Blazing Saddles totally ripped off this movie. If you like old comedies you need to see this.
76 Reviews
"You ain't one of them funny boys, are you?"
ShadeGrenade1 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
When I saw 'Evil Roy Slade' on daytime television sometime in the '80's, I assumed it was intended to cash-in on the success of Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles' ( 1974 ). The made-for-television comedy Western features a few of Brooks' supporting players, as well as employing a similar mad-cap sense of humour.
John Astin ( 'Gomez' from 'The Addams Family' ) plays the titular character, an outlaw whom no-one has ever loved, a man with a fondness for wearing black and robbing banks and trains, usually those belonging to millionaire 'Nelson Stool' ( Mickey Rooney ), known in some quarters as 'Stubby Index Finger' on account of his...stubby index finger ( cowboys even sing songs about it ). Whilst robbing a bank, Slade meets and falls for ( and who wouldn't? ) the lovely schoolteacher 'Betsy Potter' ( Pamela Austen ). She wants him to go straight, and he is so smitten with her he agrees. But to do this he needs £50,000. As he does not have it ( his gang blew all their ill-gotten gains on bullets and spilt whisky ), he decides to steal it. Tired of forever being robbed by Slade, Stool brings out of retirement the legendary Marshal Bing Bell ( Dick Shawn )...
Like I said, I thought this was a 'Blazing Saddles' knock-off until I saw it was made in 1972 - two years before Brooks' picture broke new ground ( and wind ) in comedy. It was written by Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall, the team behind the hit series 'The Odd Couple' ( Marshall later directed 'Pretty Woman' starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere ). Though as you would expect it is nowhere near as vulgar as Brooks' film, it occasionally manages to get a bit near the knuckle, such as Slade forcing a crippled man to dance by shooting at his legs, a blacksmith turning out to be a black man named Smith, and Dom DeLuise's outrageously gay psychiatrist. The director, Jerry Paris, later made several entries in the 'Police Academy' franchise.
Though Rooney gets top billing, its Astin's film and he's great, though basically 'Gomez' in a stetson. Milton Berle is also good as Betsy's well-meaning uncle, who gets Slade a job in a shoe shop. When shoes won't fit the feet of one customer, Slade whacks them with a stick so as to make them swell up. The worst part for Slade about going straight is having to make do without his guns. As soon as he takes them off, he finds he cannot walk! But the film really hits its comic stride with the arrival of 'Marshal Bing Bell', hilariously played by the late Dick Shawn. The character is a parody of 'singing cowboys' such as Roy Rogers. The sight of him galloping across the prairie in a Liberace-styled white suit covered in sequins and singing a flat song on a guitar is hysterical.
Funniest moment - Slade gatecrashes Betsy's wedding, only to find he has been lured into a trap. Everyone present - including the caterers - have brought along guns. The only one without is the organist!
Things To Look Out For - a small appearance by Penny Marshall as a bank teller. She later became famous through playing 'Laverne' in the hit sitcom 'Laverne & Shirley'.
John Astin ( 'Gomez' from 'The Addams Family' ) plays the titular character, an outlaw whom no-one has ever loved, a man with a fondness for wearing black and robbing banks and trains, usually those belonging to millionaire 'Nelson Stool' ( Mickey Rooney ), known in some quarters as 'Stubby Index Finger' on account of his...stubby index finger ( cowboys even sing songs about it ). Whilst robbing a bank, Slade meets and falls for ( and who wouldn't? ) the lovely schoolteacher 'Betsy Potter' ( Pamela Austen ). She wants him to go straight, and he is so smitten with her he agrees. But to do this he needs £50,000. As he does not have it ( his gang blew all their ill-gotten gains on bullets and spilt whisky ), he decides to steal it. Tired of forever being robbed by Slade, Stool brings out of retirement the legendary Marshal Bing Bell ( Dick Shawn )...
