Sam Whiskey (1969)

Directed by Arnold Laven. Starring Burt Reynolds, Ossie Davis, Clint Walker, Angie Dickinson, Rick Davis, William Schallert, Woodrow Parfrey. [PG-13]

Thin Western yarn can’t coast on Reynolds’ light comedy charms alone. Easygoing rapport with Ossie Davis and Clint Walker only pushes it ahead by inches, and a (mostly) undressed Angie Dickinson loses its appeal fast when her character and performance are so one-note. Burt’s a roguish gambler and opportunist recruited by Angie’s stiff seductions to recover stolen gold bars from a sunken riverboat and sneak them into the Denver Mint before they’re discovered missing. The “reverse-heist” angle is a neat one…or it would have been if those maneuvers weren’t so sluggish and murky compared to the more satisfying early scenes. “Fat Man” Rick Davis and his backwoods crew make for meager antagonists. First of several Burt Reynolds pictures written by Bill Norton.

48/100