''A Man Called Sledge'' is a 1970 Italian Spaghetti Western film 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 (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

in an extremely offbeat role as a grimly evil thief, and featuring

Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weave ...

, Claude Akins and

Wayde Preston Wayde Preston (born William Erksine Strange; September 10, 1929 – February 6, 1992) was an American actor cast from 1957 to 1960 in the lead role in 67 episodes of the ABC/ Warner Bros. Western television series, '' Colt .45''. Background ...

. The film was written by

Vic Morrow Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series '' Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstand ...

and Frank Kowalski, and directed by Morrow in

Techniscope Techniscope or 2-perf is a 35 mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1960. The Techniscope format uses a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame us ...

. Garner wrote in his memoirs that this movie was "one of the few times I've played a heavy and one of the last. I wish I could remember why I let Dino de Laurentiis talk me into this turkey. The poster says "Not suitable for children." It should say "not suitable for consumption."

Plot

Luther Sledge (Garner), a wanted outlaw, is visiting his prostitute girlfriend, Ria (Antonelli), when one of his gang is shot over a poker game. Sledge kills the murderers, and is recognized by an old man (Marley), who follows him. Sledge waylays the old man, who then relates a tale of a periodic gold shipment that is heavily guarded by forty riders, but stops at a prison where the old man was incarcerated for years. Sledge assembles his regular gang (including Joyce, Bice, Gutherie, Beetle, Kehoe and Hooker), they investigate the story, and equip themselves for the endeavor. The local sheriff (Preston) recognizes the old man from the prison, causing a shootout, and Sledge and his gang flee. The gang begins observing the gold guards and testing their defenses. Seeing how difficult it is to approach, the gang decides to get into the prison, turn the prisoners loose, and steal the gold in the ensuing havoc. Sledge is taken to the prison by Ward (Weaver), who poses as a US Marshal needing to lock up his prisoner for the night. The warden (Garrone) is reluctant to incarcerate Sledge because he thinks it is the sheriff's business, but the sheriff arrives and attacks Sledge for killing a deputy earlier, convincing the warden to allow them to stay in a cell for the night. Later, Sledge, Ward, and nearby prisoners overpower the warden, killing him in the process. Taking his keys, they free the remaining prisoners, who begin to take over the rest of the prison. Sledge's gang dynamites the prison gate, creating enough noise to be heard in town, and the gold guards head to the prison. The gold is held in a safe in a cell, but only the warden knew the combination. Sledge locks the old man up in his former cell, adjoining the cell with the safe, which he heard being opened for years. By sound, the old man guides Bice (Corazzari) through opening the safe. The gold guards arrive and encounter armed, rioting prisoners and Sledge's gang. Ward is killed in the battle with the gold guards. The sheriff arrives again, and is killed in a running, horseback rifle-fight with Sledge. The gang escapes and later stop to split the gold, with Sledge taking a double share, which the old man notes aloud. A musical montage shows a myriad of poker hands in which it appears the old man wins a substantial amount of the other outlaws' gold. Playing against Joyce, the old man finds that he has been cheated with sand substituted for gold dust and kills him. Guthrie (Piani) objects to this, and angrily leaves after Sledge defends the old man's actions. Sledge then proceeds to win the old man's gold at poker, and most of everyone else's as well. Sledge leaves with his winnings despite the gang's protestations, and the old man proposes they kidnap Ria. With her, they follow Sledge to a Spanish Mission town, deserted for a local festival. Now leading the gang, the old man attempts negotiating with Sledge, while one of the others tries to ambush him. Sledge is wounded while killing the bushwhacker, Kehoe, but still refuses to bargain, so the old man reveals their kidnapping of Ria, who is then badly hurt by Bice throwing her from a high wall. A horrified Hooker vows to kill Bice when they get the gold. Hearing her screams, Sledge abandons the gold while fighting his way to Ria, who says they did not need the gold to be happy, and uses her dying breath to warn that Bice is behind him with a rifle. Sledge kills Bice, then Hooker (Akins), and wounds the escaping old man, who threatens that he has hidden the gold where it can never be found without him. Remembering Ria's words, Sledge kills the old man and rides away empty-handed as the town refills with locals.

