Adios Amigo

Adios Amigo
The movie poster for the film Adios Amigo
Directed by	Fred Williamson
Written by	Fred Williamson
Produced by	Fred Williamson
Starring	Fred Williamson Richard Pryor James Brown Robert Phillips Mike Henry
Cinematography	Tony Palmieri
Edited by	Eva Ruggiero Gene Ruggiero
Music by	Blue Infernal Machine
Distributed by	Atlas Films
Release date	December 25, 1975 (1975-12-25)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Adios Amigo is a 1975 American Western comedy film written, produced and directed by Fred Williamson, who also stars in the lead role. The film co-stars Richard Pryor and James Brown.

Premise[]

A frontier con man (Richard Pryor) tries scams that never work, leaving his partner (Fred Williamson) behind to explain.

Cast[]

• Fred Williamson as Ben "Big Ben"
• Richard Pryor as Sam Spade
• James Brown as Sheriff
• Robert Phillips as Notary
• Mike Henry as Mary's Husband

Production[]

The idea for the project came from Pryor's initial frustration of being rejected from starring in Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles after collaborating with him on the screenplay, and Williamson's dislike of the finished film, which he considered silly. The goal was to make a comedy that would still be realistic to its Western setting, and which would allow Pryor to work without restraint. The initial script was only 12 pages, with Williamson encouraging Pryor to ad-lib scenarios in a suggested scene. Principal photography took only nine days.

Reception[]

Ultimately, both Williamson and Pryor were disappointed with the results. "I wanted to give him an idea, a concept, and then just turn the light on him and let him do whatever he wanted. You know what they say about comedians – that you can just open the refrigerator door and the light comes on, the jokes roll on out. Well, Richard's light didn't come on," said Williamson.^[1] Pryor, in an interview with Ebony shortly after the movie came out, said "Tell them I apologize. Tell them I needed some money. Tell them I promise not to do it again.^[2]

Despite the negative opinions of its stars, the film garnered a positive review from Gene Siskel. During a Sneak Previews "Dog of the Week" segment, often devoted to low-budget films cashing in on name star appearances, Siskel mentioned approaching Adios Amigo as a potential "dog" because it didn't sound like a good movie in previews, but found it to be a very funny and enjoyable film that resulted in him stating that he had no "dog" selection after all for that week's show.

References[]

External links[]

• Adiós Amigo at IMDb
• Adios Amigo at Rotten Tomatoes
• Adios Amigo at AllMovie

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