Skin Game (1971)

In 1857, con man Quincy Drew and his black friend Jason O'Rourke swindle slave owners into buying Jason, who's a free man, and later share the profits when Jason escapes captivity.

Directors:

Paul Bogart, Gordon Douglas (co-director) (uncredited)

Writers:

Peter Stone (screenplay) (as Pierre Marton), Richard Alan Simmons (story)

Stars:

James Garner, Louis Gossett Jr., Susan Clark

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	Quincy
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Jason (as Lou Gossett)
Susan Clark	...	Ginger
Brenda Sykes	...	Naomi
Edward Asner	...	Plunkett
Andrew Duggan	...	Calloway
Henry Jones	...	Sam
Neva Patterson	...	Mrs. Claggart
Parley Baer	...	Mr. Claggart
George Tyne	...	Bonner
Royal Dano	...	John Brown
J. Pat O'Malley	...	William
Joel Fluellen	...	Abram
Napoleon Whiting	...	Ned
Juanita Moore	...	Viney

Storyline

Quincy Drew and his black friend Jason O'Rourke have pulled off every dodge known for conning a well-heeled sucker, but it wasn't until they hit on the old skin game that they started to clean up. The game is simple. Jason, though born a free man in New Jersey, poses as Quincy's slave as the pair ride through Missouri and Kansas in 1857. Quincy picks a likely mark in each town, sells Jason to him for top money and rides out of town. Then Quincy and Jason get back together on the road to another town, because if Jason can't just run off after dark, Quincy finds a way to spring him loose.

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Plot Keywords:

slave | missouri | kansas | escape | traitor | 

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Taglines:

Would you buy a used slave from this man ?

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first time that James Garner had returned to work for Warner Brothers in more than ten years.

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Goofs

Susan Clark's character explains to Quincy that there is to be a vote whether Kansas will join the Union as a slave state like Missouri or a free state like Nebraska. Nebraska wasn't admitted to the Union until 1867, 6 years after Kansas.

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Quotes

Jason: Oh! Don't tell me that besides providing a breathtaking panorama of Ohio, that this fine old establishment also provides break-
[Jason turns, sees Ginger and immediately switches dialects]
Jason: Lo-o-ord-e Mas' Quincy, eh, hauled these vittles all the way down here...
Quincy: Jason, you can forget it, she knows.
Jason: What, Mas' Quincy?
Quincy: Who we are.
Jason: [Forced laughter] Ah! Ha ha ha ha ha, wonderful!

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Ed Asner/The Kinks (1984)

User Reviews

Garner's great in this type role.

And Lou Gossett with hair - Wow! But this comedy has a heavy load to carry, dealing with slavery & it's human cost. It's not much of a comedy when Jason actually gets sold into slavery and Gossett conveys the desperation very well. It does have it's light moments and Susan Clark helps lighten the load. I rated it an 8.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1972 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Skin Game

Filming Locations:

Laramie Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$736,518

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cherokee Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1