Hell to Pay

Not sure if this is just a lousy movie or if it was intended to be a mockery of a "B" Western. Story line was so-so but the filming, editing and acting were just plain bad. Plus the music in the background was irritating to no end, too loud and just non-stop. Many times you could not make out the dialog over the background music. I'm in SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) and do some Old West shooting with them, and a lot of the actors are members of this group, so that's why I bought it. If you have no interest in this group of people, or that sport, you certainly most likely wouldn't even have this little bit of interest to help out with the film. The acting of even the veteran actors (particularly Stella Stevens) left a lot to be desired also.

I love a good Western movie, but this was more like watching a play on stage or an act at the local street carnival show. I could only stand 38 minutes of it in hopes that it would improve, but it only got worse and I had to end it. Each actor(s) stated the lines as if reading directly from the script or cue cards. There was too much predictability to the lines and actions not as if a natural occurrence or conversation. The wig on Rachel Kimsey was obvious. The actresses playing Native American sisters, could have played non-native parts and should have. Wardrobe for the Native Americans could have been better and a little more authentic looking. If I decide to watch it with any friends in the future, I will do so, not with the expectations of watching a good Western, but with the expectations of watching an amateur comedy film production.

I really enjoyed watching Hell to Pay. I've been a fan of Westerns for as long as I can remember and this one reminded me of a lot of the Westerns from the 1960s (even though I was too young to have seen them in their first run). The one thing that bothered me about the movie was the constant music. It was distracting at times. One thing I did notice, and I wonder how many other fans of Gunsmoke noticed, was the name of Buck Taylor's character. It was a play on Doc Adams' name from Gunsmoke. Instead of Gaylan Adams, Buck Taylor used Adam Galen. I wonder if that was his choice or Chris McIntyre's? Anyway, I would recommend this movie to fans of Westerns. Don't expect anything too "deep". Just plain old entertainment.

When I was in my early 20s The Over The Hill Gang came out and the oldtimers were such folks as Pat O'Brien, Chill Wills, Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine and a bunch more old character actors who gave us so much pleasure on the big screen. It came out in 1969. In 2005 Hell To Pay came out and while the leads were young, the players in various supporting roles were a bunch of players I knew from back in the day from current TV westerns. They're the best part of this film.

Kevin Kazakoff and William Gregory Lee star here as a pair of brothers who split the family with their differing views on the Civil War. Kazakoff became a war hero in the Union Army while Lee just sat out the war and sharpened his poker hand and his connections with various loose women.

Kazakoff has settled on a new claim and wants to be a farmer. Lee hasn't seen any need to reform, but as we know in these westerns family ties in the end are the strongest of all.

However the real treat is to see a whole slew of people who starred in TV westerns back in the day back for a last hurrah. Several men and one woman Stella Stevens who it is certainly adding something to anything she appears in.

Best in the film of the oldtimers is James Drury as the town sheriff and Peter Brown as the town banker.

Not the greatest of westerns, but nostalgia fans like me will enjoy it.

I cannot see how anyone can say that this was a real good entertaining movie. With a few well known actors I found it hard to believe that this was only made in 2005. It's crap! The acting is tantamount to amateur dramatics, poor amateur dramatics. Unless you want to laugh loudly at an amazing 100 minutes of pure corn, don't bother to download it or rent it, worst that I have seen in years. It's from the bygone days of acting, where cowboys are shooting 8 bullets from the six-shooters. The more well known the actor, the worse they were, Drury was just sad. I was extremely disappointed with Lee Majors, has he actually stooped to this sort of garbage? It was bad enough when he played the six million dollar man.