Cast

as Luther Sledge *

as Erwin Ward * Claude Akins as Hooker *

John Marley John Marley (born Mortimer Marlieb, October 17, 1907 – May 22, 1984) was an American actor who was known for his role as Phil Cavalleri in ''Love Story'' and as Jack Woltz—the defiant film mogul who awakens to find the severed head o ...

as the "Old Man" *

Laura Antonelli Laura Antonelli ( Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991. Early years Antonelli was born Laura Antonaz in Pola, Kingdom of Italy (in Croatian, Pula), former cap ...

as Ria *

as Sheriff Ripley * Ken Clark as Banjo Playing Deputy * Tony Young as Mallory * * Herman Reynoso as Simms *

Steffen Zacharias Steffen Zacharias (April 11, 1927 – June 6, 1989) was a German-born Greek American character actor known for his roles in films and television in America and Italy. Biography Born in Germany to Greek parents, Zacharias grew up in the Unite ...

as Red Uncredited cast * Paola Barbara as Jade *

Laura Betti Laura Betti ( Trombetti; 1 May 1927 – 31 July 2004) was an Italian actress known particularly for her work with directors Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Bernardo Bertolucci. She had a long friendship with Pasolini and made a document ...

as Sister * Bruno Corazzari as Bice *

Remo De Angelis Remo De Angelis (30 July 1926 - 9 October 2014) was an Italian film actor, stunt man and painter. He appeared in ''Nel Segno di Roma'' (1959), by Guido Brignone, and he played Prometheus in '' Maciste all'inferno'' (1962), by Riccardo Freda. He wa ...

as poker player * Altiero Di Giovanni as Kehoe * Lorenzo Fineschi as Toby * Franco Giornelli as Joyce *

Didi Perego Didi Perego (13 April 1935 – 28 June 1993) was a statuesque Italian actress who appeared in more than 80 films and television shows. She made her film debut in 1959's '' Death of a Friend''. The same year, she starred in perhaps her best-know ...

as Elizabeth * Lorenzo Piani as Guthrie * Mario Valgoi as Beetle *

as Gold Guard Scout * Riccardo Garrone as Warden *

Luciano Rossi Luciano Rossi (28 November 1934 – 29 May 2005) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 67 films between 1966 and 1987. He was born and died in Rome, Italy. Partial filmography * ''Ten Italians for One German'' (1962) - German Soldier ...

as 'The Wolf' *

Fausto Tozzi Fausto Tozzi (29 October 1921 – 10 December 1978) was an Italian film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 70 films between 1951 and 1978. He wrote the script for ''The Defeated Victor'', which was entered into the 9th Berlin Internation ...

as prisoner *

Angelo Infanti Angelo Infanti (; 16 February 1939 – 12 October 2010) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1961 and 2010. He was born on 16 February 1939 in Zagarolo, Italy. He died on 12 October 2010 in Tivoli, Italy due ...

as prisoner * Franco Balducci as prisoner *

Tiberio Mitri Tiberio Mitri (12 July 1926 in Trieste – 12 February 2001 in Rome) was an Italian boxer who fought from 1946 to 1957. During his career, Mitri was the Italian and European middleweight champion. Mitri's professional debut, was 1 August 1946, ...

as prisoner * Barta Barri * Orso Maria Guerrini * Gianni Di Benedetto

Theme song

* ''Title of the song: "Other Men's Gold"'' **Lyrics by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter **Sung by Stefan Grossman **"Dino" Edizione Musicali - Rome

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Called Sledge, A 1970 films 1970s heist films 1970 Western (genre) films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Vic Morrow Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis Films shot in Almería Italian heist films Spaghetti Western films Films scored by Gianni Ferrio English-language Italian films 1970s English-language films 1970s Italian films