The Klansman (1974) User Reviews (41)

An entertaining movie for reasons intentional and not

[reelreviewsandrecommendations · 6/10 · 1 September 2022]

A famous Hollywood story goes that sometime in the mid-to-late 70's, Richard Burton was at a party and got talking to Lee Marvin, whom he thought he had never met. Eventually Burton remarked that the two men should work together at some point, to which Marvin simply stated, "we have."

That Burton forgot making 'The Klansman' is unsurprising, considering his unintentionally hilarious and obviously intoxicated performance in the film. He stars as a liberal Southern landowner named Breck Stancill, who is brought into the local furore after a white girl makes allegations of assault against a black man. Marvin co-stars as the town Sherriff, Track Bascomb, who tries in vain to quell the uprising of racially motivated violence that ensues. Also, in his first credited role, OJ Simpson plays a vigilante who uses the situation to start a one-man revolt against the Ku Klux Klan.

An adaptation of the 1967 William Bradford Huie novel of the same name, the film had a troubled production history. Adaptation rights were first purchased that same year, but were then passed around for the next couple, with no projects ever getting off the ground. At one point Samuel Fuller was attached to write and direct, but that too never transpired. His screenplay was eventually rewritten by Millard Kaufman and Terence Young took over as director. Burton and Marvin were then brought in and proceeded to drink their way through the shooting process.

The finished film is a tonally confused, visually unexciting and oftentimes very funny concoction that doesn't have a lot going for it on paper. Huie's hard-hitting story about racial violence is diluted and obfuscated by camp moments like a fight scene where Burton drunkenly karate chops people, throwing many through doors. The dialogue sounds stilted and preacherly when it isn't hilariously over the top.

The movie is cheap looking, even for something billed as a work in the exploitation genre, looking like cinematographer Lloyd Ahern forgot to clean his camera lens before shooting began. As well as all that, many of the supporting actors have had their voices dubbed in post-production and it's not a subtle or decent piece of work (with the dubbing of Luciana Paluzzi being the most notably inept).

Which is not to mention Burton's performance at all. In every scene it is obvious he's four sheets to the wind and clearly has no interest in the material. Struggling with his Southern accent, he's like a poorly drawn, very funny caricature. Though reports say he was doing an equal amount of drinking, Marvin actually delivers a steady, interesting performance as the Sheriff, not once appearing intoxicated. There is much pleasure that can be drawn from watching Burton act in 'The Klansman', but none of it was intentional.

Having listed all those detractions, it may surprise you that 'The Klansman' is actually a very entertaining movie. There are moments where the themes and sequences from Huie's novel are treated with a measured hand, like the rape scene and some of the locals' ignorant conversations, as well as the finale. These are visceral, powerful and neatly directed by Young.

Burton and Marvin's characters are well drawn, with the Sherriff being one of surprising depth- again, thanks in large part to Marvin's performance. The OJ Simpson character is intriguing, even if his story is not fully explored, and the local racists- led by David Huddleston- have some great scenes that are genuinely affecting.

At the end of the day- whether they wanted it to be or not- the film is funny, and anything that makes you belly laugh in these dark times is a positive experience. 'The Klansman' is not a hard-hitting story about racial prejudice and violence in a small town, nor is it a good adaptation of William Bradford Huie's source material. It has dark elements that are well realized for the screen, and are quite difficult to watch- brutal racism is never palatable- but, overall, it's a joyride piloted by a drunken Welshman that's very entertaining.

Incredibly brave or incredibly reckless?

[barnabyrudge · 6/10 · 5 January 2003]

The Klansman could be one of two things. It is either a brave exploration of racial hatred and violence in the US Deep South. Or, it is a reckless film which is trying to generate entertainment by exploiting racial tension. I don't agree with the majority of critics who say that this film is violent and trashy rubbish.... in my eyes, it poses enough interesting questions and pushes the audience out of their comfort zone sufficiently to be a worthwhile film. I wouldn't say that it's a great, misunderstood masterpiece, but it is definitely a film that needs reappraisal.

The story is set in Atoka County, Alabama, where race relations are balanced on a knife edge. The rape of a white woman by a negro triggers off a campaign of Ku Klux Klan violence, including the castration of a black youth, which in turn leads to retaliation by black extremists such as O.J. Simpson. Thrown into the struggles are Lee Marvin (the town sherriff who knows that racism is bad but tolerates it in order to cling to a degree of order) and Richard Burton (a landowner who sympathises with blacks, but is haunted by memories of what the Klan did to his grand father).

The film contains at least one unwatchable rape scene and some tasteless dialogue. It also suffers because Burton is so clearly miscast as a southern sympathiser (his accent is dodgy and he seems disinterested in the story). However, it takes a highly chraged theme and deals with it interestingly and provocatively. The violence jolts you out of your chair and forces you to think about the two sides of the argument. The climax is memorable and leaves you feeling empty and sick, especially at the waste of life caused by the single-minded, lethal actions of racist extremists.

