The completion of "Buckskin" in Dec 1967 marked the end of the trail for Paramount producer A.C. Lyles, the last of his 13 B-Westerns over a four year period that provided employment for many veteran performers. No better or worse than any of the others, immeasurably aided by a solid cast assembled from previous entries: Barry Sullivan (second), Joan Caulfield (second), Wendell Corey (third), Lon Chaney (eighth), John Russell (fourth), Barton MacLane (fourth), Bill Williams (second, here joined by his wife Barbara Hale), Richard Arlen (eleventh!), Leo Gordon (second), and George Chandler (third). Top billed is Barry Sullivan, the buckskin-clad Marshal Chaddock, who arrives with his young son to Gloryhole, Montana, to rescue the homesteaders from evil land baron Rep Marlowe (Wendell Corey), who has nearly succeeded in driving them all off by damming up the water supply. The townspeople aren't exactly grateful for the marshal's help, while Marlowe has in his pocket the local miners, the corrupt Sheriff Langley (Lon Chaney), and mysterious hired gun Patch (John Russell), who has a history with Chaddock. The final film for Barton MacLane, hereafter confined to I DREAM OF JEANNIE, and nearly the last for an ailing Wendell Corey, while Lyles' most frequent veteran, Richard Arlen, only appears in one short scene. Most shocking of all is the sight of grizzled, 61 year old Lon Chaney, his deteriorating voice affected by the same throat cancer that killed his father. The role of Sheriff Tangley is a major one, larger than any of the other villains, and the actor even performs all his own stunts, a remarkably effective performance considering he was still grieving his mother's recent passing, which is how he lost out on another Western, "Day of the Evil Gun," Paul Fix replacing him as Sheriff Kelso (unfortunately, only four more roles lay ahead for Chaney). Lyles still had a few more features to come, most notably the notorious 1972 "Night of the Lepus," but his successful run of old fashioned oaters came to its inevitable conclusion, only so many story lines to go around after TV Westerns got through with them all.

There's only one thing that distinguishes this A.C. Lyles western from the rest of that producer's crop: This one was not filmed in some shonky widescreen process but lensed in ordinary 35mm – cropped top and bottom for widescreen projection in cinemas. But otherwise, it's the same again. In fact, if anything, it's less appealing. "Buckskin" has a very talky screenplay with a bit of action – mostly at the climax (and even that is somewhat tame, considering the large amount of talk that has gone before). A few outdoor locations have also been utilized – all photographed in somewhat under-lit color. These are interspersed with some obviously studio streets, housing a great collection of old character actors, some of whom appear on screen but briefly. Richard Arlen, for instance, has only one scene, and Joan Caulfield makes a very late entrance. However, she has survived the years better than most, including Barbara Hale. Corey and Chaney act their roles with villainous relish, but Sullivan makes no more than an okay hero in this tepid piece which Michael Moore's slow-paced, TV-style direction using an abundance of unnecessary close-ups, does nothing to improve.

Buckskin is yet another western where A.C. Lyles provides employment for famous Hollywood players past their prime. Barry Sullivan is the star here, a US Marshal come to a small Montana town with specific intent of taking down town boss Wendell Corey. For reasons I can't explain he brings his young son to the town and quite frankly had I been him I'd not have brought a child into harm's way. And since the child's mother who is deceased was an Indian all the more reason.I wasn't completely clear why Corey wants the homesteaders out of the area, he's dammed up the stream that they get water for their crops. We know a railroad is coming through the following year, but that's all.What Corey has done is pit the miners against the homesteaders and the homesteaders have their families. Not much of a fair fight, in the end though Sullivan has an ace.Some grievous plot holes is made up for a nice bit of action specifically when Sullivan blows up the dam and also in the final shootout. Joan Caulfield is the former schoolteacher turned saloon girl who Sullivan redeems. Such other A.C. Lyles regulars as Lon Chaney, Jr., John Russell, and Richard Arlen are in the cast. Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, husband and wife in real life, play a husband and wife here and I'm not sure if this isn't the only time that happened. I know Williams did a couple of Perry Mason guest shots while Hale was playing Della Street.I like the A.C. Lyles westerns even some of the bad ones and this is not a completely bad one.

BUCKSKIN (1968) is one of thirteen low-budget westerns churned out at Paramount Pictures in the 1960s by producer A.C. Lyles. The distinguishing feature of these westerns was the peppering of the casts with former Hollywood stars getting one last shot at cinematic glory. Here the cast is led by western stalwart Barry Sullivan and includes such former Paramount contract players as Joan Caulfield, Wendell Corey, and Richard Arlen, backed by such other veteran performers as John Russell, Lon Chaney Jr., Barbara Hale, Bill Williams, Leo Gordon, George Chandler and Barton MacLane.The hackneyed plot features Sullivan as a marshal seeking to bring law and order to Glory Hole(!), Montana, by stopping the land-grabbing tactics of gambler Rep Marlowe (Corey), who's aided by an eye-patch-wearing hired gun (Russell) and a portly, corrupt sheriff (Chaney). The townsmen, including a kindly doctor (MacLane), are loath to help Sullivan because he seems to be outnumbered, but gradually Sullivan enlists such allies as a homesteader couple (played by husband-and-wife acting team Williams and Hale); the old storekeeper (Chandler) and his Chinese assistant (Aki Aleong); a drunk who lost all his savings to the gamblers (Gordon); and a schoolteacher-turned-saloon girl (Caulfield). Each of the cast gets their chance to emote, making this film much talkier than it needed to be, but also ensuring the participation of name performers who would have balked at mere cameo appearances. After the sturdy Sullivan (always a dependable western star), Russell comes off best as the conflicted hired gun with a complicated past.There are a couple of interesting racial twists provided by Sung Lee, the Chinese worker who is a victim of prejudice and comes to respect Sullivan for standing up for him, and Sullivan's young half-Indian son (Gerald Michenaud), whose presence at the side of Sullivan causes a bit of controversy.It's not the best of Lyles' westerns, nor is it the worst. It moves well and the cast always keeps it interesting, even during its slow and talky moments. There are a few shootouts, including one sprawling gun battle with Corey's henchmen at a dam that Sullivan is trying to open to get the homesteaders their necessary water. Western fans will find a few pleasures here and will no doubt wonder why more Lyles westerns are not available on home video.