Amateur theatrics undermine "Border Shoot-Out" writer & director Chris McIntyre's wide-open-spaces epic "Hell to Pay," about enmities left over from the American Civil War. The only thing that distinguishes this pedestrian western that is the roll call of guest stars who starred in either western movies or television series. James Drury, Peter Brown, William Smith, Tim Thomerson, Buck Taylor, Lee Majors, Andrew Prine, and Denny Miller flesh out the cast. Ostensibly, they deliver the best performances in largely supporting roles. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast should never have gotten in front of a camera. Similarly, McIntyre could benefit from a course in film direction. The abysmal Sable Ranch sets look cobbled together. While McIntyre's skills are lacking as a director, he has written a tolerable horse opera with some good dialogue. This brother versus brother saga has a lot to do with the American Civil War. The villains still bear a deep-seated grudge toward the outcome of the war and take advantage of an African-American woman in one scene. Ultimately, everything boils down to a flamboyant gambler Chance (William Gregory Lee of "Mexican Sunrise") and a former Union Army officer Kirby (Kevin Kazakoff of "Universal Soldiers") who are related to each other. They are so alike that they act like one person. They are reunited with each other when the stagecoach that Chance is riding in pulls up on the trail at the sight of a Union Army officer. Whether he knew it or not, McIntyre seems to be channeling John Wayne's entrance in John Ford's immortal classic "Stagecoach" with this scene. The coachman, Johnny Behan (Peter Brown of "Laredo") refuses to let Kirby to hitch a ride until his Kirby's brother Chance lets him board the conveyance. All Kirby wants to do is settle down and bust sod, while his flippant brother Chance prefers to keep on gambling. You would think that McIntyre would have had Kirby and Chance team up again during the finale, but these two don't. Not only do the no-account the villains try to kill the town marshal (James Drury), but they also give Kirby a hard time. After appearing briefly in a ride-through-a scene, Sheriff Boone (Lee Majors of "Will Penny") rides back and saves the day. He has a shoot-out in the saloon with the chief bad guy, one-eyed saloon owner Dell Shannon (Bo Svenson of "Inglorious Bastards"), and kills him. The end credits thank Kevin Costner and Robert Vaughn for their contribution. Although it was shot in Hi-Definition Cinema on a Sony Cine Alta 900, "Hell to Pay" looks pathetic. Out of all the guest stars, James Drury fares the best. Shoot this western and put it out of our misery!
Review of Hell to Pay