A decent film, then, worth seeing for yourself. The critics got this one wrong. Give it a go.

A Film So Bad I Almost Feel I Have To Justify Watching It

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 14 August 2013]

I remember watching ITV in 1981 and this film being trailed quite heavily to kickstart the station's Autumn season . In those days we only had three television stations and while THE KLANSMAN isn't blockbuster material on a par with GONE WITH THE WIND it did look quite exciting with Lee Marvin getting in to a battle with some nasty looking dudes wearing white bed sheets . For some unexplained reason it got pulled from the schedule just before broadcast never to be heard of again . Jumping forward to the internet era this film has something of a reputation of being rabidly racist and ill thought out and whatever message it is trying to send out is drowned in a explotitive sea of racist insults and violence . Not being put off by this I decided to seek it out to see if its notorious reputation is deserved . To be fair 1981 was another country where LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR was a fondly remembered situation comedy and we do live in more sensitive times . After seeing THE KLANSMAN I was slightly shocked as to why ITV bought the film or indeed how someone could make as recently as 1974 . This tells you how bad it is when viewed today in 2013

I'll defend it on the grounds it's not even intelligent enough to be classed as offensive because it's inept on every level of film making and is sometimes so bad I laughed out loud and gasped " WTF was that about " A white woman is raped and this raises racial tensions in a small Alabama town , the sort of small Alabama town that doesn't need any inciting incidents to cause racial tensions . Take this sensitive speech by the town mayor who looks like Jerry Falwell :

" I'll tell ya we're not gonna have any trouble from outside agitators , not while I'm mayor . I spoke to the grand dragon in Birmingham and he say's the Klan is gonna do nothing so we ain't gonna be bombing no churches [ Loud disappointed moans ]I'm the damn exalted Cyclops and what I mean is this none of us want a bunch of agitators , whores , punks , scum , atheists , perverts all controlled by the communists coming in here bothering our n--ggers " so I guess an excess of racism is also tied in with an excess of solecism .

By the way have I mentioned this town Mayor is relatively liberal and secular compared to most of the citizens of the county ? When the rape victim goes in to church she finds herself becoming part of the sermon as in " Get out , how can you push yourself on to good Christian folk when you have been in that n--ggers foul embraces ? " Remember this is a rape victim we're talking about whose husband has left her because of " working in the market cutting up pork chops in front of a lady who is dying to ask me what's it like having a wife who's been with a n--gger " . You do get the impression this might be a film along the lines of THE ETERNAL JEW on rednecks is directed by Malcolm X but don't worry because the main black character is played by OJ Simpson and he's as every bit as racist as the klansmen

One can perhaps understand ITV bought the film on the strength that it starred Lee Marvin and Richard Burton and thought " Oh two big names must be good " only to find out the film's content . Regardless of the content this wouldn't be a good enough reason to buy it . Marvin is merely okay but Burton ? Oh dear his performance is an all time low . It's said that he spends so many scenes either sitting down or lying down because he'd drank so much his legs had stopped working . It's not difficult to believe this as he mumbles , slurs his words and his accent moves from a Welsh brogue to an idiosyncratic accent all of its own . When Marvin and Burton characters discuss having a drink you can't help thinking there's a meta-fictional scene happening

I don't think I've ever seen a film like this before and I'm pretty firm that I won't be seeing anything like it again . It's incompetent on so many levels and yet it's one of those very , very few films that that almost lives up to the cliché as being so bad it's good . I say almost because there's nothing actually good about it but did manage to make me laugh while my jaw was on the ground and while it probably deserves 1/10 it is far funnier than BLAZING SADDLES even though that film was meant to be a comedy unlike this one

Nowhere near as bad as some people claim! Muddled, but still watchable.

[Infofreak · 12 April 2003]

I'd heard a lot ABOUT 'The Klansman' but had never seen it before, and hearing the behind the scenes stories (original director an co-writer Sam Fuller walking off set, stars Lee Marvin and Richard Burton both being allegedly so drunk they couldn't remember making it!) I imagined that it was going to be one of the worst movies ever made. It isn't. Now it isn't all that good, mind you, but it's watchable b-grade trash, and Marvin puts in a good performance, drunk or not. Burton's accent is I agree not too good but he is okay, especially if he like Marvin was as drunk as they say he was. The rest of the cast includes the notorious O.J. Simpson as a one man black revolutionary with a gun and an attitude, 'The Big Lebowski's David Huddleston is a racist mayor, and legendary character actor Cameron Mitchell ('Hombre', 'Ride In The Whirlwind', 'The Rebel Rousers',etc.) as the wonderfully named Butt Butt Cates, the later two both being members of the KKK. Linda Evans also appears as a rape victim who sets off a chain of events which end off in violence and tragedy. The main problem with the movie, and this is most likely because of the drama off camera, is that the movie can't decide whether it's trying to be a serious message movie or an exploitation film using racism as an excuse for some sensationalistic thrills. 'Mandingo' made the following year (and its sequel 'Drum') managed to juggle both approaches with a little more success, but 'The Klansman' suffers for its lack of a clear direction. Even so, this movie is nowhere near as bad as many people claim (people who I imagine have never actually WATCHED it) and is still reasonably entertaining, especially if , like 'Reservoir Dogs' Mr Blonde, you are a big Lee Marvin fan.

