The Spikes Gang (MGM MOD program)
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Studio: MGM
Year: 1974
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English
Subtitles: none
MSRP: $ 19.98
Release Date: December 2010
Review Date: January 30, 2011
Reviewer’s Note: MGM offered this review copy of one of the discs in their MOD program as being distributed by Fox through an arrangement with Allied Vaughn.
The Film
3/5
While Richard Fleischer’s The Spikes Gang doesn’t fulfill all of the promise it offers in terms of comedy or drama, the 1974 serio-comic western has its moments. It features a juicy mentor role for star Lee Marvin and fine opportunities for three then up-and-coming young actors (Gary Grimes, Ron Howard, Charles Martin Smith) who acquit themselves well. Had the screenplay been fleshed out more with deeper investigation into the feelings of the three boys as they bumble their way into adulthood, the film could have been great instead of moderately pleasant. It’s a definite lost opportunity.
Three young men who have been friends since infancy, Will (Gary Grimes), Les (Ron Howard), and Tod (Charles Martin Smith), stumble across a badly wounded man who turns out to be the notorious bank robber and killer Harry Spikes (Lee Marvin). They patch him up, give him food and a change of clothes and a horse to elude the posse that’s after him, and send him on his way. Will’s father (Marc Smith) beats him after learning what the three have done, the last straw for Will who leaves home for good with his friends simultaneously deciding to join him on the trail. Life away from home is much harder than they imagine, and after going without food for days, they decide to rob a bank, a bungled effort which nets them no money and an innocent bystander killed in the process. With a bounty now on each of their heads, they head to Mexico where they run into Spikes again who, in payment for the boys’ earlier kindness to him, offers to take them under his wing and teach them the art of thievery. While it appears the boys are fast learners, it’s only a matter of time before their bad decisions (and their uneasy consciences) get the better of them.
The husband and wife team of Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. provide the screenplay for the movie, and it has a fair share of humor and affection particularly among the three young men as they stumble and bumble through their early life of crime with no success. But these are intrinsically good boys who know right from wrong and aren’t guilt-free when folks get hurt, so more introspection into their psyches would have gone a long way toward broadening the emotional involvement we have with them. (As it is now, a couple of brief dream sequences must serve this purpose, and they simply aren’t of sufficient length or breadth to suffice.) Fleischer’s direction doesn’t milk the most from its robbery scenes or subsequent posse chases either, and shootouts are done in long shots which also lessen their impact. Scenes between the boys and Lee Marvin’s experienced hand do have an offhanded warmth though the shift in tone from silly to serious is very brusque and gives the film’s last quarter hour a sourness that the film never recovers from.
Lee Marvin gets to play a teacher for bandits, and he’s effective at it nicely balancing the mature guiding hand with a dry humor that keeps the boys’ egos in check. Of the three boys, Gary Grimes has the best showcase (ironically, he had the briefest career of the three: Charles Martin Smith is a respected character actor still working today and Ron Howard, of course, went on to direct a handful of excellent films and win an Oscar for one), and it’s surprising this talented actor didn’t accomplish more. We see the trust in his eyes and the sweetness in his soul making his ultimate fate all the more tragic. Howard and Smith both give agreeable performances as followers rather than leaders. Veteran Arthur Hunnicutt has a memorable scene as longtime bandit Kid White, and Noah Beery also appears in one scene as an informer. Marc Smith has some effective early moments as Will’s cold, demanding father.
Video Quality
4/5
The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. As with many color films from the 1970s, hues are controlled in their saturation levels, but flesh tones are accurate, and sharpness is very good. There are a few stray dust specks and some debris shows up near the end of the film, but for the most part the disc looks very good for a made-on-demand DVD, its black levels variable but sometimes quite impressive. The film has been divided into chapters every ten minutes as is typical for MOD discs.
Audio Quality
3/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack does have some light hiss which can be heard in quieter scenes, and there is also some distortion in the upper range of the audio track. Otherwise, dialogue is easy to understand and is mixed with care with the film’s music score (by Fred Karlin) and sound effects.
Special Features
1/5
The film’s trailer runs for 2 ½ minutes in anamorphic widescreen. It is noticeably dirtier than the feature film on the disc.
In Conclusion
3/5 (not an average)
The Spikes Gang is a moderately entertaining western, one that looks nicer than one might think in the MGM MOD program. This is not one of Lee Marvin's biggest hits nor one of his most well-known performances, but it's certainly worth seeing.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
