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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Life is Cheap...Death Isn't!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Western

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

During filming, the crew caught sight of what appeared to be a UFO. They filmed it and sent photos to NASA, who were impressed with the findings, but nothing further came of the discovery.

---

Goofs

A plane is used to bomb Paco's fort. However planes did not begin to drop bombs until the late stages of WWI, in which they were dropped by hand.

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Beantown (2007)

User Reviews

Great fun, good action and characters. Should be a classic.

Franco Nero, sporting a burly mustache and sideburns, stars as Segei `The Pollack' Kowalski, an angelic opportunist, who, for profit not nobility, helps a revolutionary, Paco (Tony Musante), overthrow the corrupt Mexican generals. It is a very good Spaghetti Western, with a nice pace, good action, and interesting characters playing off one another. Jack Palance is Curly, an obviously gay bad guy, whose prissy demeanor hides his ruthlessness- that is until he kills his own partner out of spite and blows a few men's heads off. The story starts with Nero establishing his badassness while catching a dice cheat, forcing the gambler to eat the dice and saying, "When you get them back, I suggest you dont use them again." He is then hired to help protect a trainload of silver make it through rebel territory to the States. Nero goes to the mining town only to find it overthrown by Paco and his gang, and the mine collapsed. Nero luckily finds himself able to offer his help to the rebels and guide Paco in the art of stealing, strategically avoiding, and attacking the corrupt army, eventually overthrowing it. But, mostly it is not a buddy-buddy relationship, Nero is in it for the money, Paco is in it for the righteousness, yet they both respect each other. (To give a good example, at one point, while crossing the desert, Nero makes Paco and the revolutionaries empty their canteens so he can have a shower while they go thirsty.)

Aside from nice bits of humor, it sports some religious allusions, such as, Paco begins with only twelve men + Nero (their Jesus), they masquerade at one point during a religious parade and attack while dressed as angels and virgin Mary's, as well as Nero being strapped to a t-shaped cross when captured. There is also a nod to Macbeth when Paco's woman uses his power drunk naiveté to convince him to turn against Nero. The film makes use of an obviously fairly high budget, with many large battles, crowd scenes, entire towns destroyed, planes bombing, and many locales. It has an interesting structure, since the bulk of the film is told in flashback before returning to the beginning and then reaching the grand finale. The Morricone score is great, and amazingly enough, very understated. Corbucci's direction has never been better.

(Any film that opens with a shot of a dwarf clown dressed like a matador, you just know is going to be good)

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