Skin Game

OK finally got to watch this previously unavailable James Garner Western. It was directed by Paul Bogart who was basically a TV director and it really shows since the film doesn't quite use all of the advantages available to a cinematic endeavor. The only other film that I've seen that I know of directed by Bogart is another Garner vehicle based on Raymond Chandler's private eye character called "Marlowe" which I've seen and liked, but not in quite a while.

This film is probably the closest Garner ever gets in a film, that I've seen, to him reprising his Maverick persona when he his still young enough to pull it off, (he does so somewhat also, in the two Support Your Local... films with his cool wisecracking deliveries) but here he is actually playing a character Quincy Drew, who is a con man in the best Maverick Brothers tradition. The story circa (1857) deals with two con men Drew and Jason O'Rourke (Lou Gossett) a native of New Jersey, who we later discover met in a jail in Pennsylvania when O'Rourke was thrown into a cell next to Drew who was doing time for telling fortunes, its hilarious seeing Garner in a turban and fortune telling garb. They hit it off, and devise various different cons that they try out as a team until they hit on what they call the "Skin Game". This con consists of Garner riding into various Western border state towns Kansas, Missouri, etc., feigning poverty and as a result has to sell his best slave at an impromptu auction in the saloon, hotel, etc., etc. Susan Clark, plays a shady lady/pickpocket/con woman who targets the guys taking their money who eventually becomes Garners love interest. Ed Asner here, is in his villain period and he does a pretty good job as a slave catcher operating in the border area who eventually catches on to the con game. Gossett does a great job along with Garner & Clark.

The film is entertaining and plays it safe and cutesy, but it could have been a whole lot better with a more creative and daring director, its reminiscent of Eastwood's self produced Malpaso Production films in that respect, Cherokee Productions is Garner's company.

The what if's: If it would have shown Gossett & Garner's other various cons and how they stumbled upon the "Skin Game" con and had a better ending than the contrived one it does have it would been better.

I'll give it a 7-8/10 mostly for its Maverick nostalgia value. Its a shame its not on TV in rotation with other Westerns on the various movie channels but I think the frequent use of the "n" word probably is the cause of its not being so. Its almost as if the mainstream media has decided that that period of American History has been dealt with enough and can be swept into the closet.

Shows the hypocrisy of slavery while also showing a bond between a white and black man running a con on slave traders. Had some really funny parts too! I never knew about this movie.

American film critic Leonard Maltin describes Skin Game as an exceptional comedy...and I agree with him. To make a comedy focussing on two con men ripping off slave owners without regard to any-thing but making money, while at the same time satirizing American slavery is itself bold and original, especially considering the film was made in 1971. However, to make such a comedy work so smoothly and inoffensively as it does is indeed exceptional. Skin Game manages to work for a number of reasons, including because it is serious when it needs to be, complementing the humour with well-crafted dramatic moments that are firmly anchored in the plot and effectively convey the injustice and tragedy of slavery. It does this without attempting to make any grand moralizing statements that would detract from the main thrust of the story and lure the viewer into obvious sentimentalism. Furthermore, while Skin Game is first and foremost a comedy, after its two main characters end up face-to-face with the brutality of slavery, it becomes clear that the gig is up and the comedy is over. Ultimately, slavery is too horrible a business to be taken lightly and the two smart-ass cons have learned their lesson by the end of the movie. In these ways, the film can manage to be satirical and funny, while not appearing to make light of a very serious topic. It should also be mentioned that the humour is of course never directed at slavery or the slaves, but at the slave owners and their stupidly racist attitudes. Another reason why Skin Game works so well is because of the wonderful performances by its two main stars, James Garner and Lou Gossett Jr. Garner is of course an expert at playing the charming and witty fast-talking rascal, and in Skin Game, he gives one of his very best performances in a comedy film (along with Support Your Local Sheriff and The Americanization of Emily). However, the film also revealed Lou Gossett Jr.'s considerable talent. In his first important role in a major film, Gossett easily holds his own against Garner. The two have strong chemistry together, constantly trying to outcon each-other and delivering their humorous lines with ease, charm and spontaneity. The humour itself is maybe not highly sophisticated or extremely funny, but it's a smart tongue-in-cheek kind of comedy that makes you regularly grin and never feels forced. Overall, Skin Game is not only an exceptional film, but an excellent one that intelligently balances comedy and drama, and develops its unusual premise in an amusing, sensitive, and unpredictable manner. It's a shame this movie is not more appreciated, though it did lead to a TV remake (Sidekicks with Gossett reprising his role and Larry Hagman replacing Garner), and other reviewers have pointed out its possible influence on Django Unchained.

Remember how Clint Eastwood's character in "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" had that wonderful scam of turning Eli Wallach in for the reward money, saving him from the hangman's noose and then taking him to the next town to repeat the process all over again, piling up the cash in the process? James Garner and Louis Gossett Jr. essentially have the same graft going in this film, except that they're in the South in 1854 and Gossett is black, not wanted, so Garner poses as a plantation owner while Gossett poses as the devoted slave that he must part with due to falling on hard times. Garner sells Gossett, Gossett escapes, and then they move on to the next town/state to do it all over again.