Star-studded soap opera about racial tensions in Alabama in the early 70s

[Wuchakk · 3/10 · 3 September 2016]

Released in 1974 and directed by Terence Young, "The Klansman" is a melodrama with thrills starring Lee Marvin as a sheriff in a small town in northern Alabama trying to keep the lid on racial tensions after a black man rapes a white woman (Linda Evans). Richard Burton co-stars as Breck, an alcoholic who sympathizes with the black community while opposing the local Klan, which is made up of whites in prominent positions, like the unprofessional deputy (Cameron Mitchell) and the rotund mayor (David Huddleston). Lola Falana plays Breck's black spiritual daughter while OJ Simpson (in his first role) plays a vengeful man turning to radical measures to fight the racism. Italian beauty Luciana Paluzzi (from 1965's "Thunderball") is on hand as the Sheriff's assistant at the station, although her lines are dubbed by Joanna Moore.

With such a noteworthy cast and a tried-and-true director (who impressively shot the first three Bond films) "The Klansman" should be superlative, but it's not. The plot is great (based on William Bradford Huie's novel), but the screenplay is horribly melodramatic, sometimes to the point of being laughable, like the dreadful (and thoroughly unbelievable) church sequence. The movie comes across as a late-night TV soap opera with edge. I'm assuming that most of the $5 million budget went toward cast & crew wages because the script needed a LOT of kinks worked out, which isn't helped by amateur editing that's often abrupt and awkward. Take, for instance, the fight at the bus station; it has to be seen to be believed. "The Klansman" is an obvious exploitation piece, as these type of films were the ones getting revenue during this low point in Hollywood after bloated-budget films sank a lot of the major studios.

Lee Marvin is solid as the protagonist, easily carrying the movie, and Burton still has his charisma, but both were plagued by personal troubles at the time and allegedly drinking heavily. Richard was constantly fighting with Elizabeth Taylor during the shooting, reportedly over Burton's flirtations or affair with a young waitress or an older married woman. There were shouting matches and items flew through the air at their rented house, leading to the destruction of the interior. The crew stayed in a local motel where one full room was filled with cases of alcohol from floor to ceiling. While Marvin and Burton were professionals and always showed up on time the latter clearly slurred lines at times and had to be filmed in a reclining or sitting position to pull off his scenes. Burton was 48 during filming but easily looked a dozen years older.

Despite all these negatives, "The Klansman" IS entertaining as a what-were-they-thinking period piece. Speaking of which, look for Evans' camel toe sequence at the bus station (I don't mean to be crude, but – like I said – what were they thinking). If you choose to watch this movie, whatever you do, DON'T expect "Mississippi Burning."

The film runs 112 minutes (104 minutes cut) and was shot in Oroville, California, 75 miles north of Sacramento.

GRADE: Borderline C-/D+ (3.5/10 Stars)

Very rough and raw racial drama.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 17 April 2017]

Lee Marvin is well cast and Richard Burton amusingly MIS-cast in this adaptation of the William Bradford Huie novel. Marvin plays "Track" Bascomb, an Alabama lawman who tries to keep the peace during a period of unrest. Soon a civil rights demonstration will be coming to his town, and the local foaming at the mouth racists will have none of it. Burton plays Breck Stancill, a liberal minded landowner incensed at the activities of Klan members such as Tracks' own deputy sheriff Butt Cutt Cates (Cameron Mitchell). Yes, Butt Cutt is his actual character name.

Although both Marvin and Burton were apparently drinking heavily during production, Marvin comes off a lot better. You see that it can't help but affect Burtons' mopey performance, and any attempts that the actor makes at a Southern accent. Much of the cast does creditable work. David Huddleston is the pompous mayor, Linda Evans a resident who is unfortunately raped within the first quarter hour, Lola Falana a young lady whom Breck took under his wing, and Luciana Paluzzi a civil servant. Other familiar faces like David Ladd, Hoke Howell, Lee de Broux, Jeannie Bell, and Virgil Frye turn up. We also have none other than O.J. Simpson as a black man driven to take matters into his own hands.

