The Comancheros (1961)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Paul Wellman (novel) and
James Edward Grant (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 October 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western | Adventure | Romance

Plot:

Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner...

Plot Keywords:

Renegade | Undercover | Gambler | Texas Ranger | Father Daughter Relationship

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Wayne	...	Ranger Capt. Jake Cutter
Stuart Whitman	...	Paul Regret
Ina Balin	...	Pilar Graile
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Graile
Lee Marvin	...	Tully Crow
Michael Ansara	...	Amelung
Patrick Wayne	...	Tobe (Texas Ranger) (as Pat Wayne)
Bruce Cabot	...	Maj. Henry (Ranger CO)
Joan O'Brien	...	Melinda Marshall
Jack Elam	...	Horseface (Comanchero)
Edgar Buchanan	...	Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus Jackson Breen
Henry Daniell	...	Gireaux
Richard Devon	...	Esteban

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (as De Luxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm mag-optical prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #20000) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1961) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | New Zealand:PG | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Norway:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (cut)

Filming Locations:

Dead Horse Point State Park - State Highway 313, Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Paul Wellman wrote the novel with Cary Grant in mind as Paul Regret. However, by the time the film was made in 1961 Grant was too old for the part, and would never have taken second billing to John Wayne.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The guns used in the movie are Colt single action revolvers model 1873, Henry lever action rifle look-alikes model 1860, and Winchester lever action rifles model 1892. The only correct period guns used were the single-shot percussion-cap dueling pistols used in the opening scene.

Quotes:

Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus Jackson Breen: Major here has told me what your troubles are. I've been thinking it over and in light of my forty years experience in legal jurisprudence, I have come to the positive conclusion that there ain't no way to do this legal and honest... but being good sensible Texans, we'll do it illegal and dishonest! Now all the boys here in the room have agreed to sign a paper I have prepared. They all are going to commit perjury. That's legal language for just a plain, dumb blasted lie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in C'era una volta il West (1968)

Good, old-fashioned Western

I really enjoy this film, though it's more about how much I love the sights in the American Southwest, and William Clothier's Cinemascope photography of locals in Utah and Arizona is simply stunning here, and the wonderful Elmer Bernstein score, and less to do with the conventions of the Western genre in general and John Wayne movies in particular. Both had become pretty stale by the time this picture was made. As a 'serious' Western it can be dismissed; it's about as historically accurate as "Blazing Saddles" and I don't know what's supposed to look worse, the scalped head make-up Lee Marvin (who practically steals the film) wears or the wig-pieces Wayne sports. However, this forty-year-old movie plays as better entertainment than most movies made today. It's hardly cynical, tries to reinforce ideas of right and wrong, and knows it's not to be taken seriously anyway. You can also tell that everyone seems to be having a very good time making this movie. It's also the last of more than 150 films directed by Michael Curtiz (though Wayne had to direct a lot of it himself when Curtiz fell ill [Curtiz died shortly after filming ended]). A beautiful letterboxed transfer of this movie was done for laserdisc in 1993. It also featured commentary by stars Stuart Whitman, Patrick Wayne, Michael Ansara and Nehemiah Persoff, as well as production stills, script pages, posters and lobby cards. Somebody at Fox at the time thought the movie deserved this 'Collector's Edition' treatment, so I can only hope that person is still there and that this will be replicated on DVD soon.