Like I said, I thought this was a 'Blazing Saddles' knock-off until I saw it was made in 1972 - two years before Brooks' picture broke new ground ( and wind ) in comedy. It was written by Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall, the team behind the hit series 'The Odd Couple' ( Marshall later directed 'Pretty Woman' starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere ). Though as you would expect it is nowhere near as vulgar as Brooks' film, it occasionally manages to get a bit near the knuckle, such as Slade forcing a crippled man to dance by shooting at his legs, a blacksmith turning out to be a black man named Smith, and Dom DeLuise's outrageously gay psychiatrist. The director, Jerry Paris, later made several entries in the 'Police Academy' franchise.
Though Rooney gets top billing, its Astin's film and he's great, though basically 'Gomez' in a stetson. Milton Berle is also good as Betsy's well-meaning uncle, who gets Slade a job in a shoe shop. When shoes won't fit the feet of one customer, Slade whacks them with a stick so as to make them swell up. The worst part for Slade about going straight is having to make do without his guns. As soon as he takes them off, he finds he cannot walk! But the film really hits its comic stride with the arrival of 'Marshal Bing Bell', hilariously played by the late Dick Shawn. The character is a parody of 'singing cowboys' such as Roy Rogers. The sight of him galloping across the prairie in a Liberace-styled white suit covered in sequins and singing a flat song on a guitar is hysterical.
Funniest moment - Slade gatecrashes Betsy's wedding, only to find he has been lured into a trap. Everyone present - including the caterers - have brought along guns. The only one without is the organist!
Things To Look Out For - a small appearance by Penny Marshall as a bank teller. She later became famous through playing 'Laverne' in the hit sitcom 'Laverne & Shirley'.
Nitwit Western Comedy with its Share of Good Gags
zardoz-134 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
John Austin looks like "Adams Family" patriarch Gomez Adams decked out from hat to toe in a solid black outfit in director Jerry Paris' made-for-television western farce "Evil Roy Slade" as the eponymous desperado who struggles to go straight after he falls in love with a beautiful woman of virtue. Writers Jerry Belson and "Pretty Woman's" Garry Marshall manage to contrive some amusing situations with shameless gags. Everything in "Evil Roy Slade," however, isn't always shameless. Nevertheless, you suspect these tongue-in-cheek scribes must have been searching something different when they promoted the villain to the status of the hero. Austin is in top-form as the dastardly outlaw. Comedian Dick Shawn cuts a quite figure as Marshal Bing Bell, a singing cowpoke with a guitar that conceals a rifle with which he is an excellent marksman. Bing dangles a tiny bell from his right earlobe. The running gag is that whenever anybody says Bing Bell, the other person mistakenly thinks that they are referring to the chimes of a door bell. No, it's not as hilarious as the old lady's name, Frau Blücher, in "Young Frankenstein," but Belson and Marshall deserve credit for a full-fledged effort. By this time, television had gotten around to acknowledging the presence of gay men, and the characters here make two references to them as "funny boys." Although this goofy, lowbrow western is predictable, "Evil Roy Slade" has its side-splitting seconds.
Evil Roy Slade (John Austin of "The Adams Family") and his ruffians are robbing a bank when our anti-heroic hero encounters beautiful Betsy Potter (Pamela Austin of "Rome Adventure") and plants a big wet one on her moist, pretty lips. Suddenly, everything changes for Roy. Roy wants Betsy almost as much as he embraces evil. Roy and his gang set out to rob the stagecoach, and Flossie (Edie Adams of "The Apartment") turns informant when he ditches her to conclude his career as an outlaw. Roy and company discover her treachery when they try to rob a stagecoach jammed with an army of lawmen, including midgets on the roof. One of these tykes, (Billy Curtis of "High Plains Drifter") springs out of a box to tackle Roy. The posse captures Roy, locks him up, and the court sentences him to swing. Beleaguered railroad president Nelson Stool (Mike Rooney of "The Secret Invasion"), who Roy and his gang have been preying on mercilessly for years, leaves his drooling bulldog to guard Roy as well as his incompetent relative, Clifford Stool (Henry Gibson of "The Long Goodbye"). Stool has tied Roy's hands behind his back so that Roy cannot escape. Shrewdly, Roy plays of the hunger of the starving dog, drenches his bonds with gravy, and the dog gnaws through them and Roy escapes. Eventually, Roy succumbs to Betsy's charms and they move to Boston where he visit a shrink Logan Delp (Dom DeLuise of "Blazing Saddles") and can walk around without his hardware. Roy ends up selling shoes for Uncle Harry Fern (Milton Berle of "Whispering Ghosts") and becomes rather adept at it. Temptation overwhelms our protagonist when Harry entrusts Roy with lugging two bulging bags of currency to the Boston Bank. Roy delivers the loot but then purloins the bank guard's revolver and holds up the bank. The front page newspaper story reveals that Roy is heading back east. The elder Stool finally persuades Marshal Bell to intervene.
