100 Rifles (1969)

In 1912 Sonora, Mexico, native revolutionary Yaqui Joe robs a bank to buy arms for his oppressed people, but finds himself sought by an American lawman and the Mexican Army.

Director:

Tom Gries

Writers:

Clair Huffaker (screenplay), Tom Gries (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Brown, Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jim Brown	...	Lyedecker
Raquel Welch	...	Sarita
Burt Reynolds	...	Yaqui Joe
Fernando Lamas	...	Verdugo
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Grimes
Eric Braeden	...	Von Klemme (as Hans Gudegast)
Michael Forest	...	Humara
Aldo Sambrell	...	Sgt. Paletes
Soledad Miranda	...	Girl in Hotel
Alberto Dalbés	...	Padre Francisco (as Alberto Dalbes)
Charly Bravo	...	Lopez (as Carlos Bravo)
José Manuel Martín	...	Sarita's Father (as Jose Manuel Martin)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Akim Tamiroff	...	Gen. Romero (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Reynolds plays Yaqui Joe, an Indian who robs a bank in order to buy guns for his people who are being savagely repressed by the government. Set in turn of the century Mexico, it tells the story of his flight into Mexico and his pursuit by an American lawman. They eventually become allies and team up with Welch to take up the cause of the Indians.

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Plot Keywords:

arizona ranger | premarital sex | arizona territory | phoenix arizona | yaqui indian | 

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Taglines:

All they need is . . . 100 RIFLES

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | War | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

One Hundred Rifles

Filming Locations:

Villamanta, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$3,920,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marvin Schwartz Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Burt Reynolds plays a Yaqui Indian in this movie. Prior to the making of this film, Reynolds had played characters of Indian descent in two productions of television series. The first was as the half-breed blacksmith Quint Asper in Gunsmoke (1955), whilst the other was as the New York DA's office cop Detective Lieutenant John Hawk, a full blooded Iroquois Indian, in Hawk (1966). Reynolds was said to have some Native American ancestry, but this was never verified.

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Goofs

After the fight with Lyedecker, Yaqui Joe Herrera is hanging over the cliff from his manacles and a supporting rope is briefly visible.

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Quotes

Yaqui Joe Herrera: How come they done give you a badge in the first place?
Lyedecker: Well I guess I took a job nobody wanted. And even at that it took me a whole year to get it.

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Alternate Versions

All UK releases are cut by 4 secs to remove 2 horsefalls.

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Connections

Featured in The Black Godfather (2019)

User Reviews

A bit clumsy sometimes, but good fun

Sheriff Lyedecker (Jim Brown) comes to Mexiko as he chases the bank robber Yaqui Joe (Burt Reynolds). As a victim of circumstance, Lyedecker becomes the number 1 enemy of a Mexican general who wants to kill the Yaqui Indians. The sheriff has no other choice than to fight side by side with the bank robber and the Indians now...

The years 1969-1971 mark the beginning of the modern western with the irony of „Little Big Man", the cruelty of „Soldier Blue", the myth awareness of „Butch Cassidy And the Sundance Kid", the depression of „McCabe & Mrs Miller" and many more. „100 Rifles" is a kind of missing link between 1960s westerns and the new approach as from 1970 onwards. It makes deliberate, obvious attempts to break taboos, telling the love story between a black guy and a white woman, pushes violence to the level of an Italian western of that time, includes nudity not only in Raquel Welch's famous shower scene, but also in Soledad Miranda's hotel scene at the beginning, and the screenplay adds a left-wing political, anti-racist theme. „100 Rifles" gets carried away by its own enthusiasm sometimes, putting forward its messages a bit clumsily compared to the elegance of „The Professionals", a movie which took much more careful steps into the revolution movie direction 2 years earlier. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the picture for being a (wild) child of its time, speedy narration and a gorgeous Raquel Welch.