Hawmps!

I remember virtually nothing about this movie that I saw as a child in 76 or 77. But I thought I would share one of my funniest childhood memories that is associated with the film. I was living in Florida and my mother went up north to visit relatives for a week. My father undoubtedly thought that this would make a perfect time for some male bonding and decided to take me to a movie. I chose Hawmps and we came to a theatre that was packed ( I guess it had a solid opening weekend). We had arrived late (my father was perpetaully behind in time) and the movie was already playing. We walked down the rows and most were full, occasionally a row had a just one seat open, but never two. Finally my dad (who wore thick glasses and never could see too well in the dark) said "there's two seats", and pointed to the end of a row. As I made my way down I noticed that only one seat was vacant. I turned to my dad to try to explain but he said "keep going", so as a child I just figured my dad must know what he was doing, so I found a seat and sat down, noticing that beside me was a small boy, about 3 years old. Much to my shock my father proceeded to sit right on the kid! He let out a shreik that was audible throughout the theater and his father jumped up even faster than my embarassed dad did and asked him what he thought he was doing. My father quickly told me to remain in my seat and he'd meet me outside of the theater after the show. I laughed throughout the movie, but not at any of the gags--at the thought of my father nearly skwishing the kid next to me.

One of the funniest scenes is Bad Jack Cutter (Jack Elam) submitting his resume to Sergeant Tibbs. The premise of the movie is hilarious, and it's just very well done. it ain't Shakespeare, but it ain't supposed to be. Maybe I can relate to the movie because Lt. Clemmons' story is the story of my own life.

HAWPS was produced by the creator of Benji, and it contains the same family-oriented take on a not so familiar subject, In the Mid-1800s the US military considered the use of Camels to transport Calvary troops on the Western plains. The project was not a success, but this fun family western details some of the chaos that might have ensued ! James Hampton(F-Troop) does a fine job as the lead, and Jack Elam nearly steals the film as a cantankerous and black-hearted villain. Slim Pickens is also on hand as a rival Sergeant. Denver Pyle is the bewildered Fort Commander amazed by the entire fiasco that takes place.The Camels are a sight to behold also,

A fun, lighthearted and pleasant western, with a number of genuine belly laughs! Enjoyed it !

Hawmps is one of those films that exploits a little known morsel of history, and capitalizes on it a great deal.

Although designed as a "family" film the humor doesn't placate to children exclusively. It is a genuinely funny film, although the laughs are somewhat subtle (sometimes scaled down) in some of the gags. There aren't many large laughs in the movie (though there are a few), but there are a great deal of chuckles and smiles.

Anyone who lived through the 70's will recognize many a face in this film, giving the movie a bit of a TV movie feel. The film is scheduled to be on DVD in the fall of 2002 (Now, in fact), but has not been released as of this date.

April 28th, 2005 update; DVD Review

Well, I finally got a copy of the DVD from Goodtimes Entertainment, and I have to say that next to Platinum DVD's titles this is one of the worst DVD transfers I've ever seen.

Some history, in the early 90's I managed to find a copy of "Hawmps?" published by "Best Film & Video Corp." who put out a cheap EP VHS version that was barely watchable. I wrote a letter to Joe Camp Films to express my displeasure. The next thing I know Joe Camp is in litigation with the company that was marketing his films on VHS, and, some how, managed to get the rights back.

Fast forward again and I come across Joe Camp's "Benji" website. I call up their company, speak with one of his personal assistants, and am told that "Hawmps!" will be reissued on DVD, and that "they" (presumably the company and owners of the property) were, and I quote, "We're going back to the original negative..." Meaning a fresh, crystal clear, and remastered print of the film would be forever preserved via optical media.

Well, today I got a copy, and looking at the fuzzy picture, a large number of dirty frames (including some with editing marks on them), I can only assumed I was lied to, or, in some way, was misguided or otherwise misled. If not by Joe Camp films, then by proxy of Goodtimes DVD.

And it's a real shame too, because the film deserves better treatment. It's not the best film ever made, it's not the funniest, but it's got a certain charm and appeal that should've been better preserved. Years back, when Home Box Office aired this film, it was given a fresh color corrected print which they themselves processed before airing. It was a high quality, crystal-clear, print with sound to match. I only wish I had had sense enough to tape it when it aired all those years ago.

I'm not really sure who to blame for this fiasco, but I can no longer give my personal thumb of approval to this film, or its owners, until a better version (as was promised) hits the market.

In the meantime avoid this thing. Bad sound, bad visuals... I'll bet I could buy a bootleg off the street that's better than this crud.

I love this movie. I know that it's not the greatest film ever made, but it's just so much fun. My older brother took me to see this when it came out in 1976. Ever since then, I've thought of this as "F Troop: The Movie." It even stars James Hampton, who was the bugler, Cpl. Dobbs, on "F Troop." It's a shame that Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, and Ken Berry aren't in this film, but Christopher Connelly, Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, and Denver Pyle are always great...And when that band starts playing in the saloon, I laugh every time. This is of those movies like "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and (the original) "That Darn Cat" that entire families can watch together and get a good laugh.