Some of the priceless gags occur when Roy strolls up the street in a western town during an early scene. He triggers shots into the ground at the toes of an invalid (Leonard Barr of "Diamonds Are Forever")whose legs are encased in plaster and relies on crutches to walk. Roy takes an elderly woman's shawl from her shoulders as she is poised to cross a muddy street and lays the shawl on the muddy spot. Instead of waiting for the old woman to lead off, Roy tramps on it as he goes his merry way. A woman sitting on a horse extends her hand so that Roy may help her descend from the steed. Instead, Roy pulls her off the pony and appropriates it for himself. At one point, when he announces his impending retirement from the gang, Roy passes out autographed wanted posters of himself. At another point, Roy terrorizes a sleeping infant when Betsy prohibits him from frightening adults. Happily, "Evil Roy Slade" just makes the grade, especially with its big finale in the church at Betsy's wedding. John Austin radiates evil like the dastard that he plays would and Dick Shawn is funny at Bing Bell.
Evil Roy Slade (John Austin of "The Adams Family") and his ruffians are robbing a bank when our anti-heroic hero encounters beautiful Betsy Potter (Pamela Austin of "Rome Adventure") and plants a big wet one on her moist, pretty lips. Suddenly, everything changes for Roy. Roy wants Betsy almost as much as he embraces evil. Roy and his gang set out to rob the stagecoach, and Flossie (Edie Adams of "The Apartment") turns informant when he ditches her to conclude his career as an outlaw. Roy and company discover her treachery when they try to rob a stagecoach jammed with an army of lawmen, including midgets on the roof. One of these tykes, (Billy Curtis of "High Plains Drifter") springs out of a box to tackle Roy. The posse captures Roy, locks him up, and the court sentences him to swing. Beleaguered railroad president Nelson Stool (Mike Rooney of "The Secret Invasion"), who Roy and his gang have been preying on mercilessly for years, leaves his drooling bulldog to guard Roy as well as his incompetent relative, Clifford Stool (Henry Gibson of "The Long Goodbye"). Stool has tied Roy's hands behind his back so that Roy cannot escape. Shrewdly, Roy plays of the hunger of the starving dog, drenches his bonds with gravy, and the dog gnaws through them and Roy escapes. Eventually, Roy succumbs to Betsy's charms and they move to Boston where he visit a shrink Logan Delp (Dom DeLuise of "Blazing Saddles") and can walk around without his hardware. Roy ends up selling shoes for Uncle Harry Fern (Milton Berle of "Whispering Ghosts") and becomes rather adept at it. Temptation overwhelms our protagonist when Harry entrusts Roy with lugging two bulging bags of currency to the Boston Bank. Roy delivers the loot but then purloins the bank guard's revolver and holds up the bank. The front page newspaper story reveals that Roy is heading back east. The elder Stool finally persuades Marshal Bell to intervene.
Some of the priceless gags occur when Roy strolls up the street in a western town during an early scene. He triggers shots into the ground at the toes of an invalid (Leonard Barr of "Diamonds Are Forever")whose legs are encased in plaster and relies on crutches to walk. Roy takes an elderly woman's shawl from her shoulders as she is poised to cross a muddy street and lays the shawl on the muddy spot. Instead of waiting for the old woman to lead off, Roy tramps on it as he goes his merry way. A woman sitting on a horse extends her hand so that Roy may help her descend from the steed. Instead, Roy pulls her off the pony and appropriates it for himself. At one point, when he announces his impending retirement from the gang, Roy passes out autographed wanted posters of himself. At another point, Roy terrorizes a sleeping infant when Betsy prohibits him from frightening adults. Happily, "Evil Roy Slade" just makes the grade, especially with its big finale in the church at Betsy's wedding. John Austin radiates evil like the dastard that he plays would and Dick Shawn is funny at Bing Bell.
