Continuing my plan to watch every Burt Reynolds movie in his filmography in order, I come to Skullduggery.Plot In A Paragraph: Douglas Temple (a likable Burt Reynolds) manages to wrangle his way on to a jungle expedition in New Guinea when anthologist Sybil Greame (Susan Clarke) lands in his territory. While she searches for old bones, he searches for phosphor (which is used in the "new" colour TV's) they not only discover both, but a whole lot more. I'm amazed by what I read on here sometimes, as some of the people rating this movie 2/10 or worse 1/10 clearly just didn't get it. Even if it was made today this movie would still ring true. Burt Reynolds is incredibly likable and shows great promise for more important roles. However "Skullduggery" winds up a bit of a mismatch due to an inconsistent mix of humour and human drama. That's down to bad editing and poor direction.

I watched this movie in the early seventies, at my hometown in Mexico. I must have been 14 or 15 at the time. I liked the movie a lot not because of the acting, but because of the subject, which captivated me. The ethical and philosophical question of what constitutes humanity. Maybe the cinematographic quality of the film is not great, but having seen this movie only once and still remembering its impact on me after almost forty years is a tribute to its merits. I remember vividly the shock the climax scene caused in me, and the anger at the injustice done to the poor critters, and their unresolved fate, which undoubtedly would not be a good one if we go by the conventional wisdom of the time. I do believe this movie is much better conceptually than it is generally considered. I hope it will someday be released on DVD. I would certainly buy it.

(Maybe some teeny spoilers)... A rollicking tale as anthropologists searching for signs of a "Missing Link" in New Guinea, discover a living group of them amidst the jungle. The expedition's villainous financier (Paul Hubschmid), upon discovering Phosphorus in the area, puts the little creatures to work as miners.The film's ending court case regards the "humanity" of a child stillborn to one of the lead creatures, the alleged result of an indiscretion by Burt Reynolds.Great cast includes appearances from Ausie great Chips Rafferty, Burt Reynolds, Wilfred Hyde-White. Some great creature make-up work by Bud Westmore rarely mentioned in the books.Sadly, apparently not yet released on DVD.

I don't really think I'm spoiling anything, but I ticked the box just in case...I saw this film once and only once when it came on network television one night in the very early 70's, I was at most 7 years old and I have thought about the movie ever since. Missing link upright bipeds, used as slaves and a court case to determine rights applicable to them.Someone else's comment was that it was boring. What I recall of it is that the story and climactic finale made me cry until I threw up. I don't recall if the acting was good, or how the movie flowed. I just remember being highly affected by what I had seen and understanding that people also treated other people that way.Yay for empathy, a new experience for me as a child.I look forward someday to seeing it again as an adult.