Review of Skin Game (1971) by Jonejarocki — 23 Mar 2021

Skin Game is an interesting movie that seems at odd with itself. It starts out perfectly fine, with James Garner and Louis Gosset Jr. both playing con-men in the pre-Civil War American west with a charm and wit that was likely a major inspiration for Tarantino when making Django Unchained.

However, when their paths split halfway through, the movie becomes tonally confused. Garner, and his beau Ginger (Susan Clark), reside still in the land of one-liners and snark, while Gosset gets a much meatier role, being forced into slavery and dealing with the dark undercurrent of the entire story.

While Gosset shines in these scenes, showing his dramatic skills even this early in his career, the two halves feel tonally discordant throughout (with some of the reminders of said dark side feeling almost afterschool special in how out of place they are).

Yet the two men do what they can to keep them together. The rest of the supporting cast is relatively solid, and Ed Asner as a slave hunter is a memorable supporting role.