The Spikes Gang is a 1974 Mirisch Company

Mirisch Company

The Mirisch Company was a film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company was also known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures, Inc., and The Mirisch Corporation.Walter Mirisch began producing at Monogram Pictures...

 motion picture adaptation of the Giles Tippette novel The Bank Robber.

Overview

Starring Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...

 as an aging bank robber of the American Old West

American Old West

The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...

, the film follows his encounters with three coming of age

Coming of age

Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...

 farm boys played by Gary Grimes

Gary Grimes

Gary Grimes is a former American actor.-Biography:Gary Grimes' first major role was in the 1971 motion picture Summer of '42, playing a teenager who has an affair with a beautiful older woman, played by Jennifer O'Neill...

, Charles Martin Smith

Charles Martin Smith

Charles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Smith was born in Van Nuys, California. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios...

, and Ron Howard

Ron Howard

Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...

. Veteran character actors Arthur Hunnicutt

Arthur Hunnicutt

Arthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...

 and Noah Beery, Jr.

Noah Beery, Jr.

Noah Lindsey Beery , known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting...

 both appear in separate "scene stealing

Scene stealer

A scene stealer is a character in a film or dramatic performance that dominates the audience's attention, often through charisma, humour or powerful acting, thus "stealing the scene" or "stealing the show". The term usually applies to a supporting character, such a sidekick, best friend,...

" performances.

It was filmed in Tabernas

Tabernas

- Cinema :The Desert Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and onwards for the shooting of many films and westerns making the area famous around...

, Almeria

Almería

Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...

, and Andalucia, in Spain.

The production style of director Richard Fleischer

Richard Fleischer

-Early life:Fleischer was born in Brooklyn, the son of Essie and animator/producer Max Fleischer. He started in motion pictures as director of animated shorts produced by his father including entries in the Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman series.His live-action film career began in 1942 at the RKO...

 received generally favorable reviews. "It was only the second matchup for the director and Marvin and the actor gives a seething, unpredictable performance as the untrustworthy Harry Spikes. You can see why a trio of farmhands, well-played by his co-stars, would want to emulate him; you can also see why they come to resist the lethal charm of his coercion.", wrote one critic.

Ron Howard later praised producer Walter Mirisch

Walter Mirisch

Walter Mortimer Mirisch is an American film producer. In his long and successful motion picture career, Walter Mirisch has produced some of the industry’s finest and most memorable films...

 saying, "When I...acted in one of his productions, The Spikes Gang, I learned that a prolific and brilliant producer could also be a terrific guy and a wonderful teacher."

Synopsis

Harry Spikes is an aging bank robber of the fading "Old West." Injured and near death, he is found and mended back to health by three impressionable youths who are life-long friends -- Wil, Tod, and Les. Later, encouraged by Spikes's reminiscences, they run away from home seeking excitement and easy living.

Reunited with Spikes on several occasions, the boys follow his tutoring, ultimately resulting in the gravest of consequences.

Featured cast

Actor	Role
Lee Marvin Lee Marvin Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...	Harry Spikes
Gary Grimes Gary Grimes Gary Grimes is a former American actor.-Biography:Gary Grimes' first major role was in the 1971 motion picture Summer of '42, playing a teenager who has an affair with a beautiful older woman, played by Jennifer O'Neill...	Wilson Young
Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Smith was born in Van Nuys, California. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios... as Charlie Martin Smith	Tod Hayhew
Ron Howard Ron Howard Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...	Les Richter
Arthur Hunnicutt Arthur Hunnicutt Arthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...	Kid White aka Billy Blanco
Noah Beery, Jr. Noah Beery, Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery , known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting... as Noah Berry	Jack Basset
Marc Smith	Abel Young
Don Fellows	Cowboy
Susan Coyne	Clara Cratchitt
Elliott Sullivan	Billy

Home media

The film is available in DVD-R format, MGM on Demand; also available in Region 2. The VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

version is long out of print.