The Mercenary (1968)

A greedy Polish mercenary aids a mine worker and peasant girl as they lead a revolution against the oppressive Mexican Government, and are pursued by an American rival.

Director:

Sergio Corbucci

Writers:

Franco Solinas (story), Giorgio Arlorio (story)

Stars:

Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Franco Giacobini

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Franco Nero	...	Sergei Kowalski - the Polish
Tony Musante	...	Paco Roman
Franco Giacobini	...	Pepote
Eduardo Fajardo	...	Alfonso García
Franco Ressel	...	Studs
Álvaro de Luna	...	Ramón (as Alvaro De Luna)
Raf Baldassarre	...	Mateo
Joe Kamel	...	Sebastian
Ugo Adinolfi
Jack Palance	...	Ricciolo - 'Curly'
Giovanna Ralli	...	Columba

Storyline

While a Mexican revolutionary lies low as a U.S. rodeo clown, the cynical Polish mercenary who tutored the idealistic peasant tells how he and a dedicated female radical fought for the soul of the guerrilla general Paco, as Mexicans threw off repressive government and all-powerful landowners in the 1910s. Tracked by the vengeful Curly, Paco liberates villages, but is tempted by social banditry's treasures, which Kowalski revels in.

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Plot Keywords:

spaghetti western | machine gun | day of the dead | italo western | mine worker | 

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Taglines:

He aims for the money... his gun does the rest!

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because he was contractually obliged to provide his voice for the English version, Franco Nero was initially cast as Paco Roman. James Coburn was hired for the role of the mercenary (who was originally intended to be an American) based on his role in Our Man Flint (1966), but eventually dropped out of the role due to disagreements as to whether he or Nero would be top-billed. Coburn's role was rewritten as Polish so that Nero could portray the character with an accent. Tony Musante was cast as Paco after Nero saw him in The Incident (1967).

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Goofs

Sergei Kowalski uses a Spanish Astra 400 pistol. The pistol was not introduced until 1921, after the Mexican Revolution.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kowalski aka the Pole: [narrating] So, Paco Roman is a clown. Well, better a live clown than a dead hero. As I, Sergei Kowalski, Polish emigrate to the New World, always realised...
[fade-in to flashback of Paco working in a mine]
Kowalski aka the Pole: When our story began, Paco was only a peon. But one... with a difference.

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Connections

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

User Reviews

Another Awesome Corbucci Western

The second collaboration of Sergio Corbucci, the Italian Western's most important director besides Sergio Leone, and Franco Nero, one of the genre's greatest actors, after the ingenious "Django" from 1966, "Il Mercenario", a movie set in the time of the Mexican revolution, and therefore late for a Western, is a must-see for every fan of the genre.

Sergei Kowalski (Franco Nero) gets hired by short-tempered revolutionary Paco Roman (Tony Musante), in order to help his squad of unexperienced rebels with their campaign for a free Mexico. While Paco is a crook, but also an idealist, becoming more and more idealistic after his troop is joined by beautiful and idealistic Columba, a woman whose father was a revolutionary , the Polish is a typical anti-hero, witty and cool and somehow sympathetic, but mainly concerned on his own benefit.

The acting is great, specially Franco Nero as the Polish, and Jack Palance's performance as one of the villains. Another villain is played by Eduardo Fajardo, who played the villainous Major Jackson in Django. The score of this movie, composed by Ennio Morricone, is just brilliant (how couldn't it), the cinematography is great as well as the locations. My favorite film by Corbucci is still the incomparably brilliant "Il Grande Silenzio" ("aka. "The Great Silence") of 1968, "Django" of 1966 being my second-favorite due to its immense entertainment- and cult-value. Maybe not quite as brilliant as "Il Grande Silenzio" and not quite as influential as "Django", "Il Mercenario" is nonetheless an exceptional Spaghetti Western with a great sense of humor that I would recommend to everybody, not only genre fans. 9 out of 10!

Details

Country:

Italy Spain USA

Language:

English Italian Spanish

Release Date:

22 April 1969 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A Professional Gun

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross USA:

$25,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA), Produzioni Associate Delphos, Profilms 21

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1