This is the type of film that is not going to be for every taste. It basically casts Dean Martin as a western bandit who, in exchange for a valuable machine gun, offers to find a mate for the grizzled owner. He keeps robbing coaches traveling across the west looking for an attractive young lady and when he finds her, she turns out to be the wife of one of his old rivals, an Army officer (Brian Keith) getting ready to retire. Martin's plan is to trick the gun owner into giving him the gun without handing over the goods which he intends to keep for himself. When Keith finds out his wife has been kidnapped, he is furious, especially when Martin's intended arrives at his fort searching for him!
Honor Blackman is Keith's prickly wife Martin ends up having his hands full with, while Carol White is the Irish lass who intends to tie Martin down to a good Christian life and clean up his many, many sins. I have to admit that while I found the basic plot line extremely tacky, I could not help but laugh at the goings on many times, particularly the foo-fey dog that Martin kept by his side while committing robberies tightly nestled in his saddle bag. Merlin Olsen ("Little House on the Prairie", "Father Murphy") is funny as the ultra-sensitive assistant to Keith whose feelings are hurt when his desire to present the departing Keith with an Indian chief's hat are taken over by another soldier.
Hollywood loved to spoof their most popular genres, and along with the Kirk Douglas/Henry Fonda Western/Prison movie comedy "There Was a Crooked Man", this takes you into the wild west and provides the viewer with a lot of laughs. I had to force myself to look past the underlying issue of intended rape, which never happens. In short, this is actually pretty clean in spite of some of the insinuations, which may help make it more palatable for sensitive viewers who are fans of the western genre or the fabulous star who always seems to be enjoying himself no matter what role he's playing.
Honor Blackman is Keith's prickly wife Martin ends up having his hands full with, while Carol White is the Irish lass who intends to tie Martin down to a good Christian life and clean up his many, many sins. I have to admit that while I found the basic plot line extremely tacky, I could not help but laugh at the goings on many times, particularly the foo-fey dog that Martin kept by his side while committing robberies tightly nestled in his saddle bag. Merlin Olsen ("Little House on the Prairie", "Father Murphy") is funny as the ultra-sensitive assistant to Keith whose feelings are hurt when his desire to present the departing Keith with an Indian chief's hat are taken over by another soldier.
Hollywood loved to spoof their most popular genres, and along with the Kirk Douglas/Henry Fonda Western/Prison movie comedy "There Was a Crooked Man", this takes you into the wild west and provides the viewer with a lot of laughs. I had to force myself to look past the underlying issue of intended rape, which never happens. In short, this is actually pretty clean in spite of some of the insinuations, which may help make it more palatable for sensitive viewers who are fans of the western genre or the fabulous star who always seems to be enjoying himself no matter what role he's playing.