Robert Lansing is Talion, a bounty hunter on the trail of Ike Slant (Slim Pickens) and his gang. A bounty isn’t his only motive; Slant has raped and murdered Talion’s wife, killed his child, then burned his home to the ground.
Patrick Wayne is Benny Wallace, a well-known bountyman in his own right. He’d like to prove his gun is better than Talion’s, too, if the opportunity arises. But for now, he’ll be satisfied helping him hunt down Slant and the two outlaws with him so they can split the bounty.
Well, they manage to kill those two outlaws in the gun battle that ensues. But Slant slips away. And during the gunfight, Talion’s gun hand is cripple and Wallace suffers a glancing wound to the head that leaves him blind.
Now they’ll have to work together to survive, with Talion providing the sight and the younger man providing the quick gun. Because Slant knows they’re still alive. And if they don’t go gunning for him, he’s sure to come after them.
Review:
Shame this wasn’t a Spaghetti Western. If it had been, the story of two crippled gunmen joining forces to become one might have been handled with lots more flair. And might have been a lot more fun.
As it is, this film is far too low key to be successful. And, in one of the sillier plot twists, Wallace is really Pat Garrett Jr., but took a new name because his father criticized his decision to be a bounty hunter, but keeps his real name in his boot so it can go on his tombstone when he dies.
This marked the final film for Gloria Talbott, who starred in a couple of Westerns in the 1950s. It marked an early film for then-child actor Clint Howard, younger brother of Ron Howard. Clint’s dad, Rance, also has a small role in the movie.
Directed by:
Michael D. Moore
Cast:
Robert Lansing … Talion
Patrick Wayne … Benny Wallace
Slim Pickens … Ike Slant
Gloria Talbott … Bri Quince
Paul Fix … Brian Quince
Strother Martin … Trumbull
Clint Howard … Jo-Hi Quince
Henry Wills … Charles Bechan
Jerry Gatling … Jonas Beetson
Rance Howard … Harry
Runtime: 90 min.
Memorable lines:
Ike Slant: “You got a lot of spunk. That’s more than I can say for the rest of this outfit. Hey, what else do you know how to do?”
Bri Quince: “A couple of things.” At which point she bites him in the forearm.
Talion: “Pat Garrett Jr., huh? Stubborn Pat.”
Benny Wallace: “What did you …You looked in my boot! You found out my name! Don’t you ever call me Pat Garrett Jr.! Never!” Whereupon he starts firing wildly.
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During the second half of the 60s and the early 70s, Westerns tracked with the broader culture in becoming rather bleak, almost to the point of desolation, and borderline nihilistic. These were traits of the spaghettis and the Peckinpahs, among others. An Eye for an Eye is an example of this shift.
It is austere, stark and tragic in the postmodern rather than the classical sense. It is also very, very good.
Robert Lansing is the leading man, and as Jeff Arnold notes, he carries a strong whiff of Steve McQueen, although I prefer Lansing. If Lansing had devoted himself to Westerns the way Randolph Scott and John Wayne did, he would likely be a popular favorite of almost all hardcore fans of the genre.
And speaking of John Wayne, his son Pat plays second fiddle to Lansing in this one. This film is the first performance of his I’ve seen. I thought his acting was uneven in the beginning but, just like the film in general, improved as it went along.
Pat plays a young bounty killer in this picture and although he did well enough, I’m not sure the casting was ideal. Frankly, the actor seemed almost too sweet and genial for that line of work.
That said, the relationship between his Pat Garrett, Jr. and Lansing’s Talion was very well done. Now in a sense it appears to have been lifted from For a Few Dollars More, which was released a year before An Eye for an Eye. Hence, a brash young bounty hunter links up with a a jaded older bounty hunter in pursuit of a gang of villains. And in both films, money is the sole motivation of the youger of the two while the elder is stimulated by a quest for revenge. Regardless, the bonding that occurs between Garrett, Jr. and Talion is just as convincing as that between Manco and Mortimer and even more moving because in the former dyad, the physically disabled bounty hunters are forced to rely upon one another for survival.
The support in this movie is beyond reproach. Slim Pickens plays the primary villain and he is always worth watching. Strother Martin is terrific in his customary role of a slightly pathetic blackguard whose perfidy is a bit more than a nuiscance to all who encounter him. And Paul Fix is the film’s moral exemplar. He’s a family man and a business man who merely desires proper law and order. He also has scruples against bounty killers.
An Eye’s for an Eye’s final showdown is believable–despite an artifice that, on its face, seems improbable–and well staged. It is also bittersweet with an emphasis on bitter. (Spoiler): Garrett, Jr. is gunned down cold and there are no final words for him. In truth, this is one of the most affecting deaths I’ve seen in a Western. The character had a strange innocence about him, and he sacrificed himself totally for his new friend Talion.
In the final analysis, this a tough, unsentimental Western that could become a favorite if you give it a chance. I’d urge anybody to do so.
PS–In archaic Greece, “an eye for an eye” was lex Talionis, or Talion law. This is obviously where Lansing’s character’s name comes from. And indeed, he does meet out his namesake’s law to those who harmed him, his wife and child.