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i also saw "the farmer" when it came out at my marine corp base theatre and was in the process of shipping out on a Med float, needless to say all us "jar heads" went nuts from the first frame to the last. one great scene where the bad guy's looking out the 4th story window and say's, "i love parades" and the farmer's response is, "well then join it..." it's just cool. gary conway really is convincing as the reluctant former war hero as is the rest of the cast. this film came out at the time other lower budgeted revenge flicks where made, ie: the great, "rolling thunder", "walking tall II" etc. i hope they can bring this little gem out on DVD like anchor bay or blue underground DVD companies with cool extras and remember, the farmer doesn't get mad, he gets even...uhhhhhh rahhhhhhh and semper fi...

Ever since I started with a must-see tracking list, which must have been in 2005 already, "The Farmer" is on spot #1 there. Other titles came and went, based on how easily they were available, but this one always remained. I searched endlessly and around the world for a half-decent copy on VHS, because it didn't seem as if it was ever getting released on DVD or BluRay, but even those quests were fruitless. I must have watched the trailer a hundred times via YouTube, and suddenly now - and quite unexpectedly - the film that over time became my ultimate Holy Grail of exploitation cinema is available in near-perfect picture and sound quality. What a fabulous momentum!

Now, my enthusiasm and ginormous expectations shouldn't influence my review and rating, right? Well, duh... of course it does! In my heart, I already gave this film a flawless 10/10 rating before I even pressed the play-button, so you probably shouldn't look for an objective review here. And yet, in all sincerity, "The Farmer" truly and genuinely is a fantastic drama/thriller. I would say it's one of the best in its kind, but the film is very different to categorize. Most logical would be to label "The Farmer" as a typically raw and gritty '70s revengeploitation/Vietsploitation thriller, kind of like "Rolling Thunder" or "The Zebra Force", except this one takes place after World World II.

Veteran Kyle Martin returns home from the war with a Silver Medal for bravery, but he doesn't have any reason to be joyful. While he was away, his father fell ill and died, and the family farm is in so much debt that the bank puts it up for sale. Kyle saves the life of a sly gambler, but the reward isn't enough to pay the debt. The gambler then offers him a change to earn $50,000 by wiping out a local crime organization. He initially refuses, but when the gangsters rape Kyle's new girlfriend and set fire to his barn, it becomes personal.

Admittedly the first hour of "The Farmer" is a bit slow-paced, but nonetheless very atmospheric and oozing with foreboding suspense. The film steadily builds up towards an extremely violent and harsh last half hour, as well as a totally unexpected but brilliant end-twist. Honestly, the climax is so awesome and something you really don't expect in a type of story like this. The performances are great, notably by Gary Conway and Angel Tompkins, there's a great crooner soundtrack, and a few shockingly bloody moments. Fantastic film, now that I've seen it I can die a happy man (although preferably just in fifty years, or so...)

A passion project for producer / star Gary Conway ("I Was a Teenage Frankenstein", 'Burkes' Law'), "The Farmer" casts him as the title character, otherwise known as Kyle Martin. Kyle is a WWII hero, just returned home, who intends to run the family farm, which is not seen as profitable by the local bank. They would rather foreclose. Then one night, a gambler named Johnny O'Neal (Michael Dante, "Winterhawk") has a car accident on the road, and Kyle saves his life. Johnny sends his gal pal Betty (gorgeous Angel Tompkins, "The Teacher") to gift Kyle with $1,500 for the good deed, but of course it's not enough for the bank. Johnny subsequently gets blinded by vindictive mobsters, and he gives Kyle a proposal: rub out the mobsters, and he can walk away with a cool $50 thousand. Kyle initially refuses, but inevitably changes his mind.

