Product Details

• Actors: Burt Lancaster, Diana Lynn, Dianne Foster, John McIntire, Una Merkel
• Directors: Burt Lancaster
• Writers: A.B. Guthrie Jr., Felix Holt
• Producers: Harold Hecht, James Hill
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302605075
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,646 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As an independent producer-star, circus-tough with charisma to burn, Burt Lancaster could be hard on directors. So it wasn't surprising when he decided he could do the job himself. It was a mistake he made only once (apart from cohelming 1974's The Midnight Man). For all his balletic control as an actor-athlete, Lancaster showed no sense of how a film should move and breathe over an hour and a half, or how to make the characters' growth or changes of mind credible. The Kentuckian has a bedrock American folk tale at its core, but scarcely a clue how to tell it.

It's the early 18th century--Monroe is president--and buckskin-clad Lancaster and his son (Donald MacDonald) are lighting out for Texas: "It ain't we don't like people--we like room more." They plan to briefly visit Lancaster's tobacco-dealer brother (John McIntire) in the river town of Humility, then move on. But there are complications from a long-running feud, and some nasty baiting from a whip-cracking storekeeper (Walter Matthau in his film debut); the need to replace their "Texas money" after buying freedom for a bondservant (Dianne Foster); also the matter of deciding who's prettier, her or the local schoolmarm (Diana Lynn). Lancaster aims for some quaint Americana--a sing-along to the tinkling of a pianoforte, a jaw-dropping riverside production number--and there's one nifty bit of action based on how long it took to reload a flintlock rifle. But mostly this film just lies there in overlit CinemaScope. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars they sure dont make em like this anymore!, January 8, 2004

By 

rob mahar (missoula,MT.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kentuckian (DVD)

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.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not classic, but all Lancaster..., May 14, 2001

By 

Mark Savary "moon_city" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kentuckian (DVD)

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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great characters for Matthau and Carradine., May 26, 2005

By 

R. Christenson "SpaceComics.com" (Pine, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kentuckian (DVD)

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.