Adiós Amigo

Adiós Amigo
	The movie poster for the film Adiós Amigo
Directed by	Fred Williamson
Produced by	Fred Williamson
Written by	Fred Williamson
Starring	Fred Williamson; Richard Pryor
Music by	Blue Infernal Machine
Cinematography	Tony Palmieri
Edited by	Eva Ruggiero; Gene Ruggiero
Distributed by	Atlas Films
Release date	December 25, 1975;
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Adiós Amigo is a 1975 American comedy-western 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 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 was able to obtain 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

Henry, David; Henry, Joe (January 2014). Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him. ISBN 9781616204471.
"Ebony". Johnson Publishing Company. September 1976.

External links

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[1] Henry, David; Henry, Joe (January 2014). Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him. ISBN 9781616204471.

[2] "Ebony". Johnson Publishing Company. September 1976.