Thank Goodness It's On Video Now
hillari31 July 2001
This made for TV comedy-western (originally shown on NBC) is totally crazy. Roy's doing just fine, being mean and nasty, until he meets a woman during a bank robbery. She attempts to reform him, and that's when the plot really goes wild. John Astin is excellent in the lead role. The supporting roles could be a list of who's funny when it comes to comic acting: Mickey Rooney, Henry Gibson, Dom DeLuise, Milton Berle, Edie Adams (Ernie Kovacs' widow) and narration by Pat Buttram. I suggest that you run to rent or buy this one!
Hilarious made-for-TV movie
eichelbergersports22 May 2006
Evil Roy Slade (Made For TV, 1972, director: Jerry Paris) - I first saw this movie when I was a small child (in an era of rather clever movies of the week), and then a few more times after that. I have not viewed it in over 25 years, however, but I still recall it being one of the funniest films I ever saw.
The humor was dark enough to attract my laughs, but not insulting or offensive (somewhere along the line, Hollywood forgot how to walk this delicate balance). Slade (John Astin, Gomez on TV's "Addams Family")is orphaned after a wagon train is attacked by Indians. No one (even the native-Americans or wolves) will aid him, so he ends up being raised by vultures with just an old teddy bear for a companion.
Naturally, he grows up mean and vile, eventually becoming the leader of a gang of bank robbers. During a heist, he meets pretty schoolmarm Betsy (Pam Austin) and it's love at first sight.
After he quits the gang, Becky tries to reform him, but railroad executive Mr. Stool (Mickey Rooney), hires retired singing sheriff, Big Bell (Dick Shawn, "It's A Mad, Mad Mad, Mad World") to capture the reforming outlaw.
With Dom DeLuise, Milton Berle, Edie Adams, John Ritter (later to star on "Three's Company"), Pat Morita (of "Karate Kid" fame) and narrated by Pat Butrum (Mr. Haney on "Green Acres"), "Evil Roy Slade" was one laugh riot from beginning to end. Maybe it's nostalgia for those good old days, but with others out there expressing the same viewpoint, I believe this picture still holds up well today.
Funniest line of dialogue that I remember: Betsy is trying to teach Slade mathematics. She asks, "You have three apples, and your neighbor has three apples. If he takes three of your apples, what do you have?" Slade: "A dead neighbor and all six apples."
The humor was dark enough to attract my laughs, but not insulting or offensive (somewhere along the line, Hollywood forgot how to walk this delicate balance). Slade (John Astin, Gomez on TV's "Addams Family")is orphaned after a wagon train is attacked by Indians. No one (even the native-Americans or wolves) will aid him, so he ends up being raised by vultures with just an old teddy bear for a companion.
Naturally, he grows up mean and vile, eventually becoming the leader of a gang of bank robbers. During a heist, he meets pretty schoolmarm Betsy (Pam Austin) and it's love at first sight.
After he quits the gang, Becky tries to reform him, but railroad executive Mr. Stool (Mickey Rooney), hires retired singing sheriff, Big Bell (Dick Shawn, "It's A Mad, Mad Mad, Mad World") to capture the reforming outlaw.
With Dom DeLuise, Milton Berle, Edie Adams, John Ritter (later to star on "Three's Company"), Pat Morita (of "Karate Kid" fame) and narrated by Pat Butrum (Mr. Haney on "Green Acres"), "Evil Roy Slade" was one laugh riot from beginning to end. Maybe it's nostalgia for those good old days, but with others out there expressing the same viewpoint, I believe this picture still holds up well today.
