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magyardave2002
Reviews
Valdez Is Coming (1971)
Valdez conquers!
In this much underrated Western, Burt Lancaster (who is one of my favourite stars) plays an ageing Spanish American lawman who tries to do the right thing for a native American widow, not by having a whip-round in a saloon or council meeting but going to the big rancher (played by Jon Cypher) with a dubious past, who Valdez believes is indirectly responsible for the death, even if Bob Valdez himself pulled the trigger. Not so simple getting 200 Dollars American from a truly nasty piece of work (500 dollars in the novel) even if the amount for the rancher is negligible. Mr Tanner's violent response to a reasonable request from a humble deputy sheriff, a nice, peaceable, popular character much loved by even the ladies of the local bordello who recognise a true gentleman, as do one or two of Bob Valdez's friends. But the 'bad guys' including one played by the always reliable Richard Jordan, have grossly underestimated old Bob. Old Burt was a master of roles as a former young tiger turned ageing lion. This is no exception. Even the enemies of Valdez recognise, if they're not too stupid or simply too late, that the former scout is not one to be humiliated.
Just about the best long-range shooting action EVER in any film towards the climax. If you've ever heard the phrase 'Mexican Stand-off', never was it more appropriate than in this adaptation of the Elmore Leonard story.
Clash by Night (1963)
Lively (if slightly dated) British drama
This looked to be a possibly decent action movie from the early 1960's and I wasn't disappointed. Having missed the opening credits when it was shown on television, I nonetheless identified four of the cast (Longdon, Sallis, Fowler, Meadows); all stalwarts of British screen and TV. The plot could have been straight from 'The Tales of Edgar Wallace', the box-set of which I own and love! England isn't like it's portrayed here anymore but it was like that then in terms of values, crime and punishment, scenery, dress and even the vehicles and road markings etc. People shared WW2 experiences and this often included the characters and of course the actors who are so professional in their performances despite some shortcomings in story and other aspects of film-making. Yes, it's not as good as some of my favourite classic British films from the preceding years such as 'