Don Meredith plays Banjo Hackett, a roamining horse trader not above using a bit of trickery to come out ahead in a trade or a bet.
He gets a letter from his ailing sister, ambles his way to her home for a visit and discovers she’s succumbed to her illness.
Her son Jubal Winner (Ike Eisenmann), his nephew, has been tossed into an orphanage.
And all of her belongings have been auctioned off, including Dido’s Lament, the horse Banjo gave to Jubal.
Banjo’s first task: Rescue Jubal from the orphanage. His second: Retrieve Dido’s Lament.
He achieves the first with little difficulty. The second’s going to be a much trickier proposition.
That’s because the mare he’s seeking is about to give birth to a foal sired by a now-dead prized Arabian stallion.
And a railroad tycoon named Tip Conaker has offered Sam Ivory (Chuck Connors) $5,000 to obtain the horse for him.
Nor does he care very much about how Ivory goes about fulfilling that mission.
Meanwhile, Jubal needs a home. And Banjo is a traveling womanizer, not eager to settle down.
Don Meredith as Banjo Hackett, witnessing the birth of a prized stallion in Banjo Hackett Roamin’ Free (1976)
Ike Eisenmann as Jubal Winner, defiant when threatened by Sam Ivory in Banjo Hackett Roamin’ Free (1976)
Review:
A so-so family Western. Your opinion of it will probably be based on your ability to stomach former football star Meredith’s aw-shucks performance. I found it rather insufferable.
The script has director Andrew V. McLaglen playing many of the scenes for laughs. So it’s tough to take the threats posed by Sam Ivory — to Banjo, the boy or the horse — very seriously.
One of the best scenes has Banjo trying to entice lonely widow Flora Dobbs (Anne Francis) into selling Dido’s Lament. She suggests Banjo should negotiate minus his hat. So she sweeps it from her head and tosses it over her shoulder, scoring a bullseye.
Jennifer Warren plays Mollie Brannen, the long-suffering woman who loves Banjo and has to put up with his wanderlust. Lots of other familiar Western faces shows up in supporting roles.
This was the pilot for a proposed TV series that was never made.
Chuck Connors as Sam Ivory, on the search for a prized mare in Banjo Hackett Roamin’ Free (1976)
Jennifer Warren as Mollie Brannen, upset over Banjo’s willingness to sell Jubal’s horse in Banjo Hackett Roamin’ Free (1976)
Directed by:
Andrew McLaglen
Cast:
Don Meredith … Banjo Hackett
Ike Eisenmann … Jubal Winner
Jennifer Warren … Mollie Brannen
Chuck Connors … Sam Ivory
Jeff Corey … Judge Janeway
L.Q. Jones … Sheriff Tadlock
Don O’Herlihy … Tip Conaker
Anne Francis … Flora Dobbs
Gloria DeHaven … Lady Jane Gray
Slim Pickens … Lijah Tuttle
Jan Murray … Jethro Swain
David Young … Elmore Mintore
Richard Young … Luke Mintore
Runtime: 100 min.
aka:
Banjo Hackett: Roamin’ Free
Anne Francis as Flora Dobbs, a lonely widow ready to horse trade with Banjo in Banjo Hackett, Roamin’ Free (1976)
Jeff Corey as Judge Janeway, the man who decides whether Jubal can stay with Banjo in Banjo Hackett Roamin’ Free (1976)
Memorable lines:
Jubal Winner, as two men tease Banjo: “What do they want?”
Banjo Hackett: “To get my goat. But it ain’t to be got.”
A fight between the three soon breaks out.
An outlaw, chasing a runaway stage: “Shoot, we never have no luck robbin’ things on wheels. C’mon, let’s find us a bank.”
Jubal: “Why do people call you Banjo if you don’t know how to play one?”
Banjo Hackett: “Well, it’s short for Benjamin Joseph.”
Jubal, spotting Dido’s Lament in a pasture: “We found her.”
Banjo Hackett: “Gettin’ her back’s gonna be the problem because dealin’ with a widow lady calls for nimbleness. Luckily, that’s my specialty.”
Sam Ivory to Jubal: “Learn this, kid. Everything alive is buzzard meat. You, me and that colt. When and how makes no difference.”
L.Q. Jones as Sheriff Tadlock, the lawman who winds up with warrants for Banjo and Jubal in Banjo Hackett, Roamin’ Free (1976)
Slim Pickens as Lijah Tuttle, livery owner and friend of Banjo in Banjo Hackett, Roamin’ Free (1976)
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