A "lost" film for many years, this only debuted on home video this year. So, was the wait to see this flick worth it? Well, this viewer wouldn't really consider it a *classic* of its genre, but it serves as good, straightforward entertainment - albeit with a nasty edge to it. One thing is for sure: the bad guys / intended victims in this saga do have it coming to them. Although the main mobster is a guy named Passini (George Memmoli ("Phantom of the Paradise"), looking relatively svelte), the worst of the bunch is a dude appropriately named Weasel. Played by the late, great Timothy Scott ("The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez"), Weasel is as despicable as they come.

Conway is just okay as a rather stoic, unemotional character, although the opening sequence sets him up well as a man of honor, who doesn't want to see a black fellow serviceman get disrespected. Still, he makes for a memorable image here, with his hat, shades, and stogie almost constantly clamped between his teeth. Tompkins and Dante are good in support; Memmoli makes the most of his one big scene. Sonny Shroyer ('The Dukes of Hazzard'), Johnny Popwell ('Deliverance'), and Eric Weston (the future director of the horror film "Evilspeak") co-star.

Granted, some of the dialogue is pretty lame, even if four credited people worked on this script, including story author George Fargo. And the music score was inconsistent - sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. At least the songs are pretty nice. And the script *does* work in an amusing surprise near the end, so it wasn't *entirely* predictable.

If you love exploitation cinema of the 70s, or a decent, no-nonsense revenge feature, you'll likely have a good time with this one.

Seven out of 10.

In the immediate wake of WW2, a decorated soldier returns to his small rural farm, now in a state of disrepair and facing imminent foreclosure. After saving the life of a smalltime racketeer in a road accident, and latterly taking up with his pert young lady-friend, a string of increasingly brutal intimidations perpetrated by local gangsters pushes him to his breaking point. Throwing his humble virtuosity over his shoulder, he proceeds to wage bloody war against the town's iniquitous mob kingpin and his degenerate scumbag lackeys.

Following its limited and somewhat controversial 1977 release, THE FARMER remained virtually unseen and largely forgotten for decades. With the advent of social media, occasional mention of the film led to increased interest, and THE FARMER became widely noted as a lost, or at least uncommonly unattainable picture. After a few ensuing screenings and an unauthorized Youtube upload of poor quality, the film finally received a proper Blu-ray release, and it was well worth the wait.

As one of many vigilante justice/vengeance pictures made after the unexpected runaway success of DEATH WISH(1974), THE FARMER is certainly among the cheapest and most graphic of the lot. GARY CONWAY, possibly most noted as a beefcake actor in 60s B films, provides an appropriately staid performance as the archetypal decent man, driven by villains to decidedly not-so-decent, but ultimately condign acts of violence. Lovely ANGEL TOMPKINS is equally suitable as his brassy but principled love interest, and their support players perform accordingly. The late-40s period styling(cars, apparel, interior furnishings, etcetera), is surprisingly well appointed for a low budget film, the exception being a brief scene shot during an actual street parade, wisely presented as a consecution of rapid jump-cuts to minimize the observable 1977 fashions of the crowd.

The first few expository minutes are a bit patchy, and an iterant folk ballad is overused, but THE FARMER is a film easily forgiven of its various shortcomings. It's a tense, excessively violent, and occasionally poignant film imbued with a cynical postwar noir mien, variably redolent of pulp paperbacks by writers such as Jim Thompson and David Goodis. Now that it's readily available, I suspect the film will medialize an enthusiastic viewership, and hopefully receive some long-withheld acknowledgements.

7/10...better late than never.

So it was not until later that I realized what an testosterone packed, ultra-violent film it was, (I just assumed "all" American movies had taken the lead from Sam Peckinpah, since I'd been overseas...Wrong!:0) yet "The Farmer" was well done and you cared about his mission and survival. I'd shave all the hair off my left one to have this movie on DVD!!! It is an overlooked gem of it's genre' and "rules" on the viceral level (i.e., you want to see the Farmer take out the bad guys, similar to the buzz engendered in the original Bronson's "Death Wish", but much less repellent). It even has some historical accuracy in reference to the treatment of returning war veterans (I remember respecting that touch at the time). Not to be missed by action fans...