The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Okay western comedy is kept afloat mostly by it's two leads, Yul Brynner and Richard Crenna. Brynner plays Callow, a fast talking cowboy conman, who steals cattle from a wealthy rancher. Civil War buddy and now sheriff, Crenna, goes after Brynner, as does a vicious killer hired by the aggrieved rancher. The film gets a lot of milage from Leonard Nimoy playing the hired gun. Seeing Mr. Spock in a villainous and highly animated role is a whole lot of fun, even if his part is a smaller one. And Nimoy isn't the only one playing against type. The usually stoic Brynner is equally amusing to watch all goofy and smiling (at one point he even gets to mug after getting kicked in the groin). On the downside, the comedy as scripted isn't all that funny, though the cast does the most with what they have. Despite that, the film is fast paced, never boring, and I consider myself entertained. Overall, this is far from a western classic, but it's a must-see for Brynner and Nimoy fans, and well worth checking out for western fans.

Based on the 1963 novel by Louis L'Amour, this modern western stars Yul Brynner, Richard Crenna, and ... oddly enough, Leonard Nimoy (Spock, from Star Trek), who had been appearing in small TV roles since the 1950s. Brynner is Catlow, and in spite of being hunted down by Cowan (Richard Crenna), he not only helps Cowan when Cowan is in injured, but also plans on stealing two million dollars in Mexico. This one is more of a "bullet burner" than an "oat burner", as the ol westerns were called. Some beautiful scenery of Spain in here. It's listed as "Comedy,western" by imdb... and granted, there are some scenes with fun, upbeat music, as they are clocking the soldiers, one by one. For all the years Brynner had been in hollywood, he still has a pretty strong foreign accent. Also a knockdown, slap-stick fight with Christina. Christina was played by JoAnn Pflug, who was married to Mr. Game-Show, Chuck Woolery. I consider this one more of a western than a comedy. It's a typical western... L'Amour, who was actually born LaMoore, had written TONS of western stories, and many were made into films. Directed by Sam Wanamaker, who directed mostly TV shows, and had been acting since the 1960s. It's pretty okay, but it aren't no shakespeare.

Catlow is directed by Sam Wanamaker and adapted to screenplay from the Louis L'Amour novel by Scott Finch and J.J. Griffith. It stars Yul Brynner, Richard Crenna, Leonard Nimoy and Daliah Lavi. Filmed in Metrocolor/Panavision, photography is by Ted Scaife and music by Roy Budd.One time buddies in the Civil War, Catlow (Brynner) and Cowan (Crenna), are now on opposite sides of the law. Let the shenanigans begin!Catlow is one of those Oaters that is - in spite of its ordinariness - so harmless to the point it's near impossible to dislike with genuine displeasure. Essentially it finds Brynner and Crenna as pals constantly playing cat and mouse with each other, all while they are entangled in danger (courtesy of Mexican soldiers, Indians and Nimoy's vengeful gunman) and affairs of the heart (Lavi and the beautiful Jo Ann Pflug).It's all very formulaic, and directed as such, but there's still a lot going for it. Everybody seems to be having a good time of things, with some hamming it up on purpose - obviously with a tongue in cheek nod to Spaghetti Westerns - others relishing chances to exude ebullience (Lavi) and gruff meanness (Nimoy). There's some truly funny moments, with witty dialogue to match, and the action scenes are as solid as the rock formations that boom out of the Almeria locations.Budd's musical score is a bit hit and miss, often sounding like it belongs in an episode of Alias Smith and Jones as opposed to a full feature length film, while there's a lack of an edge to make the finale be anything other than run of the mill. Tis fun though! Pic looks lovely, with TCM HD channel showing a print that extols the virtues of having a top cinematographer on lens duties. Harmless and enjoyable enough, even if ultimately it's forgettable once over. 6/10

I don't think their is a five minute sequence in the whole movie that makes any sense! There are bunch of segways, the story is just plain very difficult to follow. Yul Brynner has the most annoying girlfriend i ever seen in a movie. You wish she'd just die, so you don't have to hear her. Nimoy barely speaks. The movie just moves from 1 scene to the next with a story that next to impossible to follow, and frankly the movie is so bad why bother to make any sense of it. I love western's & this is perhaps the worst i ever seen. It's not funny, nor amusing, just annoying. The story follows no guide. Even after the end scene i still couldn't even figure out if they got the gold! It's just plain that bad!