction.
Filmed in Technicolor and Techniscope, not that you will notice, from the very beginning where Lorne Greene sings a cheese sandwich theme tune, film plays out as some sort of amateur dramatics production. Keel thinks he's in a hard-boiled film noir and voices it as such, often resorting to auto-cue line reading, and Donlevy shows up after an hour looking awful and literally doing a cameo to pay for his next bottle of Rye. Russell doesn't fare much better, phoning it in and the most memorable thing about her input is her bullet brassier!
The action is poorly constructed, with the big shoot-out proving to be more along the lines of a Keystone Cops skit, Haskell's music is simply rubbish, while what interesting character threads are in the story are sadly given short shrift by the writers (for example Corey's Reverend is briefly noted to have been part of Quantrill's Raiders). There's a level of glib humour about Keel's performance that keeps it just about watchable, while his indestructible capabilities makes him come over as a Captain Scarlet of the West. But really he's never convincing as a tough mutha and that just about sums up what an out of time Oater this is. 3/10 -
georgeredding6 January 2020In this movie Keel is NOT a unloving-turned-loving Adam Ponifee nor a kind Wild Bill Hickok. Rather, he is about the meanest man anybody can find anywhere. He knows no bounds to treating people mean. Of course, in this particular movie he is the sheriff of a wild town which tries to be run by vengeful outlaws, outlaws who meet their match with him. The beautiful Jane Russell is superb as his love interest, but even she sometimes is frustrated with him. He is excellent in this role as the mean, no-nonsense marshal. A great acting feat for him. But I would hate to think for the people that knew him that he was ever this cold, hard, and mean!
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jharmil12 June 2006I think this is the best of Howards none musical films. I wish it was available to buy.He made a number of so called B westerns such as Arizona Bushwakers which I also enjoyed and Red Tomahawk. I think they were all by the same directors and producers.In Waco he plays a tough guy who has been a gunfighter and was in prison but is released to clean up a corrupt town.His ex-girlfriend now lives there with her husband but Waco doesn't know she is married until he gets there.This makes him revert to his old ways and decides to take over the town for himself.There is a shoot out with the towns bad men and the good people of the town decide to back him and help him to fight.When it is all over the girlfriends husband who is the preacher is dead. Waco intends to leave but the townspeople persuade him to stay and one assumes he gets the girl.I really like all Howards films and don't think he got the recognition he deserved.He had a beautiful voice as we all know but he could act as well.
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glump15 January 2002Waco is one of the all-time great westerns. Waco boasts an outstanding all-star cast, one of the finest ever assembled for a western film. (Look especially for fine performances from John Agar as Councilman George Gates, Wendell Corey as Preacher Stone and Anne Seymour as the irrepressible Ma Jenner!) John Smith and DeForest Kelley combine to form a convincing pair of villains!
Keel treads a fine line as he portrays the psychologically complex Waco, a man torn between his violent past, his love for a woman, and his newfound faith in God. Jane Russell is as captivating as ever. Jeff Richards is great as Kallen.
Don't forget to take note of the stirring "Ballad Of Waco" sung at the opening and during the close by Lorne Greene.
Waco is truly a feast for the western fan. Veteran Director R.G. Springsteen can carve a notch on his six gun for this one! ("Chokin' on your own stench, huh?") -
This is another obscure western that I just watched on Netflix streaming. It stars Howard Keel as Waco, a formerly jailed gunman who's pardoned by the governor and sent to Emporia to tame that town. Unfortunately for him, his former lover Jane Russell is now married to preacher Wendell Corey who was a former gunman himself. I'll stop there and just say that while the triangle that I just described makes some of this oater dramatically compelling, it's not the only exciting part of this movie. There's also the Jenner family who holds a grudge against Waco for killing one of their members and then there's DeForest Kelley who's the bouncer at the local casino who's also anxious to eliminate him. Oh, and there's also a pretty good story-song about the title character as told by Lorne Greene. So on that note, I highly recommend Waco. P.S. Not long after Kelley made this, he would soon become a Sci-Fi icon when he began playing Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on the original "Star Trek".
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searchanddestroy-16 November 2022Howard Keel has been a Broadway operette singer and dancer and a Metro Goldwyn Mayer musicals actor, and certainly not know for westerns. But after his contract with MGM, he was openly available with other kind of stuff. And I must admit that he did it pretty well, he was good looking to play a sheriff and from a more general point of view, I think he could have made non musical films for a longer period; remember him co starring John Wayne in WAR WAGON. This western made by RG Springsteen for AC LYles prod brings no surprises, as you can guess, but it is well done, taut, charming, with figures who are all familiar for westerns fans.