Barquero (1970)

Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge ... See full summary »

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

George Schenck, William Marks

Stars:

Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Van Cleef	...	Travis
Warren Oates	...	Remy
Forrest Tucker	...	Mountain Phil
Kerwin Mathews	...	Marquette
Mariette Hartley	...	Anna
Marie Gomez	...	Nola
Armando Silvestre	...	Sawyer
John Davis Chandler	...	Fair
Craig Littler	...	Pitney
Ed Bakey	...	Happy
Richard Lapp	...	Poe
Harry Lauter	...	Steele
Brad Weston	...	Driver
Thad Williams	...	Gibson
Armand Alzamora	...	Lopez

Storyline

Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.

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Plot Keywords:

river | ferry | gang of outlaws | revolver | small western town | 

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Taglines:

It starts with a slaughter. Then the real action begins. Barquero. He had his own life-style. And his own death-style.

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Genres:

Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

Haydut avcisi

Filming Locations:

Brush Hollow Reservoir, Colorado, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aubrey Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Sparr was originally set to direct, but he was killed in a plane crash while scouting locations in Colorado. Gordon Douglas was hired to replace him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Boy: Hey mister.
Travis: What?
Boy: You're strong, ain't 'cha?
Travis: Yeah. Suppose so.
Boy: How long did it take ya?
Travis: To do what?
Boy: To build the boat. This man said that you built the boat. How long did it take?
Travis: Quite a while.
Boy: That sure is a great gun there.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Warren Oates: Across the Border (1993)

User Reviews

A battle of wills between strangers.

I couldn't remember if I had saw it or not, but watching it again I can see possibly why. An interestingly hearty western, that's a little more than your copy and paste genre effort and helping out are the imposing two leads Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates. Oh they were outstanding adversaries, but when it came to shove they were given too little to do as they basically stand-off against each other from across a river. Yep that's right. After an ear-splitting gunfight to open up proceedings, it really does slow up mid-way and even stalls before reaching a crackerjack climax where Cleef and Oates come to blows. It's all about the slow winding suspense of the morality situation, than just cracking out the gritty and bloody violence. The script tends to focus on the struggle for control, where it's a game of tug of war to grab the upper hand. Quite a personal angle too with an odd sense of humour. It could've have been more memorable, even compelling if it wasn't as well-worn in its occurring developments.

A highlight of the feature would be the professional scope of the cinematography as it captured the glittering river and beautiful backdrop. The leering camera-work would focus on the faces and actions just as well. At times it feels like a TV movie, but director Gordon Douglas' accessibly tight handling and patient style seemed to be influenced by the material's drawn out structure. The support cast are fine additions with a lively Forrest Tucker giving the best performance.