Customer Reviews

The Kentuckian

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

wow, we've got some pretty heavy critics here! my guess is that anyone who doesnt like the kentuckian is either a sissy or reviews way to many movies and needs to get some sunshine. as a boy i was fasinated by this movie. it was easy to be romanced by this film because of the boy and his dog and how he prefered hannah over the school marm, and is ultimatly right about her in the in the end. the movie knows exactly where its going(if you are paying attention)and has a beautiful way of showing you what things must have been like back then,i.e. the singing black entertainers prompting lancaster of "texas""texas" texas"!, when the boat comes to town. this is a wonderful movie for children that havent yet been polluted by the endless amount of crap that unfortunatly is in abundance nowadays. this film still has enough drama and human interest with an actual, real substance for any age. its a mere record of what life was like in one part of the world at one time and its done quite well if you let the movie take you instead of find whats wrong with it.

One of only two films directed by Lancaster, "The Kentuckian" is neither a rousing success nor a glaring disaster. The direction is not all that stylish, but it is no embarrassment. Bernard Herrmann adds to the picture with his musical score.

The story is about Kentucky frontiersman Big Eli, and his son Little Eli, fleeing an infamous family feud and looking for a new life in Texas. They stop along the way to free a bondswoman from her contract, which costs them all of their "Texas money", the funds set aside for passage to Texas.

Big Eli goes to work for his brother (John McIntire), in the tobacco business, and life among townspeople changes his plans, much to his son's dismay.

There is romance, and some pretty fair action with Lancaster in a whip fight. The best moment is Lancaster rushing to reach a shooter as he reloads his flintlock rifle in real-time.

Walter Matthau has a good turn as a menacing town boss, and John Carradine does a marvelous portrayal of a medicine man/snake oil salesman. Una Merkel plays Eli's sister-in-law.

Dianne Foster is ravishing as the freed bondswoman Hannah. She guest-starred in a ton of TV classics in the 50's and 60's, including "Wagon Train", "Perry Mason", "The Fugitive", "Honey West", "Petticoat Junction", and "Route 66".

At times, the picture does not seem to know where it's going. At other times, the picture is very cohesive. The DVD transfer isn't bad, either. Well worth a viewing, "The Kentuckian" is a real treat for Lancaster fans.

A fine family classic in the tradition of The Proud Rebel, Treasure of Lost Canyon, and Rachel and the Stranger.
Burt Lancaster is a widower raising his son in the Kentucky wilderness, which has become too tame for them at the time of this story, so they've saved enough for a river boat ticket to Texas. But a bond girl (Dianne Foster) shows them kindness, so they buy her freedom with their "Texas money." They tentatively plan to take her with them when they save up enough money again, so Lancaster takes a job with his brother (John McIntyre) and Foster works for a local bar keeper played by Walter Matthau in his first screen role. Meanwhile some feuders are pursuing Lancaster just because of his name (Watefield), and bound to catch up soon.
There's an interesting riverboat scene and some plot developments (Diana Lynn) that come between father and son; but the best part is a whip fight with Matthau, a very interesting whip-cracking character who makes this movie worth seeing for his scenes alone. John Carradine is also outstanding as a snake-oil salesman, and the rest of the cast is fine as well.

This is a great film about America's past. Man and boy set out to reach Texas and find all sorts of trouble along the way. Great Bernard Herrmann score sets the haunting mood of this film with real gusto. I will never forget this one.

This is one of my favorite films starring Burt Lancaster. Parts of it filmed in Levi Jackson State Park in London, Kentucky. My Grandmother introduced me to this wonderful film many years ago. It remains a favorite. I would reccomend this as a film that is worth the time devoted to it's viewing. Beautiful scenery and just very entertaining. My Grandmother always liked to relate to me of the many visits by the film cast and crew (including Mr. Lancaster) to the little restaurant where she worked in London, Ky. Give this film a try...they don't make them like this anymore. Classic story and classic actors !

W. Davis, A Proud Kentuckian

The Kentuckian is the only film that Burt Lancaster ever directed, and while it is not a bad film, it is not up to the caliber of Lancaster's many great Westerns.

In The Kentuckian, Lancaster plays the titular character, a 17th century frontiersman on his way to take his son to live in wide-open Texas country. He stops along the way to visit his brother, played by John McIntire. But Lancaster gets involved with a former indentured servant, and runs afoul of a mean Walter Matthau (who likes to brandish a whip, no less), and Lancaster and the boy's plans are altered.

The Kentuckian is entertaining in several ways, but not as good as Apache, Gunfight at The OK Corral, and his other Westerns. But the acting is very good, and this movie was nothing for Lancaster to be ashamed of, so watch this film when you have a chance. It's not the best, but you won't feel like you've wasted your time.

Released in 1955, "The Kentuckian" is one of only a couple films directed by Burt Lancaster.

