Deadwood '76 (1965)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Sadly Over-hyped

It is a performances centric movie

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

For years, this Arch Hall Jr. movie was all but impossible to see, but thanks to its copyright not being renewed at the right time, it is now available on budget DVDs. For those wondering if this is as hilariously bad as past Hall movies like "Eegah!" and "Wild Guitar", well, I hate to break the news, but there aren't that many unintended laughs to be found. In fact, much of the movie is more competent than you might think - there is some nice background scenery, a decent musical score, and the events of the movie are treated (mostly) with seriousness. But all the same, the screenplay is kind of a mess. The movie is not content to sit with one or two plot threads, but has several running through, and not all of the plot threads are resolved in a satisfying manner by the end. Also, the low budget is pretty evident at times. The movie is kind of a mess, but at the same time the mess gets you interested and wonder how things will be wrapped up. And the ending will be an unexpected one for many viewers. While I'm kind of hesitant to give this a general recommendation, I do think there are some people who are fans of offbeat cinema that may find it interesting.

Originally saw this on base when I was in the service.It's color was good with some great scenery. Everything else was low- budget: full of clichés and lousy acting. The "hero", Billy May, couldn't seem to do anything heroic. I'll explain.Billy's dad is friends with the Sioux and living with them somewhat near Deadwood. Billy finds out his dad is alive (thought he died in the Civil War) and nearby, so he goes visiting. The joyous reunion between father and son is understated - EXTREMELY understated!Naturally, the chief's daughter falls for Billy with just one glance. When Billy starts back to town, she follows him. Billy senses he's being followed, waits for her, then sends her back to the camp.On the way, she waters her horse and is accosted by two baddies. They drag her into the brush. This is where a hero should come to save her honor... Nope! She gets raped!He DOES manage to find her, bring her to town laying, unconscious, in the back of a buckboard (where'd that come from???) to be treated by the white man's doctor. Then he's mistaken for Billy the Kid, almost gets into a gunfight with Wild Bill Hickok, until Wild Bill finds out he's the son of his good friend, Boone May.A young farm boy, wanting to make a reputation for himself and get away from the farm, attempts to take Billy. But the boy loses. The townsfolk, urged on by the saloon owner, take after Billy to lynch him. Billy, law- abiding as he is, can't just take the nearest saddled horse, he HAS to go to the livery stable (other side of town), get his horse and saddle it, all while holding off the blood-thirsty mob. Oh, and did I mention the twenty-something shots from his first pistol before having to throw it (to no effect) at the crowd? Then he started using his SECOND pistol, also loaded with twenty-something rounds!(Memorably wooden delivery of a line here as he turns to his right to enter the stable and finds the twin barrels of a 12-gauge shotgun staring from the hands of the livery owner, "one - false - move - and - I'll - blow - your - head - off.")The Indian princess, now fully recovered from her rape, learns of Billy's plight, takes the buckboard and rides, and rides, and rides, and...boy! Camp seemed a lot closer! She tells her dad and he takes Boone May and the pride of the Sioux Nation (all 15 of them) racing, racing, racing....PHEW! Need a breather... racing to save Billy.Meanwhile the mob's taking Billy to the cottonwood on the edge of town to lynch him. Once there, the preacher steps forward and tells the crowd, "Over my dead body."The rescuers come into the clearing and rein in. The camera pulls back slowly to reveal... the preacher laying in the dirt, unmoving. The camera continues to pull back until you see a pair of boots twisting slowly.They bring up a Conestoga wagon that had accompanied them from the camp. They cut the rope, lay Billy's head in the princess' lap and I swear I thought she was going to kiss him, or one of her tears would fall on his face and he'd start coughing. But NO! That sucker was DEAD!I thought this movie was utterly hilarious! Years later I tracked down a copy. It was very contrasty (copy of a copy of a ....) and the ending was cut to pieces. I was so disappointed.

Deadwood '76 is a 1965 low budget western equivalent of the typical 1970s martial arts film. Redolent with cliché from start to finish, this well-written, well-directed (by James Landis), and mostly badly acted film follows the adventures of a young many (Arch Hall Jr) who has been mistaken for Billy the Kid because of his youth, name (Billy May) and gunfighting talent.May is an interesting character who is, unfortunately, uninterestingly portrayed by the son of the screenwriter. In a typical early '70s western flourish, May befriends a band of local Native Americans who have been displaced and otherwise abused by the townfolk and who are plotting vengeance against the union army. He also becomes a would-be prospector, and has a number of bad run-ins with a local gang lead by Sam Bass. May, the ultimate outsider, eventually gets swept up in the degrading local society and its circus-of-death atmosphere, and his developing young life is gravely threatened.Recommended for die-hard Western fans. Not recommended for others.

The end of the picture really made me think about how this Western turned the traditional good guy/bad guy story on it's head, ending in the death of the hero in a virtually non-climactic finale with the saving posse arriving just a little too late. It's probably how a lot of real life stories ended in the old West, ignominiously and largely forgotten to history. Up till then, the film was strangely devoid of any real action, other than Billy's (Arch Hall, Jr.) confrontations with members of the Sam Bass gang. Even Wild Bill Hickok knew better, but you know, I thought he might have been right around the corner to make the save. Oh well.I had the feeling the film was stretching for legitimacy with it's liberal name dropping of true Western legends like Texas John Slaughter, Wyatt Earp, Clay Allison, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse. None of them ever showed up, but you wondered if they would. Sam Bass (Rex Marlow) did, but again, the movie had him leading a lynch mob instead of facing down Billy on a dusty street. He didn't care much for Psalm 22 either.Hey, I got a kick out of the sign in Poker Kate's saloon - 'Gentlemen Do Not Spit On Floors'. The punishment couldn't be worse than death.Not really an altogether bad flick as the limited reviews on this board suggest. The ballad of Billy May even gave the story some additional atmosphere as it popped up from time to time in synch with the story. At least it's nowhere near as campy awful as the Arch Hall (Sr. and Jr. both) flick from 1962 - this one doesn't make you go "Eegah"!