Funniest line of dialogue that I remember: Betsy is trying to teach Slade mathematics. She asks, "You have three apples, and your neighbor has three apples. If he takes three of your apples, what do you have?" Slade: "A dead neighbor and all six apples."
Enjoyable but quite uneven.
planktonrules3 January 2024
Originally, "Evil Roy Slade" was supposed to be a TV series...and I think it would have worked better as one. This is because although I liked the idea, the show had trouble maintaining its comedy through the course of the film.
Roy is the most evil and nasty villain in the old west. He was so awful as a child, after the wagon train with him was destroyed, the Natives refused to raise him. The wolves were likeminded...and poor Roy was forced to fend for himself since childhood.
During the course of a bank robbery, Roy is doing what he loves to do most...stealing, terrorizing and stealing kisses from women. However, when he meets Betsy, he's infatuated...and eventually she convinces Roy to sneak back East and give up his life of evil. What's next? See the film.
The show is VERY tongue-in-cheek and many of the jokes are groaners....but that is actually much of the film's strength. It's more cartoony than anything else. What it's not great at is his time in Boston...where the momentum of the earlier part of the story slows to a crawl. It's not terrible...but it really has you wishing Roy had just stayed out West being a jerk! Still, it is mildly enjoyable and John Astin is fun in the lead.
Roy is the most evil and nasty villain in the old west. He was so awful as a child, after the wagon train with him was destroyed, the Natives refused to raise him. The wolves were likeminded...and poor Roy was forced to fend for himself since childhood.
During the course of a bank robbery, Roy is doing what he loves to do most...stealing, terrorizing and stealing kisses from women. However, when he meets Betsy, he's infatuated...and eventually she convinces Roy to sneak back East and give up his life of evil. What's next? See the film.
The show is VERY tongue-in-cheek and many of the jokes are groaners....but that is actually much of the film's strength. It's more cartoony than anything else. What it's not great at is his time in Boston...where the momentum of the earlier part of the story slows to a crawl. It's not terrible...but it really has you wishing Roy had just stayed out West being a jerk! Still, it is mildly enjoyable and John Astin is fun in the lead.
credits for this movie's humor
cwilliams321 January 2005
I have, unfortunately, seen this movie only one time, and all I can say is that it ranks as one of the funnest piece of work I have ever seen. I consider myself a worthy and discriminating critic when it comes to good films and acting performances -- and this one had every ingredient possible to make it an all-time comedy classic. Because it's been so long since I have seen this movie, I can't remember much about the details, except that John Astin plays an inept evil-doer, the antics of which kept me in stitches from the moment he appeared until his character left the screen. Much to my disappointment and despite my efforts,I have never found nor seen the movie again.
I Wouldnt Mind Seeing This Again
AlbinoBadBob7 June 2001
I can remember seeing this one Saturday afternoon and laughing almost continuously although,all I can remember is the theme song and the line about "your ruby red lips taste like prairie dust," if it wasnt made for TV we would probably see more of it.I certainly wouldnt mind seeing it again.
One of the 10 Funniest and Cleverest Comedies Ever!
oxymoron-320 March 2000
This movies was a masterpiece and a delight. Dick Shawn was stupendously funny, and the rest of the cast, perfectly cast. The movie was well directed ALWAYS kept you laughing and never let up. In this viewers opinion it is one of the 10 funniest and cleverest comedies of all times. I gave it a 10 and so did 297 people out of a possible 419 voters here on the data base. Will someone explain to me how you can have over half the votes a 10, have the Arithmetic mean = 9.1. The Median of 10.0 and still our beloved IMDb gives this movie a weighted average vote of 6.3? Come on I've heard of "weighted" but is the butchers hand on the scale here? Is it that those folks intellectual capacity just couldn't bare to see this film in the top ten of the top 100 movies? Hmmmmmm? Well guess what? The Direction, The Acting, The Script, and just the general "clevertude" (is there such a word?) Should put this film just about in the top 10 percent of films....Come on Fellas....be fair. At least level this out to 8.5 I can buy that a whole lot "weightedly" than 6.3 Just one viewers opinion.