Samuel Fuller was the original director, and retains a screen writing credit; he left the project early on. The filmmaker in whose hands this ended up was Terence Young, of such James Bond adventures as "From Russia with Love" and "Thunderball".

This ultra trashy melodrama establishes a certain tone within the first few minutes, and therefore some viewers will find it pretty hard to stomach. It's pretty violent, and tends to discard such things as good taste. But if this sort of approach intrigues you rather than turns you off, you'll find that this IS rather potent and visceral entertainment. If you're anything like this viewer, you can't help but cheer every time a particularly odious character gets what they deserve.

On location shooting in Oroville, California, and a good music score by Stu Gardner & Dale O. Warren definitely help matters. That opening song, "The Good Christian People", is a corker.

The scene of Burton effortlessly manhandling Mitchell is a comic highlight, even if it wasn't intended to be that way.

Seven out of 10.

"I Am The Grand Exalted Cyclops"

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 11 April 2007]

There is a lot of opinion out there that The Klansman belongs on the list of fifty worst films of all time. It's pretty bad, but I've seen far worse.

Putting it in its proper context, The Klansman is set in the years right after the Voting Rights Act has been in force for a while. It's not lost on any of the people of this unnamed Alabama county that there is a black majority out there who if they start voting now, a lot of the power structure will be radically changed. It's the underpinning of the reason the Ku Klux Klan exists. That David Huddleston is also mayor of the town and Grand Exalted Cyclops of the local KKK chapter is a very typical Alabama story for generations.

Lee Marvin is the local sheriff and as he conceives his duty it's also to protect the good name of the town and keep the peace. Bringing criminals to justice is second place in his thinking as you'll see by his actions. Richard Burton is a local landowner whose family has long been opposed to the ways of the area, his great grandfather in fact was a judge who was hung for opposing secession before the Civil War. He has a bunch of elderly blacks he keeps on as rent free tenants which has a certain element of the town worked up.

Anyway both their efforts come to naught as there is one bloody showdown in the end.

The Klansman falls back on a lot of stereotypes, racial and otherwise, in the film. It also has a very muddled message in the end, you'll wind up scratching your head as to what all of it really means.

It also in my knowledge has the only rape scene in the history of film that you might wind up laughing at. Cameron Mitchell is Marvin's deputy and a loyal Klansman. At one point under cover of his badge he arrests Lola Falana and takes her to a warehouse where he rapes her with the rest of the white sheet boys standing around gawking. It's staged so stupidly you might actually wind up laughing. That and the fact that who could take Mitchell's character so seriously with a name like Butt Cutt Bates.

Life did imitate art however. O.J. Simpson is in this and he's a black avenger after Klansmen capture and kill a friend of his. He goes around executing the hooded swine. But we well know what happened with O.J. in real life.

Samuel Fuller pulled out of directing after changes in his script were made and Lee Marvin wanted to pull out, but couldn't because he'd signed a contract. Richard Burton was doing just about anything at this point, he just sort of saunters through the film with a very cheesy southern accent.

Pass this one by folks, pass it by.

Good, bu,t, could have done without

[Delrvich · 6/10 · 5 April 2020]

A lot of the "preachy" dialogue. Were it not for the violence, nudity, adult situations, and some dialogue, this maybe could have passed for an after school movie.

Inferior production about racism with lots of violence, rape and unpleasant issues

[ma-cortes · 4/10 · 13 August 2009]

Hard-edge social drama centers around racial conflicts and is one of the most strange cinematic forays in this theme. The film begins with a bill captioning : ¨Drive carefully you are in Wallace County¨. This is the tale of a sheriff (Lee Marvin) in an US Southern town and a rich owner (Richard Burton) who protects the black men. Marvin receives a huge amount of hostility from the non-tolerant white establishment making his job very hard and every around has to decide the values really lie. The Ku Klux Klan (comes from Greek, Ku Klus that means band or circle and Klan that means family) pursues and mistreats the black people and the sheriff attempting to keep peace on racial tensions. When a young woman has been violently raped (Linda Evans), the white men immediately declare the culpability an African-American named Garth (O.J.Simson). He flees to the backwoods and wishes revenge. Meanwhile the Klansmen form some lynching party hunts and pursue him. The young on the run because the violent group seek to destroy him. But the racist posse kidnaps a beautiful African-American (Lola Falana) and rape her.

