Barbarosa (1982)

A young cowboy hooks up with a legendary outlaw, and before long both are on the run from the law.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writer:

William D. Wittliff

Stars:

Willie Nelson, Gary Busey, Isela Vega

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Willie Nelson	...	Barbarosa
Gary Busey	...	Karl Westover
Isela Vega	...	Josephina
Gilbert Roland	...	Don Braulio
Danny De La Paz	...	Eduardo
Alma Martinez	...	Juanita (as Alma Martínez)
George Voskovec	...	Herman Pahmeyer
Sharon Compton	...	Hilda
Howland Chamberlain	...	Emil
Harry Caesar	...	Sims
Wolf Muser	...	Floyd
Kai Wulff	...	Otto
Roberto Contreras	...	Cantina Owner
Luis Contreras	...	Angel
Itasco Wilson	...	Mattie

Storyline

Karl Westover, an inexperienced farm boy, runs away after unintentionally killing a neighbor, whose family pursues him for vengeance. He meets Barbarosa, a gunman of near-mythical proportions, who is himself in danger from his father-in-law Don Braulio, a wealthy Mexican rancher. Don Braulio wants Barbarosa dead for marrying his daughter against the father's will. Barbarosa reluctantly takes the clumsy Karl on as a partner, as both of them look to survive the forces lining up against them.

---

Plot Keywords:

texas | character name as title | one word title | mexican | on the run | 

---

Taglines:

One Was a Legend, The Other Would Become One.

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This independently financed movie was picked up by Universal Pictures when they acquired Lord Lew Grade's ITC/Associated Film Distributors (AFD) which got sold when they went bust after the box-office failure of Raise the Titanic (1980). Reportedly, the pictured got pulled from theaters in some territories when AFD was sold. The film was one of two westerns that Universal inherited from ITC/AFD, the other was The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981). Both flopped at the box-office.

---

Goofs

(at around 1 min) Willie meets Gary for the first time with his gun drawn on him. Seconds later a gunman charges Willie and Willie has to draw his gun to shoot the man down.

---

Quotes

Barbarosa: Drop those saddlebags and help me up, dammit!
[Karl drops the bags over the cliff]
Barbarosa: Why'd you drop them down there?
Karl: Well, you said to drop them and help you!
Barbarosa: We already been down there!
[Rain starts to fall]
Barbarosa: Why don't you go ahead and just rain on me then?

---

Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: Hanky Panky/Annie/Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan/Grease 2 (1982)

User Reviews

Intertwining Family Feuds

The title role of Barbarosa is played by Willie Nelson and he's a former Texas Ranger turned outlaw who's on the run from his various crimes and from his in-laws who don't like him very much. They resent this Anglo marrying into their family and family patriarch Gilbert Roland got his leg shot off while trying to break up that marriage. He's lost several other family members in trying to kill Nelson to avenge that.

But Nelson picks up Gary Busey a farm kid on the run from a feud himself because he accidentally killed his brother-in-law. Busey takes up with Nelson and his outlaw ways and the two become an amiable pair.

Judging by the other reviewers Barbarosa seems to have a bit of a following. I wouldn't call it great by any means, still it's certainly entertaining enough for the discriminating western fans.

Barbarosa's significance to me is that it is the farewell performance of Gilbert Roland whose career went back six decades into the silent era when he was touted as a would be Valentino successor. His career never quite fit that mold, but he was always a favorite of mine. The part as the family patriarch is not the usual carefree, but tough Gilbert that we usually see. He's an understandably bitter man in this film and it was a good performance to go out on.

Western fans won't mind this one and Nelson and Busey have a nice chemistry between them.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Barbarosa

Filming Locations:

Fredericksburg, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$285,312, 21 February 1982

Gross USA:

$1,736,123

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,736,123

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 85 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Todd-AO)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1