Rio Conchos (1964)

A former Confederate officer and a Mexican try to prevent a former Confederate colonel from selling stolen rifles to renegade Apaches in Mexico.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Joseph Landon (screenplay), Clair Huffaker (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman, Anthony Franciosa

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Boone	...	James Lassiter
Stuart Whitman	...	Capt. Haven
Anthony Franciosa	...	Rodriguez (as Tony Franciosa)
Wende Wagner	...	Sally
Warner Anderson	...	Col. Wagner
Jim Brown	...	Sgt. Ben Franklyn
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Bloodshirt
Barry Kelley	...	Croupier
Vito Scotti	...	Mexican Bandit
House Peters Jr.	...	Pardee Officer
Kevin Hagen	...	Blondebeard
Edmond O'Brien	...	Col. Theron Pardee

Storyline

Two Army officers, an alcoholic ex-Confederate soldier and a womanizing Mexican travel to Mexico on a secret mission to prevent a megalomaniacal ex-Confederate colonel from selling a cache of stolen rifles to a band of murderous Apaches.

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Plot Keywords:

mexican | apache | indian war | native american tribe | commando mission | 

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Taglines:

Four men stalking the Apache nation...on a mission that could drench the whole Southwest in blood and flames!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 1964 (France)

Also Known As:

Рио Кончос

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Plot is very similar to The Comancheros (1961), another Fox movie that also starred Stuart Whitman.

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Goofs

It is clear that a rubber knife is used in the knife fights.

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Quotes

Bloodshirt: With new guns, Apache will kill, kill, kill, and white eye never forget what he get from apache, all his blood from wife and child to remind him.

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Connections

Featured in Jim Brown: All American (2002)

User Reviews

Awesome Western about a group of two-fisted men battling a band supplying firearms to the Apaches

Gritty and well written Western tale with jarring burst of violence . Good western with nifty non-stop action in the old 20th Century Fox tradition set in Texas with towering actors , unstopped action and spectacular scenarios ; dealing with three Army buddies search for 2000 stolen rifles . 1867 , after the Civil War , a weapon shipping has been stolen to army and as responsible appears captain Haven (Stuart Whitman) , he is assigned to go to Mexico as incognito to avoid arms to be sold Apaches , being accompanied by a misfit outfit . He along with a furious racist agree to lead a hazardous expedition through Apace territory . As the group is formed by an ex-Confederate officer called Lassiter (Richard Boone) , a bitter ex-Rebel army major whose wife and children have been killed by the Apaches , the African-American sergeant Franklyn (Jim Brown) and a Mexican prisoner named Rodríguez (Anthony Franciosa) condemned to death row . As two Army officers, an alcoholic ex-Confederate soldier and a womanizing Mexican travel to Mexico , the object is to find another ex-Confederate who is about to sell hundreds of robbed guns to the Indians . They are ¨Comancheros¨ is a word that refers to those who favored or advantaged of Comanche Indians by selling weapons and alcohol . The Indians are out on a rampage of killing , vengeance against the white intruders and with the aim for getting weapons . As four men stalking the Apache nation on a mission that could drench the whole Southwest in blood and flames . From Texas they go to Chihuahua where a megalomaniac Southern ex-general named Pardee (Edmond O'Brien) living at a mansion in Louisiana style and commanding an army of bushwhackers attempts to re-initiate a war by Indian upheaval led by Bloodshirt (Rodolfo Acosta) . At the end there takes places a peculiar apocalypse plenty of explosion , dynamite , powder , fire and rifles .

This actioner Western contains thrills , adventures , rider pursuits , wonderful outdoors , impressive attacks and loads of crossfire . It is a very fine picture that could become another western worthy of any anthology . This is an unusually brutal tale of a hard-bitten sergeant assembling a detail of misfit cavalrymen to hold-off rampaging Indians and rebels . Well developed film with gloomy energy , crafty characters , sober lighting , abundant night scenes , elegant camera movements and especial dramatic pace , including a dialectic about racism . The picture relies heavily on the relationship among the misfit group , though gets enjoyable nuances and charm enough and along the way confront Indians rebels and themselves . In this film "Rio Conchos" also titled ¨Guns of Rio Conchos¨ the spectator enjoys because it has a lot of issues that make it agreeable . Even the female character played by attractive Wende Wagner as India Sally, reveals a woman who knows that she wishes and makes it irresistible . Stuart Whitman and an expert all-star-cast shine in this gripping story about a dangerous mission carried out by a motley bunch and director takes a fine penned screenplay by Clair Huffaker creating a cavalry-Indians tale that is far from ordinary , exploring the anguish and desperation of a varied group . Features convincing playing from the always reliable Richard Boone as a violent and hard-hitting racist and memorable Anthony Franciosa as womanizer Mexican . Jim Brown is good in his film debut and he gave up his football career, at its peak, to try acting . Colorful cinematography in truly De Luxe Colour by Joseph MacDonald . Offbeat musical score in suspenseful and thrilling style by the great Jerry Goldsmith .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Gordon Douglas , at his best . He's an expert on adventures cinema as ¨Black arrow¨ , ¨Fortunes of Captain Blood¨ , both starred by Louis Hayward and Western , as he proved in the films starred by Clint Walker such as ¨Fort Dobbs¨, ¨Yellowstone Kelly¨ , ¨Gold of seven Saints¨ , Gregory Peck as ¨Only the valiant¨ in similar plot to ¨Chuka¨ , Richard Boone as ¨Rio Conchos¨ considered the best , and on bandits legendary as ¨Doolins of Oklahoma¨ , ¨Great Missouri raid¨, among others