This is a horrifying story of racial violence and xenophobia with countless shots of violation , burning crosses and frequent bad taste. Unfortunately, this is another example of a serious movie about xenophobia and racism in which white roles predominate and African-American characters provide background. Terence Young treads a brutal, gory path in this low-powered look at warped , evil white inhabitants of an American town , and the comparatively clean role played by Richard Burton. Big-name cast is wasted as Cameron Mitchell,Linda Evans, Luciana Paluzzi, David Huddleston as the Mayor, they only partially shine. Rumors circulated about Lee Marvin and Richard Burton , both of whom utterly drunk during the shooting. Even the all star cast can't save this movie because is a nightime Soaper and an exploitation story. Lousy cinematography by Lloyd Ahern and Aldo Tonti, as is necessary an urgent remastering. Furthermore notorious conflicts among producers, director, screenwriters (Sam Fuller, Millard Kauffman) and actors made a real flop. Mid-budget production, and the producers would like to thank the citizens of Oroville for their enthusiastic help and cooperation in the making of the film. The picture belongs a period in which made stories is similar style concerning on racial problems , such as ¨Hurry Sundown¨(1967, by Otto Preminger with Michael Caine, John Philip Law, Jane Fonda), ¨The liberation of L.B. Jones¨(70, by William Wyler with Lee J Cobb, Roscoe Lee Browne and again Lola Falana), ¨Tick, Tick¨ (70 by Ralph Nelson with George Kennedy, Jim Brown), and the Oscarized ¨In the heat of the night¨(by Norman Jewison with Sidney Poitier). And in the 8os stands out ¨Missisipi Burning¨ (by Alan Parker with Willem Defoe and Gene Hackman). Rating : 4,5, below average.

Flawed but Fairly Entertaining All the Same

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 3 January 2022]

This film takes place in a small town in Alabama during a time of racial strife and injustice. Essentially, every year a group of civil rights activists come down from the North to protest against the discrimination of blacks in order to improve their living conditions and increase voting registration. Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with those in power and quite often racial tensions and violence directed by the Ku Klux Klan is often the result. To that effect, when a white woman by the name of "Nancy Poteet" (Linda Evans) is violently raped by a black man, even the extremely pragmatic sheriff "Track Bascomb" (Lee Marvin) has difficulty in restoring the peace. Now, from what I understand, there are two versions of this movie with one lasting about 112 minutes while the other one is about 150 minutes or so. Having seen both I believe the longer-and much more graphic-version is the better of the two simply because the shorter version appears somewhat overly-edited. But even then, there were several other weaknesses which were still quite obvious to include the acting of Richard Burton (as "Breck Stancill") who performed in a rather lackluster manner throughout. Likewise, I thought having Luciana Paluzzi ("Trixie") perform in a role that required a deep Southern accent was also quite strange and as soon as she spoke, I realized her voice had been dubbed over. Be that as it may, having lived in the South during this particular time, I understood some of the dynamics behind this story and for that reason I could probably appreciate this movie better than some. That being said, while I certainly understand any negative criticisms-especially in regard to the highly-edited condensed version-I thought that this was a fairly good film despite the flaws just mentioned and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Silly TV movie of the week on the big screen is unintentionally funny

[dbborroughs · 3/10 · 26 July 2009]

Infamous film starring Richard Burton and Lee Marvin about the rape of a white woman in small southern town. Its decided that the person responsible is a black man played by OJ Simpson. They go after him with an unbridled zeal while Richard Burton (with a bum leg that comes and goes depending upon the shot) and Lee Marvin try to keep the peace. This film came to my attention in one of the Medved's worst film anthologies. I don't know if I would consider it a worst film of all time, however I will say that its one of the most wrong headed. Its the sort of message movie that Hollywood did in the 1960's and which deteriorated quickly into movie of the week on TV. This is a movie of the week with an "A" movie cast. I think this might have worked but the cast doesn't work on any level. Its often as simply as the wrong casting of Welshman Richard Burton as a Southerner. At other times its incredibly silly as it tries to sell us on the evils of racism with David Huddleston as the Mayor of the town and lead Klansman a role that he played for laughs as Olson Johnson in Blazing Saddles the same year (and elsewhere any other times). I admire the film trying to take on an evil straight on but its just all wrong. Its a turkey, yes but not one of the worst films of all time.

The truth about Ku Klux Klan masked in fiction.

[clanciai · 9/10 · 10 February 2018]

Terence Young is an efficient director and storyteller who never dramatizes his films, like as if he assumes they are dramatic enough by themselves for their mere stories. This film is full of rapes, sensational and spectacular murders and even a massacre, but it never follows all these extremely dramatic occurrences through but leaves them sort of unfinished. But the direction is skilful to say the least. Actors like Richard Burton, Lee Marvin, O.J.Simpson, Cameron Mitchell and others don't get the chance to play out their roles for the speed and efficiency of the story, although they all make great characters and act splendidly. It's an awesome story with many critical turns to it, and although the quality of the film approaches level B the film should be remembered and discussed for its story, like a testimony of the true nature of the klan. It's not a beautiful fairy tale but rather grim reality all the way, although it pretends to be fiction. It reminds you of other revolting films from the south, like Arthur Penn's "The Chase" with Marlon Brando and "In the Heat of the Night" with Rod Steiger/Sidney Poitier, but this is much more to the point. It shows and explains racism in a way that makes it impossible for any racist to remain so after having seen this minor but important film.

