The Rainbow Boys

Ralph Logan (Donald Pleasence) is a small time gold paner. Gladys (Kate Reid) is his reluctant friend. Mazella (Don Calfa) has a book of lost mines. Logan claims that he inherited a lost gold mine from his father. The trio sets off to find the remote mine.

This is a little Canadian indie with some government help. The three leads are very interesting veteran actors. Every horror fans know Donald Pleasence. It's interesting just for these performers. This seems to be trying for quirky comedy although it's hit and miss. Logan and Mazella can be annoying until you get used to them. This just doesn't have enough meat on the bone. The story is thin and there aren't many actual jokes. The 70's had a lot of rambling experimental flicks. They do have a righteous trike.

Competent direction and writing are lacking for this Canadian film shot in picturesque British Columbia, featuring Donald Pleasence as a gold prospector named Logan. Of rather an unstable disposition, Logan nevertheless keeps company with a widow played by Kate Reid when he is not panning for gold with little success, and suddenly the lives of the pair are disrupted by a young man from Brooklyn, Mazella (Don Calfa). Mazella shows Logan a book that describes possible locations of untapped gold mines in the Pacific Northwest and his discussion of them stimulates Logan to search for the "Little Lemon Mine" prospected by his late father who had failed to reach its lode. The oddly mingled trio spontaneously journeys, upon Mazella's quaint three wheeled motorcycle, into a wilderness on the track of the Little Lemon for which Logan has an old map, and they have some uninspired adventures along the way. Director Gerald Potterton's script wants clarity, lacks continuity, and even a better cast could not give it harmony, as Potterton's woeful attempts at humour do not amuse. One might expect that whenever a director is responsible for a film's screenplay, he should know how to tighten the action to align a story with his perceptions in order for the cast to avoid relying upon ad libbing, but such is not the case here, where torpor prevails and competent editing is an unfulfilled requirement. Pleasence therefore resorts, with scant control from the helm, to his customary hamminess while Reid simply seems to be befuddled throughout, leaving Calfa of the three principals owning the acting laurels, although his part as written lacks definition. The most rewarding aspect to this misfire, apart from the scenery, is its interesting scoring by always effectual Howard Blake, and although it seldom is matched with action on the screen, that is not a fault of the composer, but rather of generally shabby post-production efforts.

Dave's not here man...

Well it's a movie, a Canadian road adventure movie. Not too sure what else I could say about this movie to to use up all my IMDB characters for a full review.

First off I put it on to see some early film work from SCTV alum Dave Thomas but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't see him in any shot.

We have 3 main leads with 5 other supporting actors, 1-store clerk, 1-accident victim, and 3 native Canadians. I don't even think there was any animals to help bring to life the backgrounds.

It's mainly shot on logging roads, starts with a river shot, a shot on the highway, a sceen in a general store, then back on the road. We get to see inside a home for a bit then we end off at a little shack adjesent to a mine. Really seems like they were all the free spots to film that wouldn't cost them any money or more likely where Canada told them they could film.

But really, where's Dave man??

I was hoping for at least a decent size role which would have made it maybe funny.

Some comments on this movie are unfair, I think. It's just a goofy little comedy, nothing more. Is it perfect? Nope. But there are many moments of pleasure, one being Donald Pleasence's eccentric performance. "Bastards!" I remember seeing this on TV many times as a kid, so that's probably why I have a fondness for this. I was lucky enough to find a VHS copy on Ebay. Too bad it's not on DVD, even a cheap two-for edition.

Also good is Don Calfa, as a really out of it, seriously goofy New Yorker who is lured to British Columbia on vague dreams of striking it rich. Kate Reid holds it together as a grumpy though sane woman, in stark contrast to Donald Pleasence's barely in control character and Don Calfa's airhead one.

All in all, I'd recommend it if you can find a cheap copy on video, or if it's on TV one late night...

It is my own but very devoted intention to watch every single movie Donald Pleasance ever starred in. He's not just a personal favorite actor mine, he truly was one of the greatest and most versatile actors who ever lived. And he definitely was one of the hardest-working men in show business, because with more than 250 titles on his repertoire - some of which nearly untraceable - is this little mission of mine practically impossible.

With a career as Pleasance's, you secretly hope to occasionally stumble upon a largely undiscovered but awesome gem, like "Wake in Fright" or "The Race for Yankee Zephyr". I strongly hoped for this to be the case with "Logan", but alas, it's tremendously obscure for a good reason. In this early 70s comedy/adventure about a trio of vagrants in search of an inherited but hidden gold mine, only Pleasance's performance and the astounding British-Columbia filming locations are worth mentioning.

"Logan" (official title: "The Rainbow Boys") is too talkative, not very funny when it tries to be, and the slapstick-like soundtrack is incredibly annoying. Even a terrific Donald Pleasance cannot compensate for the subpar performances of his two fellow leads, and even the breath-taking scenery of the great outdoors eventually doesn't suffice, neither.