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You know, I like Joe Don Baker and think he’s a fine
(and underrated) actor but unfortunately, he doesn’t get the
best parts (Joe Dirt or that big-screen adaptation
of The Dukes Of Hazzard come all too quickly too
mind). That whole “Mystery Science Theater 3000” thing
doesn’t help either. Sure, I’m a big fan of the
defunct series and pick up every DVD release there is, but unlike
the young automatons that believe take everything at face value, I know
where a bad movie ends and where a not-so-bad one begins…and
the cult fave Mitchell certainly is not a bad film. In
fact, Mitchell is one of my three favorite low-budget
movies starring Joe Don…the other two flicks being Walking
Tall (the real Walking Tall from
1973, not that barely coherent Hollywood remake with Dwayne ‘The
Rock’ Johnson) and of course, 1974’s Framed.
I think some people may have a problem with the whole Southern
White Trash factor in these movies so allow me to settle this matter
once and for all: honey, it was the 70s, and everybody was
white trash! It wasn’t that big of a problem! So
just suck it up and enjoy the movie, a’ight?
 Framed tells the fun story of Ron Lewis (Joe
Don), a hard drinking, hard-nosed Tennessee-born-and-bred gambler…the
kinda guy that will do just about anything for his friends but won’t
even think of going down without a fight when it comes to an enemy. Of
course, Ron soon winds up with a very large list of enemies when
he accidentally murders a corrupt policeman who picks the wrong
guy for a scapegoat (and you don’t mess with Joe
Don Baker) and gets sent the prison for four years.
In prison, Ron’s card skills catch he ears and eyes of Sal
Viccarrone (John Marley), a convicted gambling racketeer and Vince,
an articulate hitman with a great sense of humor (former Dead
End/East Side Kid regular Gabriel Dell), who take a liking
to the wrongfully accused man and see to it that he gets treated
right (the entire prison chapter is, fortunately, short - so don’t
expect the card playing version of The Longest Yard or
anything). A few years later, Ron is paroled and promptly
returns home to settle the score.
 In addition to its star, Framed shares a lot
of the same crew as
the original Walking Tall - not to mention its
spirit. It’s a fun film that (despite its inconsistencies)
keeps up the pace remarkably well and gives a lot of the supporting
cast a chance to show off their talents as well including (the late)
Dell, (the late) Marley, (the late) H.B. Haggerty, the late John
Larch, and (the late) Brock Peters as the police department’s
sole black deputy, Sam (“without the Bo”). The
not-dead-yet Conny Van Dyke rounds up the cast as Joe Don’s
annoying, tortured, naïve, and indecisive lounge-singer girlfriend
whom the audience feels like strangling most of the time (she is
officially the film’s weakest link).
PLEASE NOTE: This Legend Films/Paramount release is (at the
time of this writing) one of those (now notorious) Best Buy Exclusives
that none of the Best Buy stores are stocking (at least that’s
what I’m hearing - I hear availability on the Best Buy website
isn’t so grand, either).
Presentation:
 Like many Paramount titles that have been unavailable
on home video for years, Framed makes its DVD debut
from Legend Films in an unmastered but relatively clean-looking
1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The English Mono Stereo
audio seemed a bit low for me, but I’m not complaining.
No subtitles are included…but I’m still not complaining
because the disc is Close Captioned.
Extras:
OK, here’s where I could complain if I wanted to. Also just
like many of these Paramount/Legend collaborations, Framed does
not sport any Special Features.
The Bottom Line:
Another grand Joe Don Baker vehicle from the 70s which
would be even better if it didn’t have Conny Van Dyke in it.
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