Lousy waste of a good cast

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 13 August 2016]

I sat down ready to enjoy THE KLANSMAN from looking at the cast list alone. Here was a racial drama featuring acting fave Lee Marvin as a hard-as-nails sheriff combating prejudice in a small Southern town; Richard Burton was on hand playing a crippled loner with Italian beauty Luciana Paluzzi on his arm; Cameron Mitchell was to pop up as a boo-nasty redneck and even clean-cut (at least in those days) O. J. Simpson was putting in an appearance as a vengeful killer. When you combine that cast with ex-Bond director Terence Young, what could go wrong?

It was the script that did this film in. It's boring and predictable. The characters are all stereotypes and the film has absolutely nothing to say about the racial situation in America, other than playing out some predictable showdowns and encounters. The middle section is exceptionally slow, consisting of nothing more than characters chatting while the plot just dawdles along. There seems to be little skill or effort behind this low budget production, and it's fair to say that nobody is on top form, especially the drunken leading stars. There are, however, a few so-bad-it's-good moments, including the hilarious fist fight between Burton and Mitchell. One thing I did like was the epic shoot-out at the climax; although it's predictable, it's handled with some finesse, and it looks like this was where the money went. The print I saw was lousy, full frame and heavily censored. I might find and watch a proper version one day – that is, if I can be bothered

Be Sure to Watch the Uncut Version

[Michael_Elliott · 11 March 2008]

Klansman (1974)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Sheriff Bascomb (Lee Marvin) tries to keep a small Alabama town calm after a white woman is raped by a black man just days before a group is coming to town to get blacks out to vote. The local Klan doesn't take too kindly to outsiders coming in and much of their hatred goes to Breck (Richard Burton), a man who lives in the mountains and wants peace between the races.

Throughout the 70s there were all sorts of Southern pictures that took pride in their redneck factor. A lot of films dealt with racism and other issues but what's rare and somewhat shocking about KLANSMAN is the fact that it got released by a major company (Paramount), featured two legendary actors and was produced by a black company. KLANSMAN isn't a very good movie as it is certainly flawed but at the same time it does have some entertainment value to it and there's no question that something like it wouldn't be released today.

The cast is certainly the most attractive thing to the picture when viewed today. I mean, you've got Oscar-winner Lee Marvin battling the Klan. Burton, considered one of the greatest actors in history, appearing in a rather strange role. Legend has it that years after this film Marvin and Burton were introduced and neither one remembered meeting each other even though they had worked on this film together! You've also got Cameron Mitchell as a dirty and evil Klan member, David Huddleston, Linda Evans and then there's O.J. Simpson playing a man who decides to kill as many of the Klan members as possible.

The story itself here, co-written by Samuel Fuller, is a mixed bag. I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on here but I can't say that it makes for a complete story. Bits and pieces just seem to enter and leave the movie without much thought and the actions of Marvin are often confusing to say the least. The film is certainly very uneven but this is probably due to the studio changing the screenplay at the last minute. Technically speaking the film is well-made and perfectly fits that drive-in era vibe.

KLANSMAN isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie but it's an entertaining film. Just be sure you watch the original theatrical cut, which runs 111-minutes and carries a R-rating for the violence, nudity and language. I've seen the TV cut, which runs 11-minutes shorter and has all the bad stuff edited out and the theatrical version is certainly better.

Insidiously enjoyable

[dahmers_beeatch · 5/10 · 6 February 2001]

I must confess a certain amount of guilt in enjoying this movie. It bumbles along at a shockingly easy-to-watch pace and stops well short of making any intelligent moral statement condeming racial prejudice (the dilema inherent in the Sheriff character was an exception). Normally the type to turn this kind of film off I found the way in which it used such serious themes as an excuse to unashamedly descend into an action thriller worryingly entertaining. At times you kind of got the feeling the screenplay writers had scripted a plot and strenuously tried to fit serious racial points around them. At times the violence became good guy/bad guy driven just like that in Dr. No, also directed by Young.

Perhaps this is the genius of the movie - making a profound statement as to the way cinema tends to illicit an emotive response from the viewing public by making entertainment out of serious issues. Somehow I think not.

Unbelievable and grotesque.

[winner55 · 1/10 · 28 February 2009]

What was director Young (Dr. No) thinking of taking on this project?! This is every bit as bad as I've heard. To begin with, there's the script, certainly among the worst ever written. Then there's the acting, very stereotypical of its day, except with the stars, Marvin and Burton, who clearly have no idea what they are doing here and don't really care. Then there's the anachronisms - the script belongs to the '60s, it's 5 years out of date. Then of course the morality - while the Klan is rightly to be condemned, can a black murderer be justified? Can he just be asked to leave the county as the sheriff does here? Ridiculous. And then there's the "action" climax - confusing and improbable.

