Review of The Spikes Gang (1974) by Brody M — 20 Jun 2009

There's a reason this rarely seen western is rarely seen: its not very good. Lee Marvin plays an outlaw who trains a group of young men (Gary Grimes, Ron Howard, Charles Martin Smith) to rob banks and follow in his footsteps.

While Marvin is always fun to watch, Grimes gets the lion's share of the footage and does nothing interesting with it. After this he did "Gus" and was soon out of the business entirely. Interesting to see Howard and Smith together a year after "American Graffiti".

This could only be described as a big step down. Did enjoy Arthur Hunnicutt's brief scene as the old time outlaw, but the father issues and nickel psychology involving Grimes character are boring and fake.