Evil Roy Slade (1972)

My best friend maintained for years he watched a movie called Evil Roy Slade when he was heading out on a two week National Guard simulated deployment in the 70's. He said he was sober but as he described the movie it seemed more likely it was something imagined by someone who was less than sober. MANY years later I came across the title accidentally while researching something else and wondered if there was something to what my friend had described. I secured a video taped version and I was not disappointed. It was everything, and MORE of what I expected; and remains what I fondly refer to as my favorite stupid movie of all time. Sneekin', Lyin, Arrogance, Dirtyness and Evil. How can anyone not love Evil Roy Slade?

When I saw 'Evil Roy Slade' on daytime television sometime in the '80's, I assumed it was intended to cash-in on the success of Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles' ( 1974 ). The made-for-television comedy Western features a few of Brooks' supporting players, as well as employing a similar mad-cap sense of humour.John Astin ( 'Gomez' from 'The Addams Family' ) plays the titular character, an outlaw whom no-one has ever loved, a man with a fondness for wearing black and robbing banks and trains, usually those belonging to millionaire 'Nelson Stool' ( Mickey Rooney ), known in some quarters as 'Stubby Index Finger' on account of his...stubby index finger ( cowboys even sing songs about it ). Whilst robbing a bank, Slade meets and falls for ( and who wouldn't? ) the lovely schoolteacher 'Betsy Potter' ( Pamela Austen ). She wants him to go straight, and he is so smitten with her he agrees. But to do this he needs £50,000. As he does not have it ( his gang blew all their ill-gotten gains on bullets and spilt whisky ), he decides to steal it. Tired of forever being robbed by Slade, Stool brings out of retirement the legendary Marshal Bing Bell ( Dick Shawn )...Like I said, I thought this was a 'Blazing Saddles' knock-off until I saw it was made in 1972 - two years before Brooks' picture broke new ground ( and wind ) in comedy. It was written by Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall, the team behind the hit series 'The Odd Couple' ( Marshall later directed 'Pretty Woman' starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere ). Though as you would expect it is nowhere near as vulgar as Brooks' film, it occasionally manages to get a bit near the knuckle, such as Slade forcing a crippled man to dance by shooting at his legs, a blacksmith turning out to be a black man named Smith, and Dom DeLuise's outrageously gay psychiatrist. The director, Jerry Paris, later made several entries in the 'Police Academy' franchise.Though Rooney gets top billing, its Astin's film and he's great, though basically 'Gomez' in a stetson. Milton Berle is also good as Betsy's well-meaning uncle, who gets Slade a job in a shoe shop. When shoes won't fit the feet of one customer, Slade whacks them with a stick so as to make them swell up. The worst part for Slade about going straight is having to make do without his guns. As soon as he takes them off, he finds he cannot walk! But the film really hits its comic stride with the arrival of 'Marshal Bing Bell', hilariously played by the late Dick Shawn. The character is a parody of 'singing cowboys' such as Roy Rogers. The sight of him galloping across the prairie in a Liberace-styled white suit covered in sequins and singing a flat song on a guitar is hysterical.Funniest moment - Slade gatecrashes Betsy's wedding, only to find he has been lured into a trap. Everyone present - including the caterers - have brought along guns. The only one without is the organist!Things To Look Out For - a small appearance by Penny Marshall as a bank teller. She later became famous through playing 'Laverne' in the hit sitcom 'Laverne & Shirley'.

Mean hombre Evil Roy Slade (marvelously played with deliciously dastardly relish by John Astin) embarks on a merry crime spree in the Old West. Sweet young lady Betsy Potter (winningly played by the fetching Pamela Austin) becomes determined to reform Roy after meeting and falling in love with the ornery cuss during a bank robbery. Meanwhile, ruthless and vengeful railroad baron Nelson Stool (Mickey Rooney in fine spirited form) hires vain and ostentatious singing cowboy Marshall Bing Bell (a gloriously campy portrayal by Dick Shawn) to take Roy down. Director Jerry Paris, working from a witty script by Jerry Belson and Gary Marshall, ably milks the infectiously broad and wacky humor for maximum belly laughs while maintaining a snappy pace and zany tone throughout. The hysterically funny dialogue (favorite line: "My in-laws want me to hire outlaws") frequently hits the sidesplitting bull's eye. Moreover, there are plenty of inspired nutty touches, such as Roy calmly conversing with a pack of vultures, an ambush complete with pistol-packin' midgets, and a wedding ceremony that degenerates into a wild shoot-out. The cast attack the goofy material with great zeal, with stand-out contributions from Edie Adams as brassy floozy Flossie, Milton Berle as antsy shoe salesman Harry Fern, Henry Gibson as the cowardly Clifford Stool, and Dom DeLuise as patient, helpful psychiatrist Logan Delp. Popping up in nifty small roles are Penny Marshall as a bank teller, Pat Morita as Bing Bell's servant Turhan, Luana Anders as the cheery Alice Fern, Billy Curtis as a dwarf cowboy, and Ed Begley, Jr. as a dumb hick. Patt Buttram provides the amusingly wry narration. Both Murray MacLeod's jaunty score and the folksy country soundtrack do the harmonic trick. Sam Leavitt's crisp cinematography makes neat occasional use of fades and dissolves. A total riot.

Evil Roy Slade (Made For TV, 1972, director: Jerry Paris) - I first saw this movie when I was a small child (in an era of rather clever movies of the week), and then a few more times after that. I have not viewed it in over 25 years, however, but I still recall it being one of the funniest films I ever saw. The humor was dark enough to attract my laughs, but not insulting or offensive (somewhere along the line, Hollywood forgot how to walk this delicate balance). Slade (John Astin, Gomez on TV's "Addams Family")is orphaned after a wagon train is attacked by Indians. No one (even the native-Americans or wolves) will aid him, so he ends up being raised by vultures with just an old teddy bear for a companion. Naturally, he grows up mean and vile, eventually becoming the leader of a gang of bank robbers. During a heist, he meets pretty schoolmarm Betsy (Pam Austin) and it's love at first sight.After he quits the gang, Becky tries to reform him, but railroad executive Mr. Stool (Mickey Rooney), hires retired singing sheriff, Big Bell (Dick Shawn, "It's A Mad, Mad Mad, Mad World") to capture the reforming outlaw. With Dom DeLuise, Milton Berle, Edie Adams, John Ritter (later to star on "Three's Company"), Pat Morita (of "Karate Kid" fame) and narrated by Pat Butrum (Mr. Haney on "Green Acres"), "Evil Roy Slade" was one laugh riot from beginning to end. Maybe it's nostalgia for those good old days, but with others out there expressing the same viewpoint, I believe this picture still holds up well today.Funniest line of dialogue that I remember: Betsy is trying to teach Slade mathematics. She asks, "You have three apples, and your neighbor has three apples. If he takes three of your apples, what do you have?" Slade: "A dead neighbor and all six apples."