Was Young high when he did this? I can't think of any other excuse.

Bad when not just awful.

Yet, were they groggy?

[Cristi_Ciopron · 5/10 · 9 March 2010]

It's odd to think that Burton was still in his 40s when he made this movie; a piece of sleazy 'social awareness', arguably in the vein of the Eurothrillers, THE KLANSMAN boasts a cast numbering Burton, Marvin, Mitchell, Lola Falana, Luciana Paluzzi, Mrs. Evans …. And Young at the helm …--after a few movies with Bronson ….

So call it _blaxploitation if you wish …--it's nonetheless _blaxploitation directed by Young (the 'James Bond' director) and performed by Burton and Luciana Paluzzi among others ….

Luciana Paluzzi was a Bond actress (playing Fiona Volpe); she was also one of the Femmine _insaziabili .

Inept, ugly, and implausible

[brower8 · 1/10 · 7 June 2004]

Putrid, slow-moving, incompetent flick about fictional Klan activity in polarized rural Alabama. The community is in a time warp in which people haven't figured out that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 isn't in effect. Hello, there!

All of the characters have nearly no redeeming value and are cardboard stereotypes, so it's easy to understand why the Klan can be active in such a miserable place.

One star out of ten for this mess, and only because I can't give worse.

Great action film!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 5 April 2005]

The Klansman is a great movie with a good cast including Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, Cameron Mitchell, O.J. Simpson, Lola Falana, David Huddleston, Luciana Paluzzi, Linda Evans, Ed Call John Alderson, John Pearce, David Ladd, Vic Perrin, Spence Wil-Dee! The acting by all of these actors are very good. There are many great scenes in the film and all of the scenes are filmed really well! Some of the scenes I like are when the KKK make their appearances and those are really excellent scenes! When the KKK are battling is something else and it was filmed remarkably well! The action is awesome! The music is very good. Really this is a fantastic film and in My opinion the actors and actresses have some of their greatest performances in this film! If you like any of the actors and actresses I mentioned above and if you like the movie To Kill a Mockingbird (that stars Gregory Peck) then I strongly recommend The Klansman!

Just look around and see if anybody is still alive!

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 19 January 2015]

****SPOILERS**** Things really start to heat up in Attoka County Alabama when a group of civil rights activists lead by former native Chicago's Loretta Sykes,Lola Falana,in attempting to get the blacks in town to register to vote in the upcoming election. The already explosive situation couldn't get any worse when local woman Nancy Poteet, Linda Evens, is attacked and raped in her car by an unknown and what looked like, in the dark, black masked assailant. With the local population up in arms and thirsting for blood it's up to the town sheriff former Klansman and now middle of the road, in getting the black vote, Track Bascomb, Lee Marvin, to keep the peace and prevent any more bloodshed. As things turn out local angry black man Garth, O.J Simpson,has other ideas and starts a one man war against the Klan polarizing the white and black population in town even farther.

In all this violence there's Attoka's royal blooded, his family goes back eight generations, and only white liberal Breck Stancill, Richard Burton, who's really pushing the envelope in allowing local backs to live on his property rent free who's live in girlfriend just happens to be the just assaulted Nancy Poteet. With the voter march about to start Garth takes out, with a sniper rifle, one of the local Klansman that has the rest of the Klan in retaliation kidnap and rape Loretta making it look like a black, not Klansman, did it! Sheriff Bascomb in trying to keep the lid on all this violence and prevent it from blowing a major fuse is forced to confront the entire Klan, that he was once a member of, from burning the hated Stancill, in being against his liberal views, house down together with him and all the black homeless persons living there!

****SPOILERS**** Flaming final with Sheriff Bascomb together with Stancill holding off scores of Klansman who are attacking Stancill's home or better yet bunker who's bulky Klan outfits and hoods covering their eyes make them easy targets. Despite doing everything possible to prevent it there's nothing that Sheriff Bascomb could do to keep the Klan on a leash or in line that by the end of the movie had almost the entire Attoka County up in flames with him as well as Stancill and dozens of residences, black and white, never living to see the light of the next day.

P.S It was reported that both Lee Marvin and Richard Burton were so drunk during the filming of the movie that years later when they ran into each other at a party they couldn't remember being in it! In fact Richard Burton got so drunk while making the movie "The Klansman" that he was hospitalized for over a month so he can dry out and continue acting in it. Marvin seemed to be able to hold his booze or liquor far better then Burton who reportedly guzzled down as much as three bottles of vodka a day during filming. Burton was so smashed that in many scenes in the film like in the fight with Klansman Butt Cut Cates, Cameron Mitchell, was having great difficulty or even unable to stand on his feet and had to be filmed most of the time either laying in bed of sitting on a couch!

