Alvarez Kelly (1966)

Suave Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly has little interest in the Civil War except to make some money. But after a long drive to deliver cattle to the Unionists he finds himself kidnapped by... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writer:

Franklin Coen

Stars:

William Holden, Richard Widmark, Janice Rule

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Holden	...	Alvarez Kelly
Richard Widmark	...	Col. Tom Rossiter
Janice Rule	...	Liz Pickering
Patrick O'Neal	...	Major Albert Stedman
Victoria Shaw	...	Charity Warwick
Roger C. Carmel	...	Capt. Angus Ferguson
Richard Rust	...	Sergeant Hatcher
Arthur Franz	...	Capt. Towers
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Lt. Farrow (as Donald Barry)
Duke Hobbie	...	John Beaurider
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Cpl. Peterson
Howard Caine	...	McIntyre
Mauritz Hugo	...	Ely Harrison
Barry Atwater	...	General Kautz (as G.B. Atwater)
Robert Morgan	...	Capt. Williams

Storyline

Suave Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly has little interest in the Civil War except to make some money. But after a long drive to deliver cattle to the Unionists he finds himself kidnapped by Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter. With his hungry troops surrounded in Richmond the Colonel intends, one way or the other, to persuade Kelly to help steal the herd and move it into town.

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Plot Keywords:

cattle | finger cut off | military | epic battle | battlefield | 

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Taglines:

A herd of cattle against a herd of cannon!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Richmond Story

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 110 min (Sony print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Holden and Richard Widmark became good friends during the production of the film. When Widmark became ill with the flu and was confined to his room, Holden bought him a snare drum because he knew Widmark played the drums. Widmark later remarked, "That four months of being constantly together on a film location was the equivalent of ten or fifteen years of friendship."

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Goofs

Despite the firepower of the Union Cavalry at the bridge, not one steer is seen to fall down dead or wounded. There are fallen cattle seen after the herd has crossed the bridge, but these are obviously live cattle with their legs tied, as can be seen when they struggle to stand up.

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Quotes

Charity Warwick: You disappoint me, Mr. Kelly. After what happened to your home, I should think your sympathies would be with us.
Alvarez Kelly: I have no sympathies, only instincts. And they shy away from losers.

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Soundtracks

"Alvarez Kelly"
Music by Johnny Green (as John Green)
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Sung by The Brothers Four

User Reviews

Has aged very well

See it - William Holden plays his trademark role as a smooth-talking womanizer caught in a war he doesn't want to be a part of. He's a rich cattle driver in the Civil War looking to sell his horses to the highest bidder. Richard Widmark plays the eyepatch-wearing Confederate villain. Some might say these two actors can't carry a movie by themselves, but together they are fantastic. The script in this movie is surprisingly sharp and smart. This is rare for a western. The dialogue is very witty and actually pretty funny at times. The movie has also aged very well, meaning that it is still relevant and doesn't have that "old" feel to it. For example, the things that are supposed to be funny are funny, etc. The only problem with this movie is that there's not much action until the end. This is easily forgivable because of the good story. After seeing the movie, I immediately compared it to Horse Soldiers, which Holden co-starred in with the Duke. Worth seeing once. 2 out of 5 action rating