A Time for Killing (1967)

Confederate POWs escape a Union camp and make for the Mexico border chased by Union troops with both parties oblivious to the fact that peace was declared.

Directors:

Phil Karlson, Roger Corman (uncredited)

Writers:

Nelson Wolford (novel), Shirley Wolford (novel)

Stars:

Inger Stevens, Glenn Ford, Paul Petersen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Inger Stevens	...	Emily Biddle
Glenn Ford	...	Major Wolcott
Paul Petersen	...	Blue Lake
Timothy Carey	...	Billy Cat
Kenneth Tobey	...	Sgt. Cleehan
Richard X. Slattery	...	Corp. Paddy Darling
Harrison Ford	...	Lt Shaffer (as Harrison J. Ford)
Kay E. Kuter	...	Owelson
Dick Miller	...	Zollicoffer
Emile Meyer	...	Colonel Harries
Marshall Reed	...	Stedner
George Hamilton	...	Capt. Bentley
Max Baer Jr.	...	Sgt. Luther Liskell (as Max Baer)
Todd Armstrong	...	Lt. Prudessing
Duke Hobbie	...	Lt. Frist

Storyline

During the Civil War Confederate soldiers escape from a Union prison and head for the Mexican border. Along the way they kill a Union courier who has a message that the war is over. Keeping the message a secret, the Captain has his men go on and they soon find themselves in a battle with the Union search party who also is unaware of the war's end.

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Plot Keywords:

arizona territory | new mexico territory | sonora mexico | zion national park | soldier | 

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Taglines:

Two violent men... and a violated woman!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Long Ride Home

Filming Locations:

Sedona, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Sage Western Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stella Stevens turned down the female role.

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Goofs

In the "night" escape scenes, the sky is shown as blue and white clouds are visible indicating it was shot during the day using a filter to make it appear as night.

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Quotes

Maj. Tom Wolcott: Now, we'll catch 'em if we can, but there'll be no crossing that border.
Emily Biddle: One man would. One man would kill Bentley if he had to go to hell to do it.
Maj. Tom Wolcott: Bentley.
Emily Biddle: Bentley would kill Bentley.

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Alternate Versions

There are two versions of this film. The longer version runs 89m and the shorter version, released on UK VHS under the title The Long Ride Home, runs 83m (or 80m in Pal).

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Soundtracks

The Long Ride Home
by Ned Washington, Van Alexander
Sung by Eddy Arnold

User Reviews

Confederate soldiers led by George Hamilton escape from prison and are pursued by a party commanded by Glenn Ford

During late Civil War some Confederate soldiers getaway from an Union prison and head toward Mexico. Then a battle of wits pits a tough Union captain (Glenn Ford) against sadist Confederate Major (George Hamilton) when the latter abducts his love interest (Inger Stevens) . After that, the infuriated woman seeks revenge on the man who raped her . Meanwhile , a confederate soldier kills an Union courier who holds a message saying that Civil war is over .

The picture contains action Western , continuous horse riding , shootouts and some violence . This violent cavalry-Western and hard on themes is full of noisy action , thrills , chills and results to be quite entertaining , though mediocre . The gratuitous violence brought quite criticism in the newspapers, though the director declared that it was utterly necessary . Harry Joe Brown wrote a personal check to Columbia Pictures for $1,000,000 to cover the costs of going over budget . Good duo protagonist as Glenn Ford and George Hamilton , though make exaggerated acting . It appears credited prestigious secondaries as Timothy Carey , a young Harry Dean Stanton and a youngest Harrison Ford , being his first credited film role . Furthermore , the veteran Kenneth Tobey and Dick Miller , Roger Corman's usual , who appears uncredited as director . Rare and thrilling musical score for an Old West movie . Colorful and atmospheric cinematography by Peach . The motion picture was regularly directed by Phil Karlson . There were no half measures in this filmmaker . He would make adventure movies or violent and noir films . As he directed Western as ¨Gunman's walk¨ , ¨They rode west¨, ¨Texas rangers, ¨Iroquois trail¨ and Gansters genre or Noir films as ¨Phoenix city story¨ and ¨Scarface mob¨ . Failure alternated with hits through his career, though Karlson's direction was more than successful in ¨ Walking tall¨ with invaluable help of Joe Don Baker . Rating : Acceptable Western ; George Hamilton and Glenn Ford fans will enjoy their idols .