''Skin Game'' is a 1971 American independent

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

directed by

Paul Bogart Paul Bogart (né Bogoff; November 13, 1919 – April 15, 2012) was an Americans, American television director and producer. Bogart directed episodes of the television series 'Way Out (TV series), Way Out'' in 1961, ''Coronet Blue'' in 1967, '' ...

and Gordon Douglas, and starring

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

and

Lou Gossett Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett continued acting on ...

. The supporting cast features

Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She made her big screen debut in the 1967 drama film ''Banning (film), Banning'' and the following year played the female lead in the crime thriller ''Coogan's Bluf ...

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...

Andrew Duggan Andrew Duggan (December 28, 1923 – May 15, 1988) was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage. Background Duggan was born i ...

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Chester" ...

and

Royal Dano Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 – May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic ...

Plot

Partners Quincy Drew (Garner), a white man and Jason O'Rourke (Gossett), a Black man (who was born free and is well-educated), travel from town to town in Missouri and Kansas during the late slavery era. They had first met when Quincy had sold Jason a horse that turns out to have been stolen from the local sheriff. They meet again in jail after pulling various con jobs and develop a con together in which Quincy claims to be a down-on-his-luck enslaver who is selling the only person he still enslaves. Quincy then gets the bidding rolling, sells Jason (who quickly escapes from his new owner), and the two meet to split the profit. The con is complicated when Jason is sold to a savvy slave trader who is intent on taking him farther south to make a profit.

Cast

as Quincy Drew / Captain Nathaniel Mountjoy *

as Jason O'Rourke *

as Ginger / Miss Abigail Blodgett * Brenda Sykes as Naomi, Slave *

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portraying Lou Grant on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977) and drama '' Lou Grant'' (1977–1982), making him one of the few ...

as Plunkett (runaway slave hunter) *

as Howard Calloway, Plantation Owner * Henry Jones as Sam Cutler, Slave Buyer In Fair Shake *

Neva Patterson Neva Louise Patterson (February 10, 1920 – December 14, 2010) was an American actress. Early years Born on a farm near Nevada, Iowa, Patterson was the daughter of mailman George Patterson and seamstress Marjorie Byers Patterson. After gradu ...

as Mrs. Claggart *

as Mr. Claggart *

George Tyne Martin Yarus (February 6, 1917 – March 7, 2008), better known as George Tyne, was an American stage and film actor and television director. He was blacklisted in 1951. Early life Tyne was born Martin Yarus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

as Henry P. Bonner, Man Who Bought Jason In Dirty Shame *

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, Abolitionist * Pat O'Malley as William, Slave Buyer In Fair Shake *

Jason Wingreen Jason Wingreen (October 9, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an American actor. He portrayed bartender Harry Snowden on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1977–1979), a role he reprised on the continuation series '' Archie Bunker's Place'' ( ...

as 2nd Speaker *

Joel Fluellen Joel Fluellen (December 1, 1907 – February 2, 1990) was an actor and an activist for the rights of African Americans. He appeared in the films '' The Jackie Robinson Story'', '' Perils of the Jungle'', '' Duffy of San Quentin'', ''Sitting Bul ...

as Uncle Abram, Head Slave At Calloway Manor *

Napoleon Whiting Napoleon Whiting (September 21, 1910, Mississippi – October 22, 1984, Los Angeles, California), was an American character actor. He played many bit parts, often uncredited, as a menial worker such as the African American butler, a stereotypic ...

as Ned, Calloway Cook *

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Academy Award for ...

as Viney, Calloway Slave *

Robert Foulk Robert C. Foulk (May 5, 1908 – February 25, 1989) was an American television and film character actor who portrayed Sheriff H. Miller in the CBS series '' Lassie'' from 1958 to 1962. Early years Foulk attended the University of Pennsyl ...

as Sheriff

Production

In January 1966, Harry Keller, a producer at Universal, announced he was developing the project based on a story by Richard Alan Simmons. In March 1968, Peter Stone signed on to write the script. In October 1968, Universal announced the film for the following year. In April 1969, Universal put the film on its slate for the following year. Keller would produce with Peter Stone, who wrote the script. The film did not go ahead. By September 1970, Keller announced the film would be made by James Garner's Cherokee Productions, released through Warner Bros with

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and film director, director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was b ...

to direct. By December, Kennedy had dropped out and was replaced by Paul Bogart. In January 1971, Lou Gossett signed to co-star. In March, Bogart fell ill with hepatitis, and Gordon Douglas took over directing for a period of filming. Stone later claimed Garner radically changed the film's last third to give him more screen time. These changes annoyed Stone, who used a pseudonym on the film. Garner called it "a funny movie if you don't mind jokes about slavery. Paul Bogart did a masterly job."

Sequel

A sequel was made three years later as a television film called ''

Sidekicks A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

'', with

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera ''Dallas'', and the handsome astronaut Major Anthon ...

playing Garner's role and Gossett reprising his part.

References

External links

*
James Garner Interview on the ''Charlie Rose Show''

James Garner interview
at

Archive of American Television The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly titled the Archive of American Television) is a project of the nonprofit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, that records interviews with notabl ...