By Lee Pfeiffer
The Warner Archive has reissued Paramount's DVD release of Waterhole #3, a 1967 Western comedy that presents James Coburn in top form as a charismatic drifter, gambler and con-man who is goaded into a gunfight with a local crook. Coburn shoots the man dead by using an underhanded tactic then robs him, only to discover a tantalizing map that shows where a trove of stolen U.S. military gold had been secreted by the man and his partners. Coburn immediately begins to follow the map on an arduous trek across the desert. He is pursued by a local sheriff (Carroll O'Connor) who is trying to arrest him for the murder of the man victimized in the duel. When the two men meet up, it becomes a cat and mouse game with each alternately getting the drop on the other. They discover the hidden gold together and thereby initiate various plots to steal it for themselves. The film, directed by William Graham, is rather amusing throughout most of its running time thanks to the inspired performances of Coburn, O'Connor and some good supporting actors such as Bruce Dern, Claude Akins, Timothy Carey, Joan Blondell and James Whitmore. Margaret Blye makes a good impression as O'Connor's love-starved teen-aged daughter who is smitten by Coburn even though he literally rapes her. The film runs out of steam in the latter part of the story when the dead crook's partners and the U.S. cavalry all converge on Coburn and O'Connor in an attempt to retrieve the stolen gold. Suddenly the film disintegrates into a pioneer version of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World with everyone running amok in an attempt to get the treasure.The only thing missing is a "Big W". Folk singer Roger Miller provides a running narrative in the form of a ballad but the gimmick wears thin pretty quickly, largely because the same few notes are sung repeatedly. Nevertheless, the movie is a pleasant enough time-killer thanks largely to Coburn's super-cool persona. There are no bonus extras.
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