Preerian Elvis (1981) Online

This is another East German foray to cowboy films. I've seen several and so far most of the films have portrayed the plight of Indians in the hands of ruthless white people with genocide in their minds. These films have underlined the capitalistic and imperialistic ways of the western world.

This film is quite a lot away from those. The few moments of violence is comical (think "Bud Spencer") and while few gunshots are fired they don't hit anyone. There's no Indians and no ideology is shoved down our throats as the earlier, though admittedly better, films did. The banter is mild, acting is intentionally comical, and an obnoxious kid is thrown in to help the protagonists. Every evil character is an exaggerated stereotype - easy for the kids to identify... All in all this is as family friendly as "Little House on the Prairie".

Quality-wise this is competently made and is quite unspectacular in any sense - any mediocre spaghetti would be a good comparison. The sets and props are mostly OK, the acting is OK, the story is weak. Because Dean Reed was apparently a major country star in his time, he performs a handful of c&w songs, some of them catchy. (hence the Finnish title Preerian Elvis, "Elvis of the prairie", quite apt I'd say) The songs are of course the only moments in the film where English is heard. Everyone speaks of course German and if you're accustomed to subtitled spaghetti westerns the language shouldn't be a problem here either.

All in all this is not a must-see, more of a curiosity. East German cinema wasn't after all widely seen in its day...

Most memorable moment: shooting pool on horseback!

Childish? Goofy? OTT? Yes, so what? It's about two clownish fellows travelling through the Wild West who have to take care of a little girl on the run. It's got plenty of ridiculous songs and crazy performances. The Dean Reed character is very watchable, Red Cowboy at his best.

It's a perfect family film with tons of goofy happenings (the brawl in the saloon, the fat couple behaviour, the scene with two pythons in the bedroom, the speedy running about, the cheap musical performances with catchy tunes and kitschy make up, the crooks' moronic stance, etc.).

Of course if my mood is different and tending to adult violence on screen, my choice will be "Wild Bunch" or "Unforgiven", which you can hardly label "goofy".

But if you feel blue being on the verge of a breakdown with a loaded gun in your trembling hand, give "Sing Cowboy Sing" a shot. Most likely, it will go smoothly down your throat and makes you much happier, scaring all your suicidal thoughts away.

Verdict: the movie is a funny, quick, bright, and childish western for those who enjoy the PG extravaganza and who is still a child in his/her heart. Count me in, my mark is a rock-solid 9 out of 10 (maybe a few tweaks would make it a total 10). Thanks for attention.