MARIO GAUCI One of the more memorable sequences in MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973) features a major supporting character meeting her doom while at a movie screening preceded by the trailer for GONE WITH THE WEST; by sheer coincidence, within the same week I rented the former on DVD, I also came across the latter – having rented this particular budget-priced Western collection primarily because it also included THE JACKALS (1967), a remake of William A. Wellman's YELLOW SKY (1948) which I intend to revisit presently in tribute to its recently deceased co-star, Richard Widmark! The footage seen in MESSIAH OF EVIL – of a mean-looking gunslinger played by Sammy Davis Jr.(!) – promised a fun movie but, even if his cameo did prove to be its brightest spot, having now had the misfortune to sit through the damn thing in its entirety, it's perfectly clear now that the trailer had been inserted only because GONE WITH THE WEST was an as-yet unreleased debacle which needed all the exposure it could get! This truly lamentable attempt at a Western spoof was evidently shot prior to James Caan attaining stardom with THE GODFATHER (1972) and, although he does manage a couple of decent bits, he is a long, long way from his scene-stealing turn as Mississippi in Howard Hawks' EL DORADO (1966). Despite some surprising nudity by both of them, Stefanie Powers is simply terrible as an all-Spanish-speaking Indian girl(!) and Barbara Werle fares no better as Aldo Ray's nymphomaniac wife. Ray himself is embarrassing as a grizzled cowboy and Robert Walker Jr. barely registers at all in the role of an ineffectual sheriff. Even less rewarding is seeing Hollywood veteran Heather Angel as a loony old woman – who is actually an elderly version of the same character played by Powers; not that it matters much but the film opens in a modern-day setting and the bulk of the narrative is made up of Angel's reminiscences (by which time, it seems, she had learned to muster the English language).Retitling the film to LITTLE MOON AND JUD McGRAW (which is the name sported by the print I watched) only served to jettison the puerile original but did zilch to mask the film's glaringly rampant deficiencies (particularly those of an editorial nature). Director Bernard Girard may have been behind a couple of interesting movies prior to this one – the James Coburn caper, DEAD HEAT ON A MERRY-GO-ROUND (1966) and the Christopher Walken psychological outing, THE MIND SNATCHERS (1972) – but it's no surprise at all that GONE WITH THE WEST sealed his fate in filmdom forever. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the worst movies of the Seventies but, arguably, I'd even go so far as to name it the worst Western I ever laid eyes on!

philjac2002 The only way someone could think this movie was not sensational is if their sense of humor was highly uncultivated or if they were just extremely immature. The asides make it clear this movie was made just for laughs. The characters names, the costumes, and the starring roles of such Hollywood heavyweights as James Caan, Stephanie Powers and Sammy Davis Jr. especially made this film hilarious on almost the same level as Blazing Saddles. My roommate and I pride ourselves in having a refined sense of taste and we enjoyed this film thoroughly. And we didn't even have to be intoxicated to laugh uproariously throughout the entire film. The last scene in which Stephanie powers remarks to James Caan that the only person he didn't kill was the camera man was the icing on the cake.

aimless-46 Rebecca: This is so bad it's almost good.Enid: This is so bad it's gone past good and back to bad again. "Gone With the West" (a/k/a "Little Moon and Old Jug or Jud"), is a James Caan-Sammy Davis Jr. western best described as "The Rat Pack on LSD". The cast includes "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.". It is a horrible western, made even worse by the condition of the print they used to make the DVD (a 2005 release by Mill Creek Entertainment), but it does feature one of the most intense cat-fights in cinema history.Old Jug McGraw (Caan) and April Dancer are sent to the town of Black Miller by Mr. Waverly to investigate a Thrush plot led by a former Green Beret sergeant. There's opium dealers too, a lot of dogs, and a woman named Billie, who's kinda purdy. Everything gets straightened out, though I just watched the whole movie and I couldn't tell you how.

jmartine2001 Wow. What a mess. This showed a lot of promised in the beginning. Getting out of jail, James Cann goes back to his hometown, seeking revenge for the death of this wife and son. I like Cann in this movie. His strong presence is needed. Another point - I admire the female characters fighting for what they believed in. Women standing their ground for respect. During a bar brawl, I saw one gal punched a guy down in self defense! These two points really don't save the movie. Gone with the West feels incomplete. Though this movie was filmed in 1972, it wasn't released till 1975. Somewhere during production, they must have run out of money and ideas. The soundtrack is annoying, it can drive you up the wall. Though I liked seeing the familiar faces of TV veterans Robert Walker and Sammy Davis, they don't have much to do. By the way, Stefanie Power's character makes a poor comic relief. The last scene with Cann and Powers looking back at the camera is just plain odd. I purchased this DVD for a dollar, so I didn't risk much. Its just frustrating to see this film. Gone with the West could have been a decent movie if given additional thought and money, Is this western another reason why the genre went away during the 1970s?