THE SPIKES GANG is a moralistic, low budget western and something of a vehicle for the great Lee Marvin, playing his usual drunken, ne'er-do-well character. The western is also a showcase for a number of youthful stars including Ron Howard and Charles Martin Smith, moving on from their work on American GRAFFITI. The story sees bank robber Marvin taking the youths under his wing as part of his gang, but of course the story gets complicated after that.
This film is one of the less well-known works of director Richard Fleischer but at times it's just as interesting as something like TORA! TORA! TORA!. Marvin is great value and the young actors do well, and the narrative structure which begins with idealism and ends with pessimism is handled adroitly. The ending is particularly hard-hitting and effective.
This film is one of the less well-known works of director Richard Fleischer but at times it's just as interesting as something like TORA! TORA! TORA!. Marvin is great value and the young actors do well, and the narrative structure which begins with idealism and ends with pessimism is handled adroitly. The ending is particularly hard-hitting and effective.