One of my all time favorites.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Well, if you're going to make a comedy about two smart guys dealing with the horrible institution that was American slavery... this is probably the gold standard (whatever that might be for a comedy about slavery). Interesting that this came out several years before Blazing Saddles, yet was actually a far edgier comedy about race relations in the old West. That is to say, edgy in premise, not in execution: it's simply a light comedy about two con artists who get into trouble. Fans of Garner's "Support Your Local..." movies should enjoy this one a lot.James Garner is in top form here and Louis Gossett Jr. (credited as Lou Gossett) is very appealing.The best thing the script does is show us James Garner's character being a bit of a thoughtless jerk who doesn't quite understand his white privilege straight off, rather than having that "surprise" us in the middle of the film as a conflict-generating plot development.In a nutshell, the premise sounds terrible for a comedy, but it's actually not a terrible movie at all, but well done for its era (late Sixties/early Seventies farce).

Thank goodness for Encore Westerns. They keep showing films that rarely see the light of day, but ones that, for whatever reason, were either ignored or forgotten. This is one, from the paucity of reviews, that has slipped through the cracks.Skin Game is slightly, and only one star slightly, less than the sum of its parts. By that I mean..watch this film for the acting (one, in these PC days, can complain about the possible racial slurs). Not one sour note in this cast. We know Garner can act, can do his Maverick/Rockford thing to perfection, but how about Susan Clark? Lost in the silliness of the Webster TV show 80's phenomenon, she shows an amazingly playful sensuality throughout. I don't think I have seen a more erotic scene than between her and Garner, relaxing near a stream after she breaks him out of jail, finding that a con can love a con, with a camera fixed on the close-up the entire time. What a marvel of chemistry that is created (and forms the basis for the rest of the plot). Paul Bogart, that master TV director of nearly 100 All in the Family episodes, finds his angle and just stays there. Well Crafted and on the money. Throw in well-rounded performances from Lou Gossett and Brenda Sikes (watch THEIR sensuous hayloft scene!), and absolutely solid support from a gang of supporting stars who anchored many a 60/70's movie...Duggan, Jones, Dano, Baer, O'Malley...and Asner is such a hoot as the slave trading merchant. Not sure any white actor could deliver a line with the "n" word in it and not make it sound anything other than business-like! This film holds up well, and its acting pleasure are numerous. Not to be missed.

This is a very funny movie, dealing with a very serious subject, but it's premise is not as far-fetched as you might think. After all we have heard about man exploiting his fellow man, can we doubt that there were con men who found a way to make money off slave owners, buyers and sellers? Look at what happened after Hurricane Katrina? Anyway, my point is that this should not detract from enjoying this movie because the premise is certainly as plausible as most other westerns. One thing that stood out to me in this film was the relationship between the characters played by James Garner and Lou Gossett. Even though the setting is the 1850's, their relationship is clearly one of equals. While Gossett complains about his role as the commodity being sold in their con game, it is clear that these two are equal partners in deciding how and where they will ply their trade. They share the rewards of their loot equally and when one is endangered, the other risks his life and freedom to rescue his friend. When one discovers new responsibilities that requires a complete change in his life, the other unhesitatingly - well, with only short hesitation - joins in. Gossett and Garner are such a good pairing that I wonder why they didn't do more films together. (Although Gossett did appear on "The Rockford Files" as a guest star.)

James Garner ever since he made his first big hit in the television series of Maverick refined the playing of a con man who's no better than he ought to be into a fine art. Quincy Drew is a further refining of the Bret Maverick character. James Garner can be serious when he wants to be, but I've always gotten the feeling he enjoys being Maverick or Jim Rockford far better than playing it straight. He has to enjoy it more, he's so darn good at it.Here he's got a racket going with Lou Gossett, Jr. During the days just before the Civil War in the 1850s he and Gossett work this con where Garner keeps buying and selling Gossett as a slave. Of course Gossett escapes and then they move on to the next town. Trouble is with that kind of a con, your reputation is bound to catch up with you. Gossett, who was born in New Jersey and is a free black man, gets a view of slavery he didn't bargain for. Along the way he meets Brenda Sykes. Garner also meets up with Susan Clark who's also a grifter. She aids him in his search for Gossett. Gossett and Garner don't exactly redeem themselves in the end, but you know this is not a racket they will be trying any more.