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Something Big

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5.2/10 • 20

1971-11-191h 48m

WesternComedy

Sooner or later, Baker will find the right girl. And when he does, he'll swap her for a machine gun. And do something big.

Joe Baker has a dream. He wants to do 'something big.' When he needs a Gatling gun to accomplish this, he seeks out a black marketeer. The price he wants for the gun? A woman! So Baker kidnaps a woman off of the stagecoach, only to find that she is the wife of the commandant of the local Cavalry detachment. Things get further complicated when a girl named Dover McBride shows up. She has come to force Baker to marry her and return east, as he promised to do four years earlier

Directors
Andrew V. McLaglen
Writters
James Lee Barrett
Editors
Robert L. Simpson

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Dean Martin

    Dean Martin

    Joe Baker

  2. Brian Keith

    Brian Keith

    Col. Morgan

  3. Carol White

    Carol White

    Dover McBride

  4. Honor Blackman

    Honor Blackman

    Mary Anna Morgan

  5. Ben Johnson

    Ben Johnson

    Jesse Bookbinder

  6. Albert Salmi

    Albert Salmi

    Jonny Cobb

  7. Don Knight

    Don Knight

    Tommy McBride

  8. Joyce Van Patten

    Joyce Van Patten

    Polly Standall

  9. Denver Pyle

    Denver Pyle

    Junior Frisbee

Reviews2

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Mar 23, 2018

5/10

Something mediocre RELEASED IN 1971 and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, "Something Big" is a tongue-in-cheek Western starring Dean Martin as aging outlaw, Joe Baker, who unknowingly kidnaps the wife (Honor Blackman) of a cavalry commander (Brian Keith) in order to obtain a Gatling gun from a scumbag gunrunner (Albert Salmi). Ben Johnson plays a scout while Carol White appears as the wannabe fiancé of Baker. The title refers to ‘something big’ that Joe Baker is supposed to do before retiring from outlawry with several of the characters citing the line; a quaint idea, but it’s not funny and gets old after a while. The opening act is a dud with nothing stimulating happening to draw the viewer into the story. There are several curious props (a skeleton, a dog, bagpipes and a peg leg), but they fail to stir much interest. Things finally perk up in the second half, but not enough to save the movie. One huge problem is the idea that this antihero we’re supposed to like is engaged in something way too unsavory (kidnaping the innocent wife to offer to the odious gunrunner, which amounts to slavery). Martin was able to get away with this type of character in the excellent “Bandolero!” (1968) because his crimes weren’t so abhorrent; not so here. There are some good bits, however, like the two man-hungry women living in the remote wilderness (Joyce Van Patten & Judi Meredith). Nevertheless, it’s obvious why “Something Big” has been condemned to cinematic obscurity, never being released to VHS and barely making it to DVD in 2012. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 48 minutes and was shot in Durango, Mexico. WRITER: James Lee Barrett. GRADE: C

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
gatling gun