I never really understand why the makers of a film that is based on a book will change absolutely everything about the story and still say it's based on the book. Why not just give it a new name and call it an original work. You could almost get away with that with Richard Fliescher's version of Violent Saturday, based on the W.L. Heath book of the same name. I can appreciate that sometimes the transition from book to film doesn't go smoothly. People look for different things in a film, there can't be the same depth of character or attention to detail, but changing the whole story is another thing. Maybe I didn't let enough time pass between reading the book and seeing the film. Reviewers on IMDB seem to like it mostly. I disliked it almost from the beginning. Instead of being set in a hot southern town it is set in a town presumably in the east where there is a rural Mennonite community and the city thrives on the local copper mine. This copper mine is the reason that Shelly Martin couldn't go to war during the big one, which leads to his need to prove his bravery to his son who is beginning to ask questions since his friends father has a purple heart from Iwo Jima. He gets the opportunity to do this when he is held hostage by the bank robbers. None of this has anything to do with the book. The only similarity is the bank robbery. The robbers personalities and descriptions differ but they are played capably by Lee Marvin, Stephen McNally, and J. Carrol Naish. Lee Marvin as Dill is hilariously addicted to nasal spray because he once had a girlfriend who was always giving him colds! Once in a while there is some dialog that is written verbatim from the book, but these lines stand out in stark contrast with the rest of the dialog so that it comes across very stiff and unnatural and the middle part lumbers along like a soap opera. The book has some very uncomfortable racial stereotypes but being set in the south in the 50's, I guess thats to be expected, the film deals with this problem by simply removing all the black characters. Worse than the racial slurs is the denial of the existence of african-americans all together. All in all a big disappointment.
"SSSNNNNNIIIIFFFFF, I gotta get some air."
Hey! OOWW! Jeez, I was only try'na help mister."
"What is this Stevie? You and Georgie, your best friend, fighting. Why?"
"I hit him first."
"You wanna tell me why?"
"No sir."
"You better get your legs down."
"Why? What for?"
"Well, people come walking by here, you know."
"For a man who's supposed to be the leader of the wolf pack around here, you sometimes sound like a prissy, backwoods preacher."
"Oh why don't you give up and get a wife of your own and stop trying to make love to everybody elses."
"I wish those broads weren't there. Sometimes they start screamin'."
"You ever see a bank without a woman? It happens to be one of the hazards in a caper like this."
"I wonder if you could help me out, my car broke down on one of your back roads, must be a mile or so from here. Could I use your phone to get some help?"
"We are Amish people neighbour. There is no telephone. I will hitch up the team and drive thee to the highway."
"Where were you ten years ago?"
"High school graduation, Milwaukee."
"The only reason I stayed was if Boyd woke up and needed me."
"I'm quite capable of taking care of him myself."
"Well,well, that's a new wrinkle. Especially after ten years of kicking out his insides."
"I just dare you to go to the police. When your wife's at home asleep you sneak out and watch that girl undress. You're disgusting. There you are mister peeping Tom, I just dare you to go to the police."
"Do like I say, you won't get hurt."
"Everybody in the barn."
"Everybody just stay where you are. This is a hold-up."
"Shove those in your kisser son, and go back over there and suck on 'em."
BANG BANG
"Did you hear what they said? They're going to burn this barn down. Force us out into the open."
"Only if it be Gods will."
"Do you mean you're going to stand pat."
"If to...stand pat...means to...resist evil, then, yes neighbour, we wish to stand pat."
BOOOOM
"God forgive me."
"AAARRRGGGGHHH"
"I used to wait until you came home and then I'd just stand there and watch you until the lights went out."
"...I didn't know that."
"Boy! You got all of 'em didn't you dad?"
"Look Stevie, things like that are better if they didn't happen to you at all."