Slade In The Shade
bkoganbing15 August 2010
Before there was Blazing Saddles, Garry Marshall took the same satirical pen to the old west and the old western that Mel Brooks did and manage to fashion Evil Roy Slade. With John Astin in the title role, the film is about an outlaw who no matter how hard he tries just can't seem to change his lawbreaking ways. Even with the incentive of schoolmarm Pamela Austin and a marriage promise, Astin is unredeemable.
This film seems like a mini reunion of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World with key roles in the comedy going to Edie Adams, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Shawn. Rooney has some good scenes as the railroad tycoon who Astin keeps robbing, especially with Henry Gibson playing Rooney's not too bright son. Very similar to how Mel Brooks cast himself as the governor in Blazing Saddles.
Shawn also in the end may prove to be the last singing cowboy ever to grace the big screen. Check in his scene how one of those early RCA phonographs is playing a modern LP of Shawn warbling some cowboy ditties. Shawn is the retired marshal who Rooney lures out of retirement to get Astin. Very good work by him as well.
Sad to say that Evil Roy Slade was put into the shade somewhat by the better known and bigger budgeted Blazing Saddles. Still this is a very funny film with a lot of talented people at their best.
This film seems like a mini reunion of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World with key roles in the comedy going to Edie Adams, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Shawn. Rooney has some good scenes as the railroad tycoon who Astin keeps robbing, especially with Henry Gibson playing Rooney's not too bright son. Very similar to how Mel Brooks cast himself as the governor in Blazing Saddles.
Shawn also in the end may prove to be the last singing cowboy ever to grace the big screen. Check in his scene how one of those early RCA phonographs is playing a modern LP of Shawn warbling some cowboy ditties. Shawn is the retired marshal who Rooney lures out of retirement to get Astin. Very good work by him as well.
Sad to say that Evil Roy Slade was put into the shade somewhat by the better known and bigger budgeted Blazing Saddles. Still this is a very funny film with a lot of talented people at their best.
Stupid and very dated.
Ghenghy19 December 2003
I remember thinking this thing was funny when it was released but after searching the planet for a copy of the video I was very disappointed that none of the laughs I remembered survived the passing of 30 years time. What a bummer!
Best comedy ever..
cornel-43 April 2003
Like a previous fan of this movie, I scored the movie a big 10. With so many other people also scoring it a ten, I am glad to see there are a lot of other people out there with a warped sense of humor. I also cannot understand why this movie only has a score of 5.7. I would like to know who owns the movie so that I could possibly convince them to put it out on DVD (in Australia - PAL system). With a score like this the movie will never be put out on DVD so that I can watch it at my leisure. Could I ask the person or persons who weighted the score down so heavily to please reconsider and let the movie get the recognition it deserves.
Okay comedy
btreakle30 July 2020
About as close to "Blazing Saddles" as "The Apple Dumpling Gang".
mark.waltz30 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A comedy requires at least a few laughs, and all I did was basically smirk throughout this TV movie that seemed like something that Sherwood Schwartz might have produced. You've got an all-star cast of veteran actors, but only a few whom I consider at all funny here. I laughed more with two other recent comedy western spoofs from this era, "Did you Hear the one about the Traveling Saleslady?" and "The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County", and even those ones weren't all that really funny. Unlike "Blazing Saddles", the leading character isn't really likable, basically a terrorist who attempts to deliver lines in funny ways.
The former Gomez Addams, John Astin, plays Joe Slade, an orphan whose parents were killed by the natives just after he was born, and when found, he was rejected by them as well as wolves. He grows up attacking the railroad and businesses owned by a wealthy Mickey Rooney, falls for pretty Pamela Austin whose mother (Connie Sawyer) leads a vigilante against him, and somehow manages to get charges against him dropped, ending up with Austin in Boston. Astin and Austin in Boston aren't anymore interesting on the east coast.
