noirguy33 Oh yeah-bad. Marvin and Burton couldn't save this woeful mish mosh of one-dimensional cinematic tripe. Isn't drama supposed to be built upon character shift? Someone's stance changes based on a key incident resulting in conflict/decision/resolution? Not this movie. At the end everyone is just like they were at the beginning, and they remain static and caricatured throughout. That's $5 mil the industry's not getting back.

Scott LeBrun Lee Marvin is well cast and Richard Burton amusingly MIS-cast in this adaptation of the William Bradford Huie novel. Marvin plays "Track" Bascomb, an Alabama lawman who tries to keep the peace during a period of unrest. Soon a civil rights demonstration will be coming to his town, and the local foaming at the mouth racists will have none of it. Burton plays Breck Stancill, a liberal minded landowner incensed at the activities of Klan members such as Tracks' own deputy sheriff Butt Cutt Cates (Cameron Mitchell). Yes, Butt Cutt is his actual character name.Although both Marvin and Burton were apparently drinking heavily during production, Marvin comes off a lot better. You see that it can't help but affect Burtons' mopey performance, and any attempts that the actor makes at a Southern accent. Much of the cast does creditable work. David Huddleston is the pompous mayor, Linda Evans a resident who is unfortunately raped within the first quarter hour, Lola Falana a young lady whom Breck took under his wing, and Luciana Paluzzi a civil servant. Other familiar faces like David Ladd, Hoke Howell, Lee de Broux, Jeannie Bell, and Virgil Frye turn up. We also have none other than O.J. Simpson as a black man driven to take matters into his own hands.Samuel Fuller was the original director, and retains a screen writing credit; he left the project early on. The filmmaker in whose hands this ended up was Terence Young, of such James Bond adventures as "From Russia with Love" and "Thunderball".This ultra trashy melodrama establishes a certain tone within the first few minutes, and therefore some viewers will find it pretty hard to stomach. It's pretty violent, and tends to discard such things as good taste. But if this sort of approach intrigues you rather than turns you off, you'll find that this IS rather potent and visceral entertainment. If you're anything like this viewer, you can't help but cheer every time a particularly odious character gets what they deserve.On location shooting in Oroville, California, and a good music score by Stu Gardner & Dale O. Warren definitely help matters. That opening song, "The Good Christian People", is a corker.The scene of Burton effortlessly manhandling Mitchell is a comic highlight, even if it wasn't intended to be that way.Seven out of 10.

Leofwine_draca I sat down ready to enjoy THE KLANSMAN from looking at the cast list alone. Here was a racial drama featuring acting fave Lee Marvin as a hard-as-nails sheriff combating prejudice in a small Southern town; Richard Burton was on hand playing a crippled loner with Italian beauty Luciana Paluzzi on his arm; Cameron Mitchell was to pop up as a boo-nasty redneck and even clean-cut (at least in those days) O. J. Simpson was putting in an appearance as a vengeful killer. When you combine that cast with ex-Bond director Terence Young, what could go wrong?It was the script that did this film in. It's boring and predictable. The characters are all stereotypes and the film has absolutely nothing to say about the racial situation in America, other than playing out some predictable showdowns and encounters. The middle section is exceptionally slow, consisting of nothing more than characters chatting while the plot just dawdles along. There seems to be little skill or effort behind this low budget production, and it's fair to say that nobody is on top form, especially the drunken leading stars. There are, however, a few so-bad-it's-good moments, including the hilarious fist fight between Burton and Mitchell. One thing I did like was the epic shoot-out at the climax; although it's predictable, it's handled with some finesse, and it looks like this was where the money went. The print I saw was lousy, full frame and heavily censored. I might find and watch a proper version one day – that is, if I can be bothered

Michael_Elliott Klansman (1974) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Sheriff Bascomb (Lee Marvin) tries to keep a small Alabama town calm after a white woman is raped by a black man just days before a group is coming to town to get blacks out to vote. The local Klan doesn't take too kindly to outsiders coming in and much of their hatred goes to Breck (Richard Burton), a man who lives in the mountains and wants peace between the races.Throughout the 70s there were all sorts of Southern pictures that took pride in their redneck factor. A lot of films dealt with racism and other issues but what's rare and somewhat shocking about KLANSMAN is the fact that it got released by a major company (Paramount), featured two legendary actors and was produced by a black company. KLANSMAN isn't a very good movie as it is certainly flawed but at the same time it does have some entertainment value to it and there's no question that something like it wouldn't be released today.The cast is certainly the most attractive thing to the picture when viewed today. I mean, you've got Oscar-winner Lee Marvin battling the Klan. Burton, considered one of the greatest actors in history, appearing in a rather strange role. Legend has it that years after this film Marvin and Burton were introduced and neither one remembered meeting each other even though they had worked on this film together! You've also got Cameron Mitchell as a dirty and evil Klan member, David Huddleston, Linda Evans and then there's O.J. Simpson playing a man who decides to kill as many of the Klan members as possible.The story itself here, co-written by Samuel Fuller, is a mixed bag. I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on here but I can't say that it makes for a complete story. Bits and pieces just seem to enter and leave the movie without much thought and the actions of Marvin are often confusing to say the least. The film is certainly very uneven but this is probably due to the studio changing the screenplay at the last minute. Technically speaking the film is well-made and perfectly fits that drive-in era vibe.KLANSMAN isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie but it's an entertaining film. Just be sure you watch the original theatrical cut, which runs 111-minutes and carries a R-rating for the violence, nudity and language. I've seen the TV cut, which runs 11-minutes shorter and has all the bad stuff edited out and the theatrical version is certainly better.