Flesh and the Spur
Encyclopedia
Flesh and the Spur is a 1957
Western
film directed by Edward L. Cahn. The movie stars John Agar
as Lucius Random, Marla English
as Wild Willow, and future Mannix
star Mike Connors
(billed here as Touch Connors) as Stacy Tanner.
Although he does not know the identity of the killer, Random knows that he is part of the nefarious "Checker Gang" and can be identified by the gun he stole from Matthew, which is one of a unique set of two that the brothers Matthew and Lucius owned between them.
and raised the money from Armenian friends for the film's $117,000 budget. He recalled being called in to a meeting with AIP's James H. Nicholson
, Samuel Z. Arkoff
and Alex Gordon
. They showed him a poster of leading lady Marla English tied to a stake with fire ants crawling on her. Connors remarked that there was no such scene in the script. The AIP heads replied that the movie had been presold on the basis of Albert Kallis' artwork and that the anthill torture scene would be written in later. (This was a marketing ploy frequently used by AIP to promote films during pre-production, often before the screenplay had been written.) Alex Gordon recalled dropping ants on the bound and gagged Marla. However, the ants would promptly run away from her. The ungagged Marla finally asked Gordon "Look, you've got six ants there, isn't that enough??"
released Flesh and the Spur on Region 0 DVD.
1957 in film
The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film directed by Edward L. Cahn. The movie stars John Agar
John Agar
John George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
as Lucius Random, Marla English
Marla English
Marla English is a motion picture actress from San Diego, California who made movies in the 1950s.English was originally signed to a contract by Paramount Pictures after winning a San Diego beauty pageant...
as Wild Willow, and future Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
star Mike Connors
Mike Connors
Mike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
(billed here as Touch Connors) as Stacy Tanner.
Plot
Tanner is a desperate prisoner who escapes from jail and promptly murders an innocent farmer named Matthew Random. Stealing Random's horse and gun, the outlaw promptly makes his escape. Finding his twin brother murdered, Lucius Random (Agar) vows revenge and sets off to find the killer.Although he does not know the identity of the killer, Random knows that he is part of the nefarious "Checker Gang" and can be identified by the gun he stole from Matthew, which is one of a unique set of two that the brothers Matthew and Lucius owned between them.
Production
Mike Connors also acted as executive producerExecutive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and raised the money from Armenian friends for the film's $117,000 budget. He recalled being called in to a meeting with AIP's James H. Nicholson
James H. Nicholson
James Harvey Nicholson was an American film producer. He is best known as the co-founder, with Samuel Z. Arkoff, of American International Pictures.-Biography:...
, Samuel Z. Arkoff
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Samuel Zachary Arkoff was an American producer of B movies.-Life and career:Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa to a Russian Jewish family, Arkoff first studied to be a lawyer. Along with business partner James H. Nicholson and producer-director Roger Corman, he produced eighteen films...
and Alex Gordon
Alex Gordon
Alex Jonathan Gordon is a Major League Baseball Outfielder for the Kansas City Royals.-Early years:...
. They showed him a poster of leading lady Marla English tied to a stake with fire ants crawling on her. Connors remarked that there was no such scene in the script. The AIP heads replied that the movie had been presold on the basis of Albert Kallis' artwork and that the anthill torture scene would be written in later. (This was a marketing ploy frequently used by AIP to promote films during pre-production, often before the screenplay had been written.) Alex Gordon recalled dropping ants on the bound and gagged Marla. However, the ants would promptly run away from her. The ungagged Marla finally asked Gordon "Look, you've got six ants there, isn't that enough??"
DVD release
On October 27, 2009, Alpha VideoAlpha Video
Alpha Video is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD...
released Flesh and the Spur on Region 0 DVD.