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

Lee Marvin was Sam Peckinpah's initial choice for the role of Samuel Potts, but Marvin wanted too much money. Marvin's agent suggested James Coburn for the part, and Coburn ultimately got the role.

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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

References Escape from Fort Bravo (1953)

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Soundtracks

"Shall we gather at the River?"
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Lowry and Charles Ives
Sung at the burial after the first river battle

User Reviews

It coulda been a contender . . .

"Major Dundee" is Sam Peckinpah's rehearsal for "The Wild Bunch." The stories for both films are basically the same (men whose time has come and gone and they know it, and who don't fit in either society they are forced to be in, and they know that, too). "Dundee" has a good story, excellent action scenes and a sterling supporting cast of first-rate character actors (R.G. Armstrong, John Davis Chandler, Warren Oates, among others), but as previously noted, the film tends to fall apart during the second half. Senta Berger, although ravishing to look at, is totally wasted in a superfluous part, and the entire second half of the film has a choppy, disjointed feel to it. The main problem with it, apparently, was some major interference by Columbia Pictures and especially producer Jerry Bresler. Peckinpah's vision of the story and Bresler's were reportedly miles apart, and after the picture was shot and edited, Bresler and Peckinpah had a major blow-up, the producer had Peckinpah barred from the Columbia lot and hired his own editor to help him recut the picture. When star Charlton Heston saw the version that Bresler and his editor came up with, he went to the executives at Columbia and told them that he would have his name taken off the picture and never work for Columbia again if Peckinpah was not allowed back on the lot to cut the picture the way he wanted. Eventually a compromise was reached and Peckinpah was allowed to work on the editing, but the film still wasn't the way he wanted it, and he basically disowned it. It's too bad, as it's still a very good picture, but it could have been a great one.