| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jane Fonda | ... | Harriet Winslow | |
| Gregory Peck | ... | Bitter | |
| Jimmy Smits | ... | Arroyo | |
| Patricio Contreras | ... | Col. Frutos Garcia | |
| Jenny Gago | ... | La Garduna | |
| Gabriela Roel | ... | La Luna | |
| Sergio Calderón | ... | Zacarias (as Sergio Calderon) | |
| Guillermo Ríos | ... | Monsalvo (as Guillermo Rios) | |
| Jim Metzler | ... | Ron | |
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Samuel Valadez De La Torre | ... | Consul Saunders |
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Anne Pitoniak | ... | Mrs. Winslow |
| Pedro Armendáriz Jr. | ... | Pancho Villa (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.) | |
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Stanley Grover | ... | Gen. Saunders |
| Josefina Echánove | ... | Clementina (as Josefina Echanove) | |
| Pedro Damián | ... | Capt. Ovando (as Pedro Damian) | |
When school teacher Harriet Winslow goes to Mexico to teach, she is kidnapped by Gen. Tomas Arroyo and his revolutionaries. An aging American, Ambrose "Old Gringo" Bierce also in Mexico, befriends Gen. Arroyo and meets Harriet. Bierce is a famous writer, who knowing that he is dying, wishes to keep his identity secret so he can determine his own fate. Though he likes Arroyo, Bierce tries to provoke the General's anger whenever possible in an attempt to get himself killed, thus avoiding suffering through his illness. Winslow is intrigued by both Bierce and Arroyo, and the men are in turn attracted to her. She becomes romantically involved with Arroyo. When Winslow learns of Bierce's true identity (a writer whose work she has loved and respected for years), she is singlemindedly determined to fulfill his dying wish. Written by E.W. DesMarais <jlongst@aol.com>
Opulent mess that died at the box office and with critics alike in 1989. In early-20th Century Mexico an American school teacher (Jane Fonda) is kidnapped by a desperado (Jimmy Smits) and his rebellious gang. The titled character (Gregory Peck) is slowly dying of an illness and tries to get himself killed by Smits on numerous occasions as he also tries to get Fonda to safety. Strangely a bond develops between Smits and Peck just as Fonda becomes Smits' lover and then surprisingly Fonda learns who Peck really is and falls in love with him as well (and also tries to fulfill his dying wish). "Old Gringo" is a lot of smoke and sand that tries to become the "Dr. Zhivago" of its time, but falls completely. The big-name performers cannot make it through a story that drags along and never gets to a suitable pay-off. The direction is disastrous too and we are left with a huh? movie that really means nothing at all. 2.5 out of 5 stars.