THE SPIKES GANG

US, 1974, 96 minutes, Colour.
Lee Marvin, Gary Grimes, Ron Howard, Charlie Martin Smith, Arthur Hunnicutt.
Directed by Richard Fleischer.

Despite the gangster-sounding title, this is a western and a good one. It is also grim, a look at the hard people of the West and the ease in moving to robbing banks and killing, a look at the youngsters who, if they
survived, were to be the conscienceless gunfighters, a look at the glamour of violence and at its ultimately destructive futility. A well-written and competently made film, it plays with audience feelings and expectations - interest in and sympathy for three boys and for robber Harry Spikes and repulsion for what they are doing and what happens to them. An entertaining and thoughtful Western with Lee Marvin and Garry Grimes.

1. The overall impact of the film? Entertainment, interest, valuable?

2. Its principal characteristics as a western? Its use of the conventions of the genre, its look at the past, its use of the conventions and the past and its critique of them? The presentation of the myths of the west and the critique?

3. The title and its expectations? The focus on Spikes, more focus on the gang, and their relationship to Spikes? The irony of this?

4. The locations and the colour photography? The atmosphere and environment of this kind of west?

5. The importance of the structure: the saving of Spikes' life, the possibility of killing him, letting him live, the irony of another life? The forward projection of the boy's career? The re-encounter with Spikes? His causing their death? The flashbacks within this? The final flashback?

6. How pessimistic was the outlook of the film? As regards human nature, personal relationships, the west, survival, crime? How fatalistic in its approach? The emphasis on death throughout the film, even in statue form, as symbol?

7. The presentation of the west as a fatal place: hard farms, harsh families and relationships, punishment and justice? Outlaws and justice? Hunger and the need to rob? Filthy jobs? Bounty hunters? Bullets and guns? The attitude of the film to this? The response it asks of the audience?

8. The portrayal of violence, as a way of life, its destructive power, its continual hurt? The ultimate destruction and its futility? Violence and the boys' lives, even Spikes' life?

9. The focus on the boys? Their growth during the film? Their holding up Spikes as a hero? Learning from him? Being betrayed by him? If they had grown old, what would they be like, Spikes or Kidd?

10. The picture of home, its harshness, harsh parents? Yet dreams? The sentiment in the presentation of home life? Will's return and his greeting to his sister? The other boys and how hard they found it to leave home?

11. How was Will their leader? The initial helping of Spikes, his relationship with his father, being hurt by him, the hardness of the way of life, the inevitability of his running away? The loyalty of the others? The effect of running away, their hunger, robbing the bank? The irony of their killing the nun, dropping the money, having to flee? Becoming outlaws before their time? The effect of jail, the ugly jobs? Spikes's helping them? The loyalty of their following him? The humour and yet the irony of their being tested for the robbery, the failure of the robbery and Todd's being shot? The impact of his death? Will's decision to return the letter? The shooting of Les and his death? The vengeance theme and the shooting of Spikes? The fulfilment of the dream of reconciliation, shattered with death? What comment on the West was made through the character of Will?

12. The character of Spikes? The conventional gunfighter and bounty hunter? His ordering of the boys and relying on them? His age? His helping them? The failure of the robbery? The embarrassment of the boys' following him? The inevitability of his turning against them? His not telling them? Their mutual shooting? The futility of his life?

13. The characters of Les and Todd? How real, how well developed, for example, Todd's practice shooting and the spectacles, their deaths?

14. Kidd and the irony of the ageing gunfighter shot uselessly? The vengeance of the bounty hunters?

15. The exploration of themes of the West, the American heritage, pessimism?