10. The Klansman (1974)
Richard Burton is a liberal friend to all and Lee Marvin is a peace loving sheriff in an American Southern state. They try to keep peace between blacks and whites. Marvin in particular, receives a lot of criticism, disdain and hostility from the white establishment and he must try to figure out where his loyalties lie. The Ku Klux Klan torment the black community and Marvin must try to stop this. When a young white woman is violently raped, the white community blame a young black man called Garth (O J Simpson) who hides in the forest and seeks revenge. The KKK organise lynch mobs to find him and rape a beautiful black girl in retaliation. Part serious drama, part silly exploitation film, it is horrible to say, but I derived much mirth from The Klansman. Don't go watching the movie to get any serious message from it. It is confused and misleading. Marvin and Burton were obviously off their tits drunk when they made this and I don't blame them. The director was possibly drunk too given the end result. The characters are pure cardboard cut out stereotypes and Richard Burton - a Welsh man - is a terrible choice to play a Southern gentleman. He seems at a loss as to what he is doing. I cannot believe that all these big Hollywood stars are caught up in a movie which plays out like a dreary exploiter. It's a bit like the shock you get when you see Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud and Peter O'Toole prancing about in low rent Caligula.