The Klansman (1974)

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

William Bradford Huie (novel)
Millard Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 October 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Welcome to scenic Atoka County. Pop 10,000. Cross burnings. Rape. Murder. Arson. Its a great place to live...... if THEY let you.

Plot:

An FBI Agent goes undercover in the Ku Klux Klan.

Plot Keywords:

Black Man | Ku Klux Klan | Breasts | False Accusation | Miscarriage Of Justice

Cast

Lee Marvin	...	Sheriff Track Bascomb
Richard Burton	...	Breck Stancill
Cameron Mitchell	...	Butt Cutt Cates
O.J. Simpson	...	Garth
Lola Falana	...	Loretta Sykes
David Huddleston	...	Mayor Hardy Riddle
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Trixie
Linda Evans	...	Nancy Poteet
Ed Call	...	Shaneyfelt
John Alderson	...	Vernon Hodo
John Pearce	...	Taggart
David Ladd	...	Flagg
Vic Perrin	...	Hector
Spence Wil-Dee	...	Willy Washington
Wendell Wellman	...	Alan Bascomb

Also Known As:

KKK
The Burning Cross
Atoka (West Germany) [de]
Czlowiek klanu (Poland) [pl]
Det flammende kors (Denmark) [da]
El hombre del clan (Spain) [es]
Flegomenoi stavroi (Greece) [el]
Gennithikan katharmata (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
L'homme du clan (France) [fr]
L'uomo del clan (Italy) [it]
O Homem da Klã (Brazil) [pt]
O Homem do Klan (Portugal) [pt]
Os homens Violentos do Klã (Brazil) [pt]
Verflucht sind sie Alle (West Germany) [de]
Verinen joukko (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | Norway:18 (1975) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Oroville, California, USA

Company:

Atlanta Productions

Trivia:

Co-writer Samuel Fuller was originally set to direct, but walked off the project.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever Part 4 (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Good Christian People

Nowhere near as bad as some people claim! Muddled, but still watchable.

I'd heard a lot ABOUT 'The Klansman' but had never seen it before, and hearing the behind the scenes stories (original director an co-writer Sam Fuller walking off set, stars Lee Marvin and Richard Burton both being allegedly so drunk they couldn't remember making it!) I imagined that it was going to be one of the worst movies ever made. It isn't. Now it isn't all that good, mind you, but it's watchable b-grade trash, and Marvin puts in a good performance, drunk or not. Burton's accent is I agree not too good but he is okay, especially if he like Marvin was as drunk as they say he was. The rest of the cast includes the notorious O.J. Simpson as a one man black revolutionary with a gun and an attitude, 'The Big Lebowski's David Huddleston is a racist mayor, and legendary character actor Cameron Mitchell ('Hombre', 'Ride In The Whirlwind', 'The Rebel Rousers',etc.) as the wonderfully named Butt Butt Cates, the later two both being members of the KKK. Linda Evans also appears as a rape victim who sets off a chain of events which end off in violence and tragedy. The main problem with the movie, and this is most likely because of the drama off camera, is that the movie can't decide whether it's trying to be a serious message movie or an exploitation film using racism as an excuse for some sensationalistic thrills. 'Mandingo' made the following year (and its sequel 'Drum') managed to juggle both approaches with a little more success, but 'The Klansman' suffers for its lack of a clear direction. Even so, this movie is nowhere near as bad as many people claim (people who I imagine have never actually WATCHED it) and is still reasonably entertaining, especially if , like 'Reservoir Dogs' Mr Blonde, you are a big Lee Marvin fan.