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) | |
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Robert Morgan | ... | Capt. Williams |
Suave former Texan cattleman Alvarez Kelly now living in Mexico has little interest in the Civil War except to make some money. But after a long drive to deliver cattle to the Union he finds himself kidnapped by Confederate Colonel Tom Rossiter. With the hungry troops and civilians surrounded in Richmond by the Union army the Colonel intends, one way or the other, to persuade Kelly to help steal the herd and move it into town. Confederate money has no appeal so the Colonel resorts to other means with unexpected results. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Most reviews here range from mixed to egregious. Except for a few shocking holes in the script and underproduced scenes (e.g. the Confederate ambush at the apple cellar and Stedman's escape with Ruthie and her subsequent death), just like a kid at the movies I felt swept up in the film's patched-together, on-with-the-show spirit.
Given the production's reliance on a cattle herd as its main prop and the health problems of its aging stars, much credit goes to the film's editors. Plus one must bow to the astonishing gift of William Holden, reportedly a wreck throughout the making, but managing his horse like a pro and looking like a man you or any woman would keep giving another chance.
Overall this film probably represents a pathetic last gasp of the studio system whose problems are worthy of dismay, but once again that studio system produced a work that soldiers on to some kind of colorful, noisy, almost dignified end.