''Skin Game'' is a 1971 American independent

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

directed by

Paul Bogart Paul Bogart (né Bogoff; November 13, 1919 – April 15, 2012) was an American television director and producer. Bogart directed episodes of the television series Way Out'' in 1961, ''Coronet Blue'' in 1967, ''Get Smart'', '' The Dumplings'' ...

and Gordon Douglas, and starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

and

Lou Gossett Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

. The supporting cast features

Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadian actress, known for her movie roles such as ''Coogan's Bluff'' and '' Colossus: The Forbin Project'', and for her role as Katherine Papadopolis on the American television sitcom ''Web ...

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

Andrew Duggan Andrew Duggan (December 28, 1923 – May 15, 1988) was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage. Background Duggan was born in ...

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

and

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic Li ...

Plot

Quincy Drew (Garner) and Jason O'Rourke (Gossett) travel from town to town in the south of the United States during the slavery era. A flashback in the movie shows both men first met when Quincy sold Jason a horse that turned out to have been stolen from the local sheriff. They meet again in jail after pulling various con jobs and develop a con together in which Quincy claims to be a down-on-his-luck slave owner who is selling his only slave, who is Jason. Quincy gets the bidding rolling, selling Jason, and the two later meet up to split the profit. Jason was born a free man in New Jersey and is very well educated. The con is complicated by Jason being sold to a slave trader who is very savvy and intent on taking him down south to make a profit.

Cast

as Quincy Drew / Captain Nathaniel Mountjoy *

as Jason O'Rourke *

as Ginger / Miss Abigail Blodgett * Brenda Sykes as Naomi, Slave *

as Plunkett (runaway slave hunter) *

as Howard Calloway, Plantation Owner * Henry Jones as Sam Cutler, Slave Buyer In Fair Shake *

Neva Patterson Neva Louise Patterson (February 10, 1920 – December 14, 2010) was an American actress. Early years Born on a farm near Nevada, Iowa, Patterson was the daughter of mailman George Patterson and seamstress Marjorie Byers Patterson. After gradua ...

as Mrs. Claggart *

as Mr. Claggart *

George Tyne Martin Yarus (February 6, 1917 – March 7, 2008), better known by the stage name George Tyne, was an American stage and film actor and television director. He was blacklisted in the 1950s, and was indicted for contempt of Congress but subsequen ...

as Henry P. Bonner, Man Who Bought Jason In Dirty Shame *

as John Brown, Abolitionist * Pat O'Malley as William, Slave Buyer In Fair Shake *

Joel Fluellen Joel Fluellen (December 1, 1907 – February 2, 1990) was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films ''The Jackie Robinson Story'', '' Perils of the Jungle'', ''Duffy of San Quentin'', ''Sitting Bull' ...

as Uncle Abram, Head Slave At Calloway Manor *

Napoleon Whiting Napoleon Whiting (September 21, 1910, Mississippi – October 22, 1984, Los Angeles, California), was an American character actor. He played many bit parts, often uncredited, as a menial worker such as the African American butler, a stereoty ...

as Ned, Calloway Cook *

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Supporting Actress category at a ...

as Viney, Calloway Slave *

Robert Foulk Robert C. Foulk (May 5, 1908 – February 25, 1989) was an American television and film character actor who portrayed Sheriff H. Miller in the CBS series '' Lassie'' from 1958 to 1962. Early years Foulk attended the University of Pennsylva ...

as Sheriff

Production

In January 1966 Harry Keller, a producer at Universal, announced he was developing the project based on a story by Richard Alan Simmons. In March 1968 Peter Stone signed to write the script. In October 1968 Universal announced the film for the following year. In April 1969 Universal put the film on its slate for the following year. Keller would produce with Peter Stone, who wrote the script. The film did not go ahead. By September 1970 Keller announced the film would be made by James Garner's Cherokee Productions, releasing through Warner Bros with

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was born in 1922 i ...

to direct. By December Kennedy had dropped out and was replaced by Paul Bogart. In January 1971 Lou Gosset signed to co star. In March Bogart fell ill with hepatitis and Gordon Douglas took over directing for a period of filming. Stone later claimed Garner radically changed the last third of the film to give him more screentime. These changes annoyed Stone who used a pseudonym on the film. Garner called it "a funny movie if you don't mind jokes about slavery. Paul Bogart did a masterly job."

Sequel

A sequel was made three years later as a television film called '' Sidekicks'', with

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

playing Garner's role and Gossett reprising his part.

References

External links

* *
James Garner Interview on the ''Charlie Rose Show''

James Garner interview
at Archive of American Television - (c/o Google Video) - March 17, 1999 {{Gordon Douglas 1971 films Films directed by Gordon Douglas 1971 comedy films American independent films Films set in the 1850s Films directed by Paul Bogart Films scored by David Shire 1970s English-language films 1970s American films