Skin Game (1971)

Thank goodness for Encore Westerns. They keep showing films that rarely see the light of day, but ones that, for whatever reason, were either ignored or forgotten. This is one, from the paucity of reviews, that has slipped through the cracks.Skin Game is slightly, and only one star slightly, less than the sum of its parts. By that I mean..watch this film for the acting (one, in these PC days, can complain about the possible racial slurs). Not one sour note in this cast. We know Garner can act, can do his Maverick/Rockford thing to perfection, but how about Susan Clark? Lost in the silliness of the Webster TV show 80's phenomenon, she shows an amazingly playful sensuality throughout. I don't think I have seen a more erotic scene than between her and Garner, relaxing near a stream after she breaks him out of jail, finding that a con can love a con, with a camera fixed on the close-up the entire time. What a marvel of chemistry that is created (and forms the basis for the rest of the plot). Paul Bogart, that master TV director of nearly 100 All in the Family episodes, finds his angle and just stays there. Well Crafted and on the money. Throw in well-rounded performances from Lou Gossett and Brenda Sikes (watch THEIR sensuous hayloft scene!), and absolutely solid support from a gang of supporting stars who anchored many a 60/70's movie...Duggan, Jones, Dano, Baer, O'Malley...and Asner is such a hoot as the slave trading merchant. Not sure any white actor could deliver a line with the "n" word in it and not make it sound anything other than business-like! This film holds up well, and its acting pleasure are numerous. Not to be missed.

Though highly rated in the Leonard Maltin Film Guide, this comic Western isn't as popular as star James Garner's two other genre spoofs – Burt Kennedy's SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF (1969) and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER (1971) – but it's very much in the same vein.For the record, Garner had earlier collaborated with Paul Bogart (even if Gordon Douglas seems to have been involved as well at some point) on MARLOWE (1969), a failed attempt at a noir revival (and on which I'm kind of lukewarm myself); incidentally, I've just taped another thriller by this director – MR. RICCO (1975), starring Dean Martin – off TCM U.K. Anyway, while I was disappointed that the version I acquired of SKIN GAME was panned-and-scanned, I was glad to have caught up with it, as the film proved ideal lightweight/entertaining fare for the Christmas season; the same is true of the film I followed it with – coincidentally another Western comedy revolving around sparring partners, Texas ACROSS THE RIVER (1966), with Dean Martin himself and Alain Delon.This, in fact, has con-men Garner and Lou Gossett Jr. cleaning up small towns by having the two posing as master and slave – with the former purporting to sell the latter to the highest bidder and then have the black man run away to rejoin his pal (who, by this time, has already left)! This ruse has been kept up for quite some time (as seen in flashback) and it's garnered {sic} the duo a fair sum of money; however, things take a different turn when they run in, first, real slaves (which causes Gossett, born a free man, to rethink his situation) and, then, another con artist in Susan Clark (who targets Garner himself). Gossett even falls for a black girl who's to be sold at auction (where he too will be present) – so he asks Garner to buy her out of his share of the money…but the whole elaborate scheme is interrupted by the arrival of notorious anti-slavery crusader John Brown (played by Royal Dano)! Furthermore, after Garner and Gossett make the mistake of returning to one of the towns they had already 'hit', the former lands in jail and the latter (along with his lady friend) is sold off as a slave for real by unscrupulous dealer Edward Asner to despotic Southerner Andrew Duggan. Surprisingly sprung from jail by Clark herself, Garner determines to save his ex-partner: they too take up disguise, this time as preacher and nurse, and start visiting Asner's clients one by one claiming a slave of theirs is actually a leper! By the time they reach Duggan's mansion, Gossett has befriended (or, rather, learned to control via his spouting of mumbo-jumbo!) a group of African slaves who subsequently go along with them when our heroes, with their respective women in tow, take off for Mexico. Incidentally, this sequence also contains the film's biggest laugh-out-loud moment as Gossett, all dressed up to wait at the family table, is fondled by one of Duggan's pubescent daughters – causing him to jump and drop the contents of his bowl! While, as I said, the quality of the film's widescreen photography is somewhat compromised by the altered aspect ratio in this presentation (culled from a TV screening), David Shire's fine score retains all of its original impact – incidentally, being remarkably somber, it effectively counterpoints the breeziness generally on display.

James Garner's cowboy con man character familiarized to us as Bret Maverick and Latigo Smith ("Support Your Local Gunfighter" was filmed the same year) is in full bloom here as Quincy Drew in this classic, modest buddy movie done to a "T." Paul Bogart (who also directed Garner in "Marlowe" two years earlier) directs with a sure hand, with Lou Gossett is excellent as Quincy's partner and amicable rival. Realistically set, made with confidence and mastery, it is a gem that does not aspire to "great cinema" but still scores a bullseye. Well-written dialogue, plenty of humor, and a nice, quick pace make it sparkle. Who knew Ed Asner could make a passably good villain, too?

And Lou Gossett with hair - Wow! But this comedy has a heavy load to carry, dealing with slavery & it's human cost. It's not much of a comedy when Jason actually gets sold into slavery and Gossett conveys the desperation very well. It does have it's light moments and Susan Clark helps lighten the load. I rated it an 8.