To me, this movie is perfection.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A lot of fun.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

There must be a logical explanation why this movie is completely overlooked, and why it's been one of the hardest-to-find American films for decades. Although, the latter may well be directly related, at least somewhat, to why this is a complete unknown to most people, even film buffs. I've had it sitting on my waiting list since the 90s; no other movie has eluded me for that long, especially not in the era of free downloads. There were times I was questioning the very existence of this film - that's how impossible it was to find.Maybe it was a box-office flop, as so many good and great movies are/were, but then again many financial duds get TV re-runs, over and over and over, have their own special DVD/BluRay releases even, so that alone certainly wouldn't explain much. Is it too wild and experimental? Not at all. (In fact, that would only make the movie more appealing for the lunatic fringe, which is always growing, especially among snowflake millennials filled with helpless sadistic rage and aggression.) Is it some odd hence rare example of Hollywood making a politically incorrect movie that doesn't suit movie fans accustomed to political propaganda? No. Is the movie some kind of stereotypical boring commercial fluff with little appeal value to any demographic? Far from it.The theme may be quite original and there is no movie quite like it, but this is basically a slightly off-the-wall comedy that almost anyone should be able to enjoy. (Or perhaps I'd been watching Monty Python for so long that my sense of the "normal" in terms of comedy is a little skewered.) Having never read the synopsis beforehand - combined with the cult status it "enjoys" as an unfindable movie - lead me to half-expect some bizarre "New Hollywood" LSD trip with gore, which would have explained a lot, but that's not what this is about at all. It is in many ways a typical movie of its period (the best period in cinema): original, wonderfully shot, and unique.If there is one flaw, it would be the predictability of Keach getting some poetic (in)justice by landing on his own chair. I saw that coming well in advance. Nevertheless, in the film's defense, there are one or two plot-twists right after that, which cement the quality and fun factor of TTE.

This here thing purely is an oddity. This is most definitely a Stacy Keach movie and most definitely a 'southern period wacky black comedy' product of 1970. Despite the absurdity of the plot, the writers keep it on point. Might be a good companion piece to "The Ninth Configuration" 1980. If for no other reason than a young M. Emmet Walsh at work.

This movie made a huge impact when I saw it in the theater. I was a tough (or so I thought) eighteen year old young man here in Vancouver when I saw it in 1970. I think that it might have played for a week.I loved the humanity and charm that Stacy Keach brought to the executioner's role. I remember the loving way that he would sooth the fears of the condemned as they faced the terrors to come. It was a job that had to be done, and if he was the one to do it, he demanded craftsmanship and style.The ending caught a deep nerve and I cried as I left and walked home. (It remains the only film that I can say that about). It is amazing how a film that is almost unknown has remained so brilliant in my mind.I suspect that I might give it a higher rating if I ever saw it again.

SpoilerI saw this movie on television quite a long time ago. I think it was one of the best movies Stacy Keach acted in. My brother and I had many laughs during the film. The setting was in the very early 1900's when prisons didn't have electric chairs yet. Keach played this man who had an old van type truck with an electric generator and chair for executing prisoners on death row. He has an apprentice who goes with him to learn the trade. Keach ends up on death row after murdering a woman. At the end his apprentice has to execute him. I always remember the line he blurts out when he is finally strapped in. "O.K., Willie, fry me while I'm hot!" I would like very much to find a copy on VHS or DVD if anyone has one. I thought of contacting a TV station to see if they could air it some night. I think it would be a great seller!