JohnHowardReid There's only one thing that distinguishes this A.C. Lyles western from the rest of that producer's crop: This one was not filmed in some shonky widescreen process but lensed in ordinary 35mm – cropped top and bottom for widescreen projection in cinemas. But otherwise, it's the same again. In fact, if anything, it's less appealing. "Buckskin" has a very talky screenplay with a bit of action – mostly at the climax (and even that is somewhat tame, considering the large amount of talk that has gone before). A few outdoor locations have also been utilized – all photographed in somewhat under-lit color. These are interspersed with some obviously studio streets, housing a great collection of old character actors, some of whom appear on screen but briefly. Richard Arlen, for instance, has only one scene, and Joan Caulfield makes a very late entrance. However, she has survived the years better than most, including Barbara Hale. Corey and Chaney act their roles with villainous relish, but Sullivan makes no more than an okay hero in this tepid piece which Michael Moore's slow-paced, TV-style direction using an abundance of unnecessary close-ups, does nothing to improve.

Michael_Elliott Buckskin (1968) ** (out of 4) A strong cast keeps this by-the-numbers Western from falling completely off the track. Marshall Chaddock (Barry Sullivan) arrives in a small Montana town that has the land owners moving because of a crooked gambler named Marlowe (Wendell Corey). The Marshall makes the people stay on their land while he tries to defeat the greedy man at his own game. BUCKSKIN is an old fashioned Western that featured a story that would tire people in the 1930s let alone in 1968. This is a hard film to enjoy because of how boring it all it but at the same time there's no question that it features a strong cast of veteran actors. The biggest problem with the film is the fact that the story itself is just something we've seen hundreds of times in countless "B" Westerns and not a single new thing is done with it here. Even worse is that most "B" films got this story told in less than a hour but the story here is padded down with so much junk that the 97-minute running time seems twice that. There are so many simple scenes that get dragged out to the point where you'll be wanting to cry as well as ask the screenwriter what the point was. Sullivan is good in the lead as he delivers a strong performance and Corey is a downright delight as the snake who will stop at nothing to win. Joan Caulfield plays a former school teacher turned prostitute trying to win back some dignity. John Russell plays another snake with perfection and we also have Barbara Hale, Leo Gordon and Bill Williams turning in fine support. Lon Chaney, looking extremely bad from his personal issues and declining health, still manages to deliver a great performance as the disgraced Sheriff. Chaney appears to be having a blast getting to play the bad guy. BUCKSKIN is a film that most people will want to skip but if you're a fan of these names then you might want to check it out once.

Marlburian Not all bad for a late (1968) version of a familiar theme, with an interesting cast - not least the normally aggressive Leo Gordon playing one of the world's losers (though he does toughen up later on).The only real fault was the way that several characters' attitudes changed rather too quickly from being antagonistic towards the marshal to supporting him. And didn't Sullivan recover quickly from his night of fever after his rattlesnake bite; apparently he nearly died twice, but the next morning he was fit and ready for his concluding heroics.Wendell Corey does very well as the town boss, and I wish we had seen more of John Russell in Westerns; he has the longest speech in the film when explaining his "history" with Sullivan, and he puts it over well.

Brian Camp BUCKSKIN (1968) is one of thirteen low-budget westerns churned out at Paramount Pictures in the 1960s by producer A.C. Lyles. The distinguishing feature of these westerns was the peppering of the casts with former Hollywood stars getting one last shot at cinematic glory. Here the cast is led by western stalwart Barry Sullivan and includes such former Paramount contract players as Joan Caulfield, Wendell Corey, and Richard Arlen, backed by such other veteran performers as John Russell, Lon Chaney Jr., Barbara Hale, Bill Williams, Leo Gordon, George Chandler and Barton MacLane.The hackneyed plot features Sullivan as a marshal seeking to bring law and order to Glory Hole(!), Montana, by stopping the land-grabbing tactics of gambler Rep Marlowe (Corey), who's aided by an eye-patch-wearing hired gun (Russell) and a portly, corrupt sheriff (Chaney). The townsmen, including a kindly doctor (MacLane), are loath to help Sullivan because he seems to be outnumbered, but gradually Sullivan enlists such allies as a homesteader couple (played by husband-and-wife acting team Williams and Hale); the old storekeeper (Chandler) and his Chinese assistant (Aki Aleong); a drunk who lost all his savings to the gamblers (Gordon); and a schoolteacher-turned-saloon girl (Caulfield). Each of the cast gets their chance to emote, making this film much talkier than it needed to be, but also ensuring the participation of name performers who would have balked at mere cameo appearances. After the sturdy Sullivan (always a dependable western star), Russell comes off best as the conflicted hired gun with a complicated past.There are a couple of interesting racial twists provided by Sung Lee, the Chinese worker who is a victim of prejudice and comes to respect Sullivan for standing up for him, and Sullivan's young half-Indian son (Gerald Michenaud), whose presence at the side of Sullivan causes a bit of controversy.It's not the best of Lyles' westerns, nor is it the worst. It moves well and the cast always keeps it interesting, even during its slow and talky moments. There are a few shootouts, including one sprawling gun battle with Corey's henchmen at a dam that Sullivan is trying to open to get the homesteaders their necessary water. Western fans will find a few pleasures here and will no doubt wonder why more Lyles westerns are not available on home video.