The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing is not so much a bad movie - it's more pointless than anything else.
The film stars Burt Reynolds as a former military officer having just been released from prison. In order to get money he hopes to use to get back his children, Reynolds robs a train with a gang of outlaws. In the midst of it all Reynolds' gang kidnaps an unwilling patrician woman (Sarah Miles) running from a loveless marriage with Crocker (George Hamilton). A posse is arranged by a Wells Fargo investigator and joined by Crocker. The gang heads along, disintegrating as they go, and the posse follows doggedly. And, of course, Miles falls in love with Reynolds.
This film is a bore. It doesn't function well as a character study - one learns very little about anyone. Director Richard Sarafian oddly seems to want to push his star, Reynolds, into the background. Of course, Reynolds does struggle a bit with the strong, silent type character. Reynolds comes off almost as a ghost in the first half of the proceedings, lurking in the background and occasionally showing up to pull his gang off of raping Miles. Even in the second half Reynolds seems lost in the visual margins. As for Miles and Reynolds, there is no chemistry. The only explanation for Miles falling in love with Reynolds is basically Stockholm Syndrome. That makes their relationship more creepy than romantic. The Searchers-like angle involving George Hamilton is pointless and a little dumb. This movie is a too old-fashioned western where too little happens. It doesn't challenge any convention and unfortunately doesn't really offer much excitement as a formula western, either. It doesn't just lack a sharp edge - it's dull all the way around.
Screened on Warner Archive Instant.
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