Can We Talk 2

It Was A Lousy Movie

         The other night I walked into the room where my father was watching a movie already in progress. The first person I saw was my hero (one of them) James Drury. I was hooked immediately. It didn't take long before I was wondering if this movie was a spoof. I grabbed the clicker to get a little background, and all I found was that it was made in 2005 and had the name "Hell To Pay".

         Drury's lines were very brief, and the younger actors dominated the story. Soon I was thinking about the terrible dialog. From that point on, I tried desperately to find something redeeming about it, but it was very difficult. The script was just pitiful. I seldom watch a movie and think about the script writing or the lousy story line. I might pick at the costuming according to the time in history or historical facts or maybe one actor's lousy acting. But this film was just terrible. I kept watching because of my devotion to Drury and hoped that he would appear again. (Actually, the leading lady's wig was horrible-an unreal color with enough hair for two or three humans.)

         There were a couple of very brief appearances by some marshal, which I discovered later was Lee Majors. His hat was low on his face which was expressionless. His lines were brief and stiff. The other characters acted like he was a beloved presence in the town, but it was never demonstrated in this film.

         When one actor was allowed some solo time and spoke paragraphs, he or she usually did a commendable job. I felt like even the ones unknown to me would do better in some other film. The acting wasn't bad considering they had such lousy roles and lines. Stella Stevens was one of those who did okay when allowed. I discovered later, when I did research, that Peter Brown and Andrew Prine were also in the film. They probably were done before I started watching or I just didn't recognize them. They were stars in shows back in the 50's, 60's and 70's, so I wouldn't know how they've aged. (Prine played Helen Keller's brother in The Miracle Worker.) Brown died in 2016.

         There was some terrible editing, when a kaleidascope of still shots and brief action shots told several chapters in a few seconds. That wasn't artistic. It was garbage. The listing of so many older stars spoke volumes. The director/writer Chris something or other was trying to showcase of the big names from the past and didn't really have a good story or direction. It didn't work. It was cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. The cliches and corniness were there. You can put good actors in a lousy film, and it's still going to be lousy.