Major Dundee (1965)

During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a ... See full summary »

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (story), Harry Julian Fink (screenplay),

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Major Amos Charles Dundee
Richard Harris	...	Captain Benjamin Tyreen
Jim Hutton	...	Lieutenant Graham
James Coburn	...	Samuel Potts
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	Tim Ryan
Senta Berger	...	Teresa Santiago
Mario Adorf	...	Sergeant Gomez
Brock Peters	...	Aesop
Warren Oates	...	O. W. Hadley
Ben Johnson	...	Sergeant Chillum
R.G. Armstrong	...	Reverend Dahlstrom (as R. G. Armstrong)
L.Q. Jones	...	Arthur Hadley (as L. Q. Jones)
Slim Pickens	...	Wiley
Karl Swenson	...	Captain Waller
Michael Pate	...	Sierra Charriba

Storyline

During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.

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Plot Keywords:

apache | confederate | mexico | raid | prisoner of war | 

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Taglines:

THE EPIC STORY OF THE GREAT SOUTH-WEST !

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Genres:

Adventure | War | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

15 March 1965 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Mayor Dundee

Filming Locations:

Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$3,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,520 (USA) (8 April 2005)

Gross:

$14,873 (USA) (15 April 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Jerry Bresler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 136 min (2005 restored) 152 min (unreleased director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shooting on the movie was wrapped up early by studio executives, in the interest of controlling costs, before some important scenes were filmed. Charlton Heston offered to return his entire salary for the movie if the studio would agree to film the opening scene - the massacre of soldiers and civilians by the Apaches - and some re-shoots. The studio kept his paycheck and never allowed any more footage to be shot anyway.

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Goofs

The type of howitzer used by Lieutenant Graham in the M1841 12 pounder Mountain Howitzer, a small but effective piece used primarily as horse artillery. In the final battle, Graham orders that the piece be elevated to 28 degrees; the highest level that can be reached for this piece is ten degrees.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In the territory of New Mexico towards the end of the Civil War, an Indian, Sierra Charriba, and his Apache warriors raided, sacked and looted an area almost three times the size of Texas.

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Connections

Featured in Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004)

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Soundtracks

"The Minstrel Boy"
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Thomas Moore, music traditional
Sung when the boys are rescued from the Apaches

User Reviews

Good But Not As Great As It Could Have Been

The first half of "Major Dundee" is gripping and fascinating. The problem is that the second half doesn't deliver on the build-up. The whole point is supposed to be the pursuit of the Apache, yet the film spends more time getting sidetracked from all this, in particular the scenes of Dundee's injury and descent into drunkenness (and did we really need Senta Berger, since her role is really pointless, despite the visual scenery she adds?) and when the Apache is found, it happens too abruptly. Fascinating supporting characters disappear or are downplayed too much in the second half, and the ending is too abrupt as well. Since the expedition ends up returning after the surrender of Lee and the end of the War, I was surprised there was no scene of Dundee returning to the Fort and offering a final reflection on Tyreen. The film literally cried out for it.

Charlton Heston felt that Dundee should have been more about the issues of the Civil War and had they stuck to this approach all through the film we might have had a great film instead of a merely good one.