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I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The first must-see film of the year.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I remember this movie being shown on TV every Christmas day for years and I fell about laughing every time I saw it. Then it disappeared from the screen and Christmas afternoon was never the same. It was never even available on videotape. Then one day I found a DVD copy online from the US and Christmas is back. Even though it is 40 years after it was made my son in law can't stop laughing when I play it and now the grandchildren are getting into it as well. The quotes don't stop. If only they made shows like this today, there is nothing wrong with humour that doesn't involve obscenities. Classic comedy, this deserves to be in the top 100 comedy movies of all time (I would have it in the top 10 but I am biased.) Pure gold.

While this is a made-for-TV movie, it is nothing less than one of the greatest Western comedies ever produced for any medium, and perhaps one of the funniest movies of any genre. John Astin gives the performance of a lifetime and demonstrates clearly that he is much, much more than Gomez Addams. He is absolutely brilliant in this role and Dick Shawn is superb in a comic gem of a part. The supporting cast of well-known talents are hilarious in their respective roles as well. The script is intelligent yet has its share of slapstick humor that works magnificently. The dialog is laugh-out-loud funny and the sight gags are so well done that you will never forget them. The humor never lets up and there is never a down moment in this high energy take-off on westerns and even television. Evil Roy Slade is an example of what a great creative team is capable of producing for television, the very definition of side-splitting comedy, and an accomplishment that all involved should be proud of. One must return again to the wonderful performance of John Astin, an actor who did stunning dramatic work on the television series Insight and was a comic delight on "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster." He should have been given roles more deserving of his talent on a regular basis, but what he has done over the course of his career is amazing and in each part he's played, his gifts as an actor have shined brightly. Without him, Evil Roy Slade would not be the brilliant comedy film it is.

Mean hombre Evil Roy Slade (marvelously played with deliciously dastardly relish by John Astin) embarks on a merry crime spree in the Old West. Sweet young lady Betsy Potter (winningly played by the fetching Pamela Austin) becomes determined to reform Roy after meeting and falling in love with the ornery cuss during a bank robbery. Meanwhile, ruthless and vengeful railroad baron Nelson Stool (Mickey Rooney in fine spirited form) hires vain and ostentatious singing cowboy Marshall Bing Bell (a gloriously campy portrayal by Dick Shawn) to take Roy down. Director Jerry Paris, working from a witty script by Jerry Belson and Gary Marshall, ably milks the infectiously broad and wacky humor for maximum belly laughs while maintaining a snappy pace and zany tone throughout. The hysterically funny dialogue (favorite line: "My in-laws want me to hire outlaws") frequently hits the sidesplitting bull's eye. Moreover, there are plenty of inspired nutty touches, such as Roy calmly conversing with a pack of vultures, an ambush complete with pistol-packin' midgets, and a wedding ceremony that degenerates into a wild shoot-out. The cast attack the goofy material with great zeal, with stand-out contributions from Edie Adams as brassy floozy Flossie, Milton Berle as antsy shoe salesman Harry Fern, Henry Gibson as the cowardly Clifford Stool, and Dom DeLuise as patient, helpful psychiatrist Logan Delp. Popping up in nifty small roles are Penny Marshall as a bank teller, Pat Morita as Bing Bell's servant Turhan, Luana Anders as the cheery Alice Fern, Billy Curtis as a dwarf cowboy, and Ed Begley, Jr. as a dumb hick. Patt Buttram provides the amusingly wry narration. Both Murray MacLeod's jaunty score and the folksy country soundtrack do the harmonic trick. Sam Leavitt's crisp cinematography makes neat occasional use of fades and dissolves. A total riot.

"Who's that guy?" "Bing Bell." (for that is indeed the Sheriff's name)"Is that the door?" OK, so it looks a bit lame written down, but take it from me, you'll be dissolved in laughter long before you reach this point. 'Evil Roy Slade' is right up there with Bud Hill & Terence Spencer's 'My Name Is Trinity/Trinity Is Still My Name' and James Garner's 'Skin Game' in the sadly forgotten comedy western sub-genre. The terrific John Astin was never better than in this undeservedly forgotten comedy classic.