I can't believe a TV cut exists (?)

[mlrobinson · 16 September 2004]

Mr. Mike's Couch Time Movie Review: I just watched a budget DVD version of this picture. All the curse words but not the "N" words were all edited out. This is easily the worst piece of film that Lee Marvin has ever been associated with. In fact, it's the worst piece of film HOKE HOWELL has ever been associated with! At least Howell can tell his grand-kids that Linda Evans played his wife in a movie....(Hello, get me casting....) The entire plot of the film is edited out of this version. Did they make a TV cut to capitalize on the mini-series Roots? Maybe that explains this. I can't believe that an airline movie print exists either of this monstrosity.

Lots of familiar faces for stereotyped celluloid of the Old South: Cameron Mitchell, David Huddleston (if you guessed the corrupt Mayor give yourself 5 points!), Howell. But some of the oddest casting ever: Richard Burton co-stars with Marvin, as a left-leaning liberal, peace-loving friend to all races (at least all the women of all the races.) Early on, he's in the sack with Luciana, the local policewoman. There's an implied relationship (this is 1974) with Lola Falana. And after (unbelievably) trying to persuade a hippie clergyman to seduce the recently raped Linda Evans (?), Burton has to dirty his hands with this one too. I mention Falana. She's very good in this movie. As is (drumroll) OJ Simpson, Simpson plays (in this version) just a guy whose fed up with the Klan. Maybe in the complete version, it's Simpson who turns out to be the undercover FBI agent, since Marvin, the Sheriff, repeatedly catches Simpson only to let him go. Who knows? Who cares. The soundtrack is not to be missed either (insert sarcasm here) Memorable scenes: the Klan funeral interrupted by sniper fire, a high-speed herse chase, and 2 car explosions. Then there's the comedic (?) fight scene between Mitchell and Richard Burton and Richard Burton's stand-in.

I just love bad film making. And this didn't disappoint. The Klansman gets 3 potatoes one for Richard Burton's stand-in, one for Richard Burton's on-again, off-again southern (?) accent, one for Richard Burton's on-again, off-again limp

"I feel like we're all sitting on a keg of dynamite...waiting for it to go off."

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 21 September 2017]

Outrageous, awful, astonishing...words fail to adequately to describe this big-budget picture distributed by a major Hollywood studio in 1974. On the eve of a "We Shall Overcome" demonstration of black people in the southern county of Atoka, a black man rapes a white woman stranded on the road (her husband later complains to the sheriff, "Why did this have to happen to me?"). This sets off members of the Ku Klux Klan against sheriff Lee Marvin, who wants to keep the peace but also placate the racists (he needs their votes come election time!). Richard Burton plays a southern aristocrat who befriends black rape victim Lola Falana, who was attacked by the white deputy; meanwhile white rape victim Linda Evans is shunned by the rest of the town for fornicating with a black man--they even kick her out of the church. Adaptation by William Bradford Huie's novel by Millard Kaufman and Samuel Fuller was extensively reworked during production, to the point where Marvin's character has become so benign he hardly makes any sense. Both he and Burton look sheepish just being in an exploitive movie like this, although for his part Burton was reportedly drunk throughout the filming. *1/2 from ****

Despite the obvious ..........................

[merklekranz · 2/10 · 22 August 2011]

Despite the obvious political incorrectness, the movie bombs in many other ways. Parts of the script appear to have been written at various times, with absolutely no sense of scenes relating to each other. While Lee Marvin has played the gruff sheriff role enough times to walk through his lines, Richard Burton stumbles and bumbles between Southern and British accents throughout. O.J. Simpson hides in trees and snipes at anything in a white robe and hood. Linda Evans, Lola Falana, and Cameron Mitchell, round out the embarrassed looking cast. What you are left with are racial stereotypes on parade, in a truly forgettable film. - MERK

brutal drama about racism in the american south

[Bellhardtson · 5/10 · 23 February 2002]

seems to be very realistic, in fact sometimes it's hard to watch the movie, because it's full of violence (opens up with a huge group of men raping a woman, then another rape and a castration of a black boy) nevertheless, i think the director wanted to use the brutality to draw realistic picture of racism. a trash-movie anyway

It's the system

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 31 December 2020]

A group of folks from Chicago attempting to register black people to vote come to a small town in Alabama run by the Klan. Things get out of hand and folks get killed.

I watched the edited version minus the rape and castration scene. The also took out the swearing but left in the "N" word. Lee Marvin plays a sheriff attempting to keep a powder keg from exploding. OJ Simpson plays a killer of white people. I actually cheered his character until he opened his mouth. Richard Burton plays an early prototype of the super hero special ops war veteran. The situation seemed a bit over the top. The Staple Singers supplied some whack-a-da tunes.