I found this to be an inspired premise, and "Skin Game" does quite a bit with it. Somehow the movie manages to acknowledge and explore the drama within this situation while still mining it for every possible ounce of comedy. It doesn't quite hit the delirious "let's mock the stupidity of racism" heights that Mel Brooks did in "Blazing Saddles" but that's an unfair comparison. For one thing, "Skin Game" takes itself, and its subject, far more seriously. It's fun to watch these con men take money from unsuspecting racist assholes, to be sure, but the movie never forgets that this institution actually existed, that it ruined countless lives, and that its impacts on society were far-reaching and terrible. "Skin Game" isn't as bitingly satirical as it could be, but it does have some bite to it, and the horrors of racism ensure that this film, which would otherwise be a fairly light affair, has some real suspense going for it.

More than "Blazing Saddles", the movie of which "Skin Game" most reminded me was "Django Unchained". It boasts the same setting, of course, and both movies feature people pretending to be who they are not within this setting. Like "Django", "Skin Game" also features a black man and a white man who have a genuine friendship and a fun camaraderie with one another. Being the film geek that he is, I am almost certain that Tarantino has seen this film and the two movies share a similar vibe and feel at times, although Quentin spins his story into a different and more violent beast. I don't know if either movie is more "important" than the other. Quentin uses this setting for a bloody, highly quotable revenge narrative, while "Skin Game" uses it for a novel variation on the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" dynamic. It starts as a breezy, light con man story with a controversial spin but then deepens into a critique of the institution of slavery that still allows for a good deal of humor and excitement. Director Paul Bogart doesn't provide much in the way of haunting visuals and the whole story could have been told in a more effective manner at times, but he maintains an energetic pace throughout and highlights the chemistry between his leads. Garner, as always, is incredibly charming. Gossett, in contrast, gives his character just the right amount of outrage and anger while still having fun with the whole situation...until the situation changes and fun is no longer possible. Gossett's is the more interesting of the two characters, as he should be, and has more dramatic angles with which to wrestle. After all, he is profiting from a system that enslaves and kills people of his own race. The movie is smart enough to acknowledge and explore this fact at every turn and give Gossett an interesting, three-dimensional character through which to consider all of this.

If anything, "Skin Game" is probably a little too breezy considering its subject matter. With Garner at the lead, its bland visual style and its Western feel, it often feels like a "Very Special Episode" of "Maverick". I appreciate the fact that the movie doesn't moralize too strenuously and that it doesn't go too far into Oscar bait/"Racism is Bad" territory, but maybe a movie taking place within the world of slaves and plantations should be a bit more serious about those subjects. Or maybe not, not necessarily. I mean, the movie shows us at least one whipping and the pens that potential slaves are being held in, and it does show us a couple of slave auctions so it's not like "Skin Game" is going out of its way to avoid the realities of slavery...though it does present such things in a very Hollywood manner. It would be nice if the movie was a bit more brutal about such things. But, still, "Skin Game" manages to show the ugliness of this horrible institution without sacrificing the entertainment value of its fun con man story, and I found that admirable. The movie doesn't really know how to end, and I would have liked if its female lead was a little more interesting. Susan Clark is okay as the con woman who falls for Garner, steals all of his money, and then helps him when he really needs it, but it would have been nice if she'd had a few more dimensions to work with. Brenda Sykes, on the other hand, does a great job with Naomi, the slave girl for whom Gossett's character falls. Her characters is complicated and interesting. Not only that, but Sykes is beautiful whereas Clark is a bit odd looking (not that she can help that, obviously). But despite its problems, "Skin Game" is still something of a fascinating film that has been unfairly forgotten over the years. Had it not popped up during a James Garner day on Turner Classic Movies, I probably never would have heard of it. Luckily I did hear of it, and saw it, and recommend that others seek it out as well. It's not perfect, but it's definitely worth seeing.

James Garner ever since he made his first big hit in the television series of Maverick refined the playing of a con man who's no better than he ought to be into a fine art. Quincy Drew is a further refining of the Bret Maverick character.

James Garner can be serious when he wants to be, but I've always gotten the feeling he enjoys being Maverick or Jim Rockford far better than playing it straight. He has to enjoy it more, he's so darn good at it.

Here he's got a racket going with Lou Gossett, Jr. During the days just before the Civil War in the 1850s he and Gossett work this con where Garner keeps buying and selling Gossett as a slave. Of course Gossett escapes and then they move on to the next town.

Trouble is with that kind of a con, your reputation is bound to catch up with you. Gossett, who was born in New Jersey and is a free black man, gets a view of slavery he didn't bargain for. Along the way he meets Brenda Sykes.

Garner also meets up with Susan Clark who's also a grifter. She aids him in his search for Gossett.

Gossett and Garner don't exactly redeem themselves in the end, but you know this is not a racket they will be trying any more.