Supporting performances and cameos by Milton Berle, Dick Shawn, Dom DeLuise, Henry Gibson, Billy Curtis and Edie Adams provide starry amusements, but there really aren't very many laughs that are substantial. Connie Sawyer, character actress who lived to be 105 and steals the film with her feisty performance. The one thing I noticed about Rooney when he first appeared was that he look exactly like Carroll O'Connor, ironic considering that he was originally offered the role of Archie Bunker around the same time. The sets look like they've been recycled from old TV Western, and there's nothing really unique about the film to make it memorable.
The former Gomez Addams, John Astin, plays Joe Slade, an orphan whose parents were killed by the natives just after he was born, and when found, he was rejected by them as well as wolves. He grows up attacking the railroad and businesses owned by a wealthy Mickey Rooney, falls for pretty Pamela Austin whose mother (Connie Sawyer) leads a vigilante against him, and somehow manages to get charges against him dropped, ending up with Austin in Boston. Astin and Austin in Boston aren't anymore interesting on the east coast.
Supporting performances and cameos by Milton Berle, Dick Shawn, Dom DeLuise, Henry Gibson, Billy Curtis and Edie Adams provide starry amusements, but there really aren't very many laughs that are substantial. Connie Sawyer, character actress who lived to be 105 and steals the film with her feisty performance. The one thing I noticed about Rooney when he first appeared was that he look exactly like Carroll O'Connor, ironic considering that he was originally offered the role of Archie Bunker around the same time. The sets look like they've been recycled from old TV Western, and there's nothing really unique about the film to make it memorable.
Superb comedy
tatty4823 September 2003
Evil Roy Slade as mentioned in the review is a film that a lot of people are unaware of, and what a pity. If you have the sort of sense of humour related to Blazing Saddles then you will find this film a bonus. My Daughter watched this film when she was about 11 or 12 and loved it. I wont give anything away but look out for "Not wearing guns" and the "Shoe horn", classic stuff. Even though 30 years old I think the comedy still works, so find it, watch it and enjoy it.
Rolling on the floor funny
bobsteimle28 June 2005
I saw this movie late at night on television while visiting a friend in Los Angeles in the mid 1970's. My friend was actually rolling around on the floor because he was laughing so hard. Although I haven't seen it since, I still remember it as the funniest movie I have ever seen. Maybe it was partly because it was late at night, but we were both sober. I think it was much funnier than Blazing Saddles and much less offensive. After thirty years, some of the scenes are still clear in my mind, such as Slade taking off all his weapons or persuading his horse to make the jump over a wide ditch. It's almost like an American Western version of a Marx Brothers movie. I don't remember anything dirty in it, so even young children would enjoy watching it. I'd really like to see it again myself.
Why am I goin' "pow pow"? 'Cause this ain't goin' "pow pow!"
jumaward21 March 2002
A better made-for-tv movie does not exist. I've read that it was actually a pilot for a western series that would have guest good guys who were to be defeated by Evil Roy and the gang.
The writing is super, fast, and funny--they really knew what they were doing.
ERS is a family favorite. I got a copy for Christmas a few years ago; we all sat around and watched it. My brother-in-law had never seen ERS before--I thought he was going to hurt himself laughing.
The writing is super, fast, and funny--they really knew what they were doing.
ERS is a family favorite. I got a copy for Christmas a few years ago; we all sat around and watched it. My brother-in-law had never seen ERS before--I thought he was going to hurt himself laughing.
Evil Roy Slade is the best comedy I have ever seen in 30 years.
klarc71 June 2005
When I was ten years old, I watched the movie Evil Roy Slade. Never before had I seen a movie so funny. I swear! Even at that young and tender age I laughed almost hysterically. I have watched a lot of TV in my time and after 30 years of watching comedies in all genres this film is definitely the most comical of them all, in my opinion. Sure, the movie 'Airplane' was good too but the laughs were few and far in between. From the beginning of the Evil Roy Slade movie until the end I couldn't stop laughing. John Astin played the main character role quite convincingly. Although the character was evil you just had to love him from the moment he entered the movie until the moment he left and especially when he had to cope with life without his guns. The film is filled with unexpected and unbelievable events at every turn and written in the funniest way possible. I don't know why, but I have never seen or heard of this film since until I came to this site searching some kind of information about the movie. I have been waiting many years to see this movie again. Too long! I need a good laugh.
