Wild Times (1980)
A sharpshooting saddle tramp (Hugh Cardiff) with a price on his head falls for the daughter (Libby) of a wealthy ranch owner. He vows to win enough money in shooting contests to win her father's approval, but when he returns years later, he finds she has married another man who is jealous of her affections. The husband (Vern) tries to have a murder warrant served on the drifter; shoots him in the back and hires a gambler to murder the man. None of these attempts on the drifter's life kills Cardiff. When the Libby leaves Vern, he goes gunning for the drifter, now the star of a Wild West show.
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Some of the worst acting ever committed to film by name players. The story is weak, the score abysmal, the directing non existent. This may have been the film that doomed Sam Elliott to supporting roles, B movies and TV westerns following his bravura performance in "Once An Eagle." Dennis Hopper's mumbled lines take up about 30 seconds. Ben Johnson is sleepwalking through his role and the female lead would have had difficulty outshining the furniture. Poorly written, poorly directed and poorly acted. It is hard to understand the high ratings given by some reviewers. If the novel on which it was based was as bad as this two-part miniseries, it is hard to believe it was published. The horses were pretty good, however.
Wild Times is a real piece of crap. A Don "Red" Barry movie from the early forties has more intelligence than this tripe. The dialogue was dumb, the storyline was dumber, and the acting was way below par. My wife and I got stuck watching all three hours and twenty one minutes of this valueless video on the Westerns Channel, hoping that as time wore on it would get better. It never did. It started out mildly okay, then went downhill from there. Some movie moguls must have had a lot of cash and nothing to do to waste their time and everyone elses with this worthless western. If you have the choice of watching Wild Times or rearranging your sock drawer - do the socks. It'll be more entertaining.
I like this show, it has an outstanding cast, a good plot and a very interesting story line. This is a fun movie to watch. I just wish someone would start making movie and/ or mini series like this again. This is so much better than the stuff that passes for entertainment now that it's pathetic. I cannot understand how shows like Deadwood can endure and shows like this not be available at all. This is one of the shows that should be available on DVD. This is one of the great westerns made for TV that in someone's infinite wisdom isn't available yet and may never be. It joins a list including "How the West Was Won" (maybe the best western series ever), The Lazurus Man and Peacemakers. "How the West Was Won" would draw a premium price.Single episode VHS tapes recorded from television are bringing $18.
This is the basic western of man meets girl, looses girl.The cast is second to none. Mini Series on TV Sam Elliott plays Hugh Cardiff an ex-Buffalo hunter. With his shooting skills he starts the following the shooting competitions.At the shooting competitions he meets Ben Johnson and Timothy Scott, the 3 become good friends.The threesome get into trouble and help each other out. For a historical flare, the threesome even meet Wild Bill Hickok and go into business together. While long for a movie, if you like to just sit down and watch one for a couple/three nights this one is a great one.