Burt Kennedy's westerns are at their best when he writes them. The guy penned some of the classic Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott westerns of the 1950s and as a scenarist he knows how to keep dark and light in equal balance while creating morally complex characters, so vital an ingredient in the psychological western that sprang up after WW2 to supplant the Selander shoot em ups. Unfortunately, Kennedy chose, in this film, to outsource the dialogue and story to the immortal team of Cohen and Shryack and what happens is a film where the comedy is way too broad...witness the by-play between Tina Louise and Martin Balsam and the mugging of Buddy Hackett...and the drama less than enthralling, with Keith Carradine's one dimensional villain (the writer Kennedy couldn't create a one dimensional villain to save his life) and the too cuddly "bad" guy played, cloyingly, by George Kennedy, (no relation to Burt, especially in syrupy movies like this). So, while it's always good to see Late Mitchum professionalism and the oft under rated Lois Nettleton makes you realize what a crappy actress is Ms. Louise and the autumn in northern New Mexico location shooting is flat out awesome, this is still a woefully average flic. Solid C. PS...He lost the footrace to Campbell but my favorite singing Glen has always been Yarbrough.
Review of The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
