Pretty Good

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Amateur theatrics undermine "Border Shoot-Out" writer & director Chris McIntyre's wide-open-spaces epic "Hell to Pay," about enmities left over from the American Civil War. The only thing that distinguishes this pedestrian western that is the roll call of guest stars who starred in either western movies or television series. James Drury, Peter Brown, William Smith, Tim Thomerson, Buck Taylor, Lee Majors, Andrew Prine, and Denny Miller flesh out the cast. Ostensibly, they deliver the best performances in largely supporting roles. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast should never have gotten in front of a camera. Similarly, McIntyre could benefit from a course in film direction. The abysmal Sable Ranch sets look cobbled together. While McIntyre's skills are lacking as a director, he has written a tolerable horse opera with some good dialogue. This brother versus brother saga has a lot to do with the American Civil War. The villains still bear a deep-seated grudge toward the outcome of the war and take advantage of an African-American woman in one scene. Ultimately, everything boils down to a flamboyant gambler Chance (William Gregory Lee of "Mexican Sunrise") and a former Union Army officer Kirby (Kevin Kazakoff of "Universal Soldiers") who are related to each other. They are so alike that they act like one person. They are reunited with each other when the stagecoach that Chance is riding in pulls up on the trail at the sight of a Union Army officer. Whether he knew it or not, McIntyre seems to be channeling John Wayne's entrance in John Ford's immortal classic "Stagecoach" with this scene. The coachman, Johnny Behan (Peter Brown of "Laredo") refuses to let Kirby to hitch a ride until his Kirby's brother Chance lets him board the conveyance. All Kirby wants to do is settle down and bust sod, while his flippant brother Chance prefers to keep on gambling. You would think that McIntyre would have had Kirby and Chance team up again during the finale, but these two don't. Not only do the no-account the villains try to kill the town marshal (James Drury), but they also give Kirby a hard time. After appearing briefly in a ride-through-a scene, Sheriff Boone (Lee Majors of "Will Penny") rides back and saves the day. He has a shoot-out in the saloon with the chief bad guy, one-eyed saloon owner Dell Shannon (Bo Svenson of "Inglorious Bastards"), and kills him. The end credits thank Kevin Costner and Robert Vaughn for their contribution. Although it was shot in Hi-Definition Cinema on a Sony Cine Alta 900, "Hell to Pay" looks pathetic. Out of all the guest stars, James Drury fares the best. Shoot this western and put it out of our misery!

I really enjoyed watching Hell to Pay. I've been a fan of Westerns for as long as I can remember and this one reminded me of a lot of the Westerns from the 1960s (even though I was too young to have seen them in their first run). The one thing that bothered me about the movie was the constant music. It was distracting at times. One thing I did notice, and I wonder how many other fans of Gunsmoke noticed, was the name of Buck Taylor's character. It was a play on Doc Adams' name from Gunsmoke. Instead of Gaylan Adams, Buck Taylor used Adam Galen. I wonder if that was his choice or Chris McIntyre's? Anyway, I would recommend this movie to fans of Westerns. Don't expect anything too "deep". Just plain old entertainment.

I considered the combination of professional actors and experienced real life wild-west shooters a bit of refreshment.Admittedly a portion of the actors were "dated" but then the appeal of this movie is for the same group of folks. No, it ain't John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, or Tom Selleck but its an entertaining, straight forward movie intended to have no hidden messages or social commentaries. Which is what truly good movies are.....entertainment. I think this movie has the potential to become a sort of campy, cult classic.True, a couple of the "Bad Guys" could have been better looking but you gotta go with what you can get!

If you like shoot em up westerns this is a keeper. I thought that the movie was fun to watch and to see folks that I have not seen in a while. I am no expert but I liked the acting. The town and props etc seemed to fit the period and kind of town that you would find out on the frontier. This is not an A western, not enough people and budget. The costumes and firearms were correct for the time! I expect to see the young actors in the film again in the future. Rachel, Chance, Rebekah and Kirby were great. The SASS (Single Action Shooting Society)members that contributed to this effort were pretty darn good. Hope to see more.