LGM Film Club, Part 223: 5 Card Stud

5 Card Stud, from 1968, stars Dean Martin as a professional gambler in the 1880s West. He’s part of a card game. A guy cheats. The other gamblers, outside of Martin, decide to lynch the cheat. They are lead by a poorly cast Roddy McDowell, whose attempt to not speak with an English accent does not go well. Soon, the guys who lynched the cheat start dying one by one. At the same time, a mysterious preacher who is very good with guns comes to town. His name is Robert Mitchum. Could they be connected? Well….I’m guessing this plot isn’t going to surprise you very much.

It’s an OK movie, largely because of Mitchum. I do have a hard time taking Martin seriously in westerns. He’s really not a bad actor. But it just seems so distant from his real life persona, in a way that it was not for a lot of other western actors. Of course, westerns is what one did if one wanted to work back then, though by 68, this was fading rapidly. Mitchum was always good in a preacher role, even if it’s not Night of the Hunter. Also, Yaphet Kotto has a big early role for him. Overall, this is your standard 3-star film.

Naturally enough, Martin sings the theme song. Here’s the trailer.