bkoganbing It's possible that A Man Called Sledge might have been done irreparable damage on the cutting room floor. Maybe someone will demand a director's cut one day, but I seriously doubt it.James Garner decided to cash in on the spaghetti western market and in doing so brought a whole lot of Americans over to fill the cast out. Folks like Dennis Weaver, Claude Akins, John Marley. And of course we have Vic Morrow who both wrote and directed this film.Garner always gets cast as likable rogues because he's so darn good at playing them. But he has played serious and done it well in films like The Children's Hour and Hour of the Gun. He can and has broken away from his usual stereotyped part successfully. But A Man Called Sledge can't be counted as one of his successes.He's got the title role as Luther Sledge notorious outlaw with a big price on his head. After partner Tony Young gets killed in a saloon and Garner takes appropriate Eastwood style measures, he's followed from the saloon by John Marley.Marley's spent time in the nearby territorial prison and it seems as though gold shipments are put under lock and key there on a rest stop for the folks transporting the stuff on a regular run. Garner gets his gang together for a heist.Here's where the movie goes totally off the wall. Usually heist films show the protagonists going into a lot of methodical planning. Certainly that was the case in The War Wagon which some other reviewer cited. But in this one Garner decides to break into the prison as a prisoner of fake US Marshal Dennis Weaver and cause a jailbreak at which time the gold will be robbed. That was just too much to swallow. If taking the gold was this easy it should have been done a long time before. But I will say for those who like the blood and guts of Italian westerns, during that prison break there's enough there for three movies.That's not the whole thing, of course the outlaws fall out and we have another gore fest before the film ends. But by that time the whole film has lost a lot of coherency.The great movie singer of the Thirties Allan Jones is listed in the credits. But for the life of me I can't find him in the film. Maybe a chorus of the Donkey Serenade might have made this better.Couldn't have hurt any.

marc-366 I must confess to "umming and ahhing" a fair bit as to whether I really wanted to see this film. I've got nothing against James Garner, but he just didn't say "spaghetti western protagonist" to me. He doesn't have that certain "kill" look in his eye (think Eastwood, Nero, Gemma, Steffen et el). However, having always respected Howard Hughes' "Essentials" book, this was one of the few films that he had covered so far that I had not seen - and his recommendations had generally not disappointed. I am really glad that I did dispel these initial reservations, because Man Called Sledge makes great viewing from beginning to end.Luther Sledge (Garner) is introduced to us as he enters a bar with one of his cohorts. Leaving his colleague to participate in an ill-fated card game, Sledge reunites himself with his lover Ria (Laura Antonelli). After a night of passion (lucky man!) he is woken by the sound of a gunshot. He returns to the bar to find his partner dead, and forced to defend himself against the killers. An old timer witness (John Marley) confirms that Sledge has merely defended himself.Sledge and the old timer soon cross paths again, with the former assuming that he is being tracked due to the price on his head. However, it soon transpires that the old man has been spying on a delivery of gold. This gold is transported by a posse of armed guards and stored in a top security prison overnight. The old man recounts how he spent time in the jail, with his cell sitting side by side to the safe.The lure of the gold is too much for Sledge, and he is soon devising a scheme to get his hands on the horde and allow him to settle down and lead an honest life with Ria. And what better way to get access to the treasure than to find ones self imprisoned in the jail......A simple yet highly enjoyable idea for a story, with double crossing aplenty and a cracking soundtrack. If truth be told, I am still not completely sold on Messrs Garner and Weaver in the spaghetti genre, but the film itself more than makes up for such minor grumbles. There are some great scenes, with Sledge's wilful imprisonment (with some very shady characters forming his prison mates) a particular highlight.Highlighly recommended, and grasping at a possible "must view" berth.

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

mrcleangarrett If you have read my profile I am a huge fan of Spaghetti Westerns, Film Noir, and Italian Giallo..this film has a mixture of all 3....in many ways this film does not look like a Spaghetti Western, almost like the recent film Open Range about average cowpokes who are very human and have to get by the best they can....Soundwise it is a very Spaghetti i.e. the high-pitched carbine sounds of the weapons and in an Italian Western it could be anything from a Derringer, rifle or Gatling Gun or even a small cannon, but that is what gives the Spaghetti Western its own identity, like bad effects are novel for a Godzilla film....anyway the storyline is very nourish especially James Garner who is quite excellent in this atypical role of a ruthless and merciless outlaw.....The Giallo comes in at 2 points, the creepy and ghoulish way one of his men ride thru town sacrificing his life shooting from his horse a la EL CID...and all 3 of the genres in the latter 3rd of the film.....the score by Gianni Ferrio is quite moody and hip for its day, today it is a little dated, but hey I like dated, again it gives it an identity...I am very proud to own the film finally on DVD in its original widescreen format of 2:40 to 1 ratio....and I enjoy anything that Dino De Laurentiis has produced, from Ulysses 1954 to most recently RED DRAGON with Anthony Hopkins...if you are a Italian Western buff I highly recommend this film..p.s. this film was shot in English but as most Italian productions most of the audio is Post Production, that explains why actors like Tony Young was evidently not available for post ADR and they had to re-voice it with another actor....