Cannon for Cordoba (1970)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writer:

Stephen Kandel (writer)

Release Date:

October 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

They aimed him at Cordoba's fortress, and pulled the trigger! The army followed, to pick up the pieces!

Plot:

In 1912, a Mexican rebel named Cordoba steals six cannons from the forces of General Pershing who's...

Plot Keywords:

Border | Soldier | Raid | 1910s | Melodrama

Cast

George Peppard	...	Capt. Rod Douglas
Giovanna Ralli	...	Leonora
Raf Vallone	...	Cordoba
Pete Duel	...	Andy Rice
Don Gordon	...	Jackson Harkness
Nico Minardos	...	Peter
Gabriele Tinti	...	Antonio
John Larch	...	Warner
Francine York	...	Sophia
John Russell	...	John J. Pershing
Lionel Murton	...	Colonel Hammond
Hans Meyer	...	Svedborg
Richard Pendrey	...	Adam
Takis Emmanuel	...	Campo
Janis Hansen	...	Girl

Also Known As:

Dragon Master

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP

Company:

Mirisch Production Company, The

Trivia:

Released in the US by United Artists on a double-bill with "Underground" starring Robert Goulet.

Quotes:

Captain Riggs: The next time I get you two in here, I'm gonna strip you down and chain you to them bunks!
Andy Rice: I ain't never stole a bunk before.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000) (TV)

Routine but watchable

You've seen this before and, yes, you'll see it again. A maverick soldier rounds up a group of misfits and leads them on an impossible mission behind enemy lines. Along the way there's a bit of sex and a hint of treachery and the climax, complete with explosions and flying bullets, kills off some members of the cast.

As "formula" movies go this is quite watchable, (but also quite forgettable), thanks to bright photography, good art direction, a lively score by Elmer Bernstein, and a slightly better-than-average cast.

Heading this cast is George Peppard who enjoyed a brief but significant "Golden Age" from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in 1961 through "The Blue Max" in 1966. After that he drifted into lesser movies which usually cast him in "tough guy" roles: soldiers, cops, private eyes, mercenaries, etc. However, he often seemed slightly out-of-place in these roles which were quite different from his best role -- the boyish writer in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." One wonders why Peppard didn't more often pick roles which emphasized his guy-next-door charm rather than his two-fisted toughness.

Part of his appeal in "Tiffany's" was due to his unthreatening sexuality best demonstrated in that scene with Audrey Hepburn where he's propped up naked in bed covered only by a sheet. Later films often tried, usually without notable success, to exploit Peppard's "beefcake" appeal by getting him to take his shirt off. In "Cordoba," for example, he has no less than three bare-chest scenes!