Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

There are far better comic westerns out there: The Paleface Movies, Cat Ballou, Destry Rides Again, McClintock!, Support Your Local Sheriff/Gunfighter. That being said, why watch this one? It's the cast: Zero Mostel, Clint Walker, Claude Akins, Mako, Larry Storch, Sam Jaffe, and Kim Novak, who in my estimation,was such a gorgeous woman, rivaling even the likes of Marilyn Monroe. The plot seems very familiar and very unoriginal : Several groups of robbers attempt to rob an "impenetrable" Western bank in a little town called "Friendly". There is underground tunneling into the vault, dynamite, and even Kim riding "Lady Godiva style" to distract the bank guards. They had to use large daises to hide her "ass-sets"(and front-sets)! Zero plays a corrupt Christian minister with "Sister" Novak as his sidekick and companion. Typical stunts with a typical Western wood-burning locomotive, some typical shootouts where people die (but only the bad guys or extras), and there is no visible "blood on the saddle". Zero sings a totally annoying and cloying song called "Rainbow Rider" while the Mitchell Boys Choir croons. That song, sadly, is hard to get out of your head. Acceptable, good-natured performances by all, but a cliché-ridden script. Yes,you HAVE seen it all before. The ending is sweet as Kim "falls" for Clint as she bails out of the hot air balloon and Zero & Co. literally float off into the sunset with the loot. Larry Storch plays his funny stereotypical "Mexican" that sounds like Speedy Gonzales. The ending mood is is marred by a last minute gunfight where "bad guy" Akins bites the dust. Fun but very light entertainment to be sure and it was a "bomb" at the box office. As I said, rated high for it's cast, not it's content.

Two rival gangs compete with each other to rob a fortune in gold from a small town bank. It's up clever lawman Ranger Ben Quick (the excellent Clink Walker) to thwart their plans. Director Hy Averback, working from a witty script by William Peter Blatty, relates the funny story at a snappy pace, does a good job of creating and sustaining an amiable lighthearted tone, stages the shoot-outs with real aplomb, and adroitly mines the sharp sense of brash'n'n'broad humor for plenty of belly laughs (the madcap climax in particular is a complete riot). The bang-up cast of familiar faces have an absolute ball with the wacky material: Zero Mostel as shrewd bogus priest Reverend Pious Blue, Kim Novak as the lovely and sassy Sister Lyda Kebanov, Akim Tamiroff as scruffy bandito gang leader Papa, Larry Storch as the dim-witted Juan, Claude Akins as formidable outlaw Slade, Sam Jaffe as the fussy Brother Lilac Bailey, Mako as the crafty Secret Agent Fong, John Anderson as the wily and corrupt Mayor Kincaid, Elisha Cook Jr. as Slade's antsy, but loyal partner Jeb, and John Fiedler as impish explosives expert Brother Dismas Ostracorn. As a nice added plus, Mostel heartily belts out the catchy song "Rainbow Rider" and Novak looks positively ravishing throughout (Kim's eye-popping Lady Godiva bit is especially memorable). Fred J. Koenekamp's lush widescreen cinematography makes neat use of fades and dissolves. Nelson Riddle's spirited score hits the stirring spot. An enormously entertaining romp.

The storyline is simple: a crew of inept bank robbers plan to execute a major heist on the town bank in a late 1880's western town. Headed by Zero Mostel, in the guise of a traveling revival preacher, the group is populated by familiar movie faces (Elisha Cook, Peter Whitney, John Fielder, and Sam Jaffe, all movie staples). Mostel is added by his "diversionary tactic," a very voluptuous Kim Novak.The townsfolk include such recognizable character performers as John Anderson, John Larch, and Ruth Warrick. Claude Akins is very good as the villain, appropriately dressed in stereotypical black.Clint Walker (TV's "Cheyenne") provides the muscle, literally and figuratively, as the reluctant and dim-witted hero.Mako, Akim Tamiroff, and Larry Storch round out the excellent cast as an undercover agent and father and son Mexican banditos, respectively.The characters are all western stereotypes but that's the novelty of the film.Though not great, it is still an entertaining farce and will draw smiles, if not, laugh-out-loud guffaws.

This is a funny piece of work by Exorcist author Blatty. Hey, it has every character actor on the list in crazy situations which play off our ever-loving Western Movie stereotypes. It was done before the great ones like Blazing Saddles, Rustler's Rhapsody and The Villain. See it and judge for yourself. The cast is great and the situations amusing.