A Time for Killing

Plot

During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers escape from a Union prison and head for the Mexican border. Along the way, they kill a Union courier bearing the news that the war is over. Keeping the message a secret, the captain has his men go on and they soon find themselves in a battle with the Union search party who also is unaware of the war's end.

Cast

Production

The film originally began under the title The Long Ride Home and was to be directed by Roger Corman from a script by Robert Towne. However Corman was replaced by Karlson after several weeks shooting. Once Corman left, his editor Monte Hellman also left the project.

Casting

The film was originally offered to Warren Beatty and Cliff Robertson who both turned it down.

Soundtrack

The original score of the film was composed by Van Alexander who was given seven weeks to compose 45 minutes of music for the film. He collaborated with Ned Washington for a title song by Eddy Arnold. Though producers Harry Joe Brown, Jonie Taps and Columbia's Mike Frankovich were enthusiastic about Alexander's score, once the film was met with a disastrous reception at a preview it was decided to restore the film with a guitar score by Mundell Lowe. Alexander never composed another score for a feature film.