Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

An American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Gordon T. Dawson (screenplay) (as Gordon Dawson), Sam Peckinpah (screenplay)

Stars:

Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Oates	...	Bennie
Isela Vega	...	Elita
Robert Webber	...	Sappensly
Gig Young	...	Quill
Helmut Dantine	...	Max
Emilio Fernández	...	El Jefe (as Emilio Fernandez)
Kris Kristofferson	...	Biker
Chano Urueta	...	Manchot, the bartender
Donnie Fritts	...	John (as Donny Fritts)
Jorge Russek	...	Cueto
Chalo González	...	Chalo (as Chalo Gonzalez)
Don Levy	...	Frank
Enrique Lucero	...	Esteban
Janine Maldonado	...	Theresa
Tamara Garina	...	Grandmother Moreno

Storyline

A family scandal causes a wealthy and powerful Mexican rancher to make the pronouncement--'Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia!' Two of the bounty-hunters thus dispatched encounter a local piano-player in their hunt for information. The piano-player does a little investigating on his own and finds out that his girlfriend knows of Garcia's death and last resting place. Thinking that he can make some easy money and gain financial security for he and his (now) fiancée, they set off on this goal. Of course, this quest only brings him untold misery, in the form of trademark Peckinpah violence.

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Plot Keywords:

bounty hunter | anti hero | neo western | one man army | grave | 

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Taglines:

Who knows why it's worth one million dollars and 21 lives?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin

Release Date:

13 March 1975 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Filming Locations:

Chalco, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Optimus Films, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the priest baptizes Alfredo's son, he says the child's name in Latin; David Samuel. Sam Peckinpah's full name is David Samuel Peckinpah.

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Goofs

At the beginning, a Pan Am 707 takes off. It lands a few seconds later with a different livery/paint scheme. The red stripe along the fuselage had changed to blue, and color appears around the base of the tail fin.

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Quotes

El Jefe: I will pay one million dollars. Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia!

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Crazy Credits

There are only three credits at the beginning of the film: The production credit, the two stars, and the story/screenplay. Everything else is at the end, and the film's title is the very last credit.

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Connections

Featured in Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron (1993)

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Soundtracks

Bennie's Song
by Isela Vega

User Reviews

A twisted and dark masterpiece

There was probably no greater director in the U.S. from 1969-1974 than Sam Peckinpah. He made seven films, ranging from classics (The Wild Bunch) to superior genre pics (The Getaway). And before his career began sliding, he had one more masterpiece in him: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. This is the story of one man's alcohol-fueled journey into dissolution and redemption and a really strange film. Warren Oates plays Benny, a piano player cajoled by a pair of men into finding Alfredo's head. See, Alfredo impregnated the daughter of a vicious landowner, and now he wants him dead. But this isn't really what the film is about. It's more about Benny, and how his journey costs him everything. Warren Oates is wonderful as Benny, and there are some great darkly comic moments between him and the head. And this is one of Michael Medved's 50 worst movies of all time - what more of a recommendation do you require? Seriously, this is a great film.