Waste of time!
RodrigAndrisan12 July 2022
The tale of a villain who is proud of his wickedness, but who attempts to change his evil (but hilarious) ways for the love of a beautiful woman (Pamela Austin).
makers6947-465-33132620 April 2015
The theme song begins: "Evil Roy Slade makes fun of old people..." This movie has no weaknesses. Astin's facial expressions alone could carry it. The jokes never let up. I suspect the weighting factor on this movie is an ignorance on the part of the weigher of the broad, campy comedies of that era. It is either that, or the weigher is totally bereft of a sense of humor. I suggest the weigher watch and attempt to understand "The Great Race", "Murder By Death", "The Cheap Detective" (interestingly all three of these contain Peter Falk), "The Villain", "Casino Royale", and "What's New Pussycat" (These last two have Peter Sellers.). "Get Smart" and "Batman" are television examples. "Evil Roy Slade" gives several actors opportunities to deliver beautifully written lines, which they do with great style. I searched for years and finally got a DVD of it (I don't remember where.). John Astin is a genius.
Funniest Western I've seen
megandave6 November 2004
I haven't seen this movie for over 15 years when my copy was accidentally taped over.It's great to see that so many others have a similar recollection of this hilarious movie as me.I don't believe it has been shown on Australian TV in that time, which is a crying shame as it is one of those few comedies that pace the laughs perfectly throughout.So many of the movie's lines became second nature amongst a few of us such as "Stubby Index Finger" and "Bing Bell, I'll get that". I am an unashamed Mel Brooks fan, however I reckon Evil Roy Slade is superior to Blazing Saddles.I'm am at a loss as to how to go about getting a copy of it in Australia.If anyone can be of assistance I'd be really rapt.
Western Classic: Think "The Jerk" with horses & cowboys
docnakona@aol.com18 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Cult Classic 1970s movie. Decent production values and amazing comedic writing, it is hard to believe that it was made for TV and not an original cinema release. Great writing and John Astin (Mr. Addams in the Addams family TV show and Sean Astin's adopted father) was simultaneously hilarious and sublime. Parallel to Steve Martin's "The Jerk", the Evil Roy character was abandoned at birth and had to make his own way in the world. Evil Roy grew up tough and the "meanest villain in the West" but softens when he meets a schoolmarm. The late (and crazy) Dick Shawn was brilliant as Marshall Bing Bell ("Someone's at the door"). Although this movie probably hasn't aged well in the You Tube generation, it remains one of my favorite comedies... and more importantly to me ... it was my Dad's favorite comedy of all time.
Before Blazing Saddles, there was ...
gboydit20 May 2002
As a teenager, you had to like EVIL ROY, if you were to be considered a friend of mine. Okay, it's still almost the case.
Rivals FLETCH, BLAZING SADDLES, and CADDYSHACK for number of one-liners.
I've heard that I'm in good company on loving this one. Damon Wayans, Garry Marshall, and Salvador Dali count EVIL among their favorites as well (according to Marshall in his autobiography).
You'll never be able to look at a shoehorn again---not without laughing, anyway.
Rivals FLETCH, BLAZING SADDLES, and CADDYSHACK for number of one-liners.
I've heard that I'm in good company on loving this one. Damon Wayans, Garry Marshall, and Salvador Dali count EVIL among their favorites as well (according to Marshall in his autobiography).
You'll never be able to look at a shoehorn again---not without laughing, anyway.
Enjoyable and entertaining film.
irishenglishteacher28 August 2006
Super comedy, let's have this on DVD. I watched this movie as a teenager with my family and we loved it! My dad was a big western fan and he laughed all the way through the movie. My brothers and I grew up on classic westerns and then the anti-hero westerns of Clint Eastwood. I for one did not believe that a western could also be a comedy. This film really works. Evil Roy is a memorable character and will make you chuckle for days, weeks and years after wards. This movie has great performances and a script that is funny by parodying the genre. However there is nothing mean or nasty here, there is a real affection for the traditional western.
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