Burt Lancaster's first and only directorial effort is a pretty routine vehicle, worth seeing for Walter Matthau's film debut as Burt's nasty bullwhip cracking nemesis. The acting is pretty lacklustre, the script mediocre at best with not much plot or character development. Some nice scenery and a great old River Boat sequence pass the time, and it's fun to see Burt with long hair. But not a classic must see by any means. Kills a couple hours and Lancaster and Matthau fans will get the most out of it. Burt was famous for taking on challenging roles and picking insightful material, but here it's just a B frontier tale all the way.
Review of The Kentuckian