THE STORY takes place during the presidency of James Madison circa 1815. Lancaster plays Eli Wakefield, a Kentuckian who desires more room to breath in Texas. Still in Kentucky, they blow their "Texas money" on freeing a beautiful indentured servant, Hannah (Dianne Foster). They don't get past the next frontier town where Eli takes up with his brother in the tabacco business and Hannah gets a job as a bar matron. Eli's dreams of Texas are sidetracked when he meets up with a school marm (Diana Lynn) who encourages him to settle down and make a family with her. The problem is that Eli's son prefers Hannah and doesn't want to give up their Texas dream. Meanwhile feuders are hot on Eli's trail, not to mention malevolent local businessman Walter Matthau with a whip.

Some of the highlights include:

-- Lush Eastern locations. The film was shot in Levi Jackson State Park, Kentucky (near London), as well as Owensboro, Kentucky, which is on the Ohio River, and Rockport, which is just across the river in Indiana. The river depicted in the film is supposed to be the Tennessee River (I think), but it was shot on the Ohio. In any event, although "The Kentuckian" is classified as a Western, it's actually an Eastern.

-- The film offers a good glimpse of what the Eastern USA was like back when it was still a frontier -- the cabin-style houses, sleeping in the woods, etc. No internet, cable, video games, dvds or microwaves. People actually sat down with other people and communed.

-- The story is realistic. You don't have to worry about any goofiness or unbelievable bits that plague some 50's Westerns.

-- Back then a huge riverboat coming to town was an exciting attraction. Americans today, by contrast, get all excited over the shenanegans of Britney Spears and whether or not her sister is having another baby.

-- Dianne Foster (Hannah) is a beautiful redhead. One wonders how a woman like this would stay single very long on the frontier.

-- The whip fight with Matthau is great. Lancaster is almost whipped to shreds (!).

-- Loyalty is a sub-theme here. Eli's son is loyal to Hannah and never warms up to the school marm. Hannah is loyal to the man who delivered her from bondage (Eli), despite his infatuation with the marm.

-- I liked the bit on Eli being a laughing stock because of a worthless freshwater pearl, but he gets the last laugh with a letter from the President (or is it?) and additional help.

-- Lastly, Lancaster is a likable protagonist with his charismatic joy-of-living persona, the antithesis of Eastwood's amoral and lifeless 'man with no name.'

The film runs an hour and 44 minutes.

BOTTOM LINE: "The Kentuckian" is breath of fresh air which I enjoyed from beginning to end for all the above reasons; it's sort of like "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) of its era, albeit not as good. It's innocuous and easy-going, but it's as good as practically any 50's Western out there.

PERSONAL GRADE: B+ or A-

This is an excellent, typical, and enjoyable 1955 Burt Lancaster film. Lancaster plays an uneducated hunter from Kentucky who left his home state with his son, who adores him, his dog, and a long horn that both he and his son understand that his son will only be able to blow and produce a sound when he is grown. They leave to escape the crowdedness of Kentucky and to settle in the open spaces of Texas. They have $210, just enough to pay for a ship to Texas.

On their way to the river, walking all the time, they come across a beautiful white enslaved/bounded woman who they buy free for all the money they have. The three and the dog make it to Lancaster's brother's house, by the river. They need to work there to make money for their passage to Texas. Lancaster, an unsophisticated man, is duped by his brother and mocked by the local citizens, but finds a way, by using simple common sense, to gain the admiration of many, but not all of the locals.

In Kentucky, Lancaster's family was in a feud with another family, and two men of the feuding family follow Lancaster and are determined to kill him. Complicating the matter, Lancaster feels that he is in love with a local school teacher and decides to give up his plan to go to Texas. This causes a rift with his son.

Will he resume his plan to go to Texas or stay to marry the school teacher and educate his son? What will happen to the freed beautiful woman? Will the two feuding men be able to kill Lancaster? What happens to the local man, an expert with a whip, who dislikes Lancaster and wants to kill him? Will Lancaster's son grow to blow the horn?

I am a middle-aged man now, but I have never forgotten the scene in this movie where Lancaster races through a pond to reach his would-be killer before that man can reload his flintlock. As a kid, I was captivated by this. It is still a remarkable scene. And when, later, I saw Matthau in comedies, I always recalled his menacing character in this picture. This is a fun picture with no disappointments.

The Kentuckian(1953) is a fairly well made pseudo-Western/Adventure/Drama from first time director, Lancaster.

He stars in this as a Kentucky backwoods man travelling with his son and dog through the country in an attempt to start a new life in Texas. There's trouble along the way as society tries to make Lancaster conform to a much more "stable" form of life. Meanwhile, two killers are on his trail, gunning for him due to an old family feud.

Lancaster directs the film well, employing lots of beautiful natural scenery to create a great sense of place. Technicolor was just right for this film and highlights the adventure.

The acting is just fine, particularly the star. He gets good support from Walter Matthau(in his film debut) as a villainous, whip cracking scoundrel and John Carradine as a bombastic, medicine man.

However, the film seems dis-jointed at times. Despite two really good action set pieces(Lancaster's fight against Matthau and a whip and Lancaster rushing across a stream to stop a killer loading his rifle in real time) the film at times moves a sluggish pace. The romance is stiffly handled and just ignored eventually. Even the film's main purpose seems to get lost amongst many episodic moments.
While the film is entertaining and worth seeing for the performances and those two action sequences, it's not an essential.

DVD is presented in letterbox and it's a pretty good print. There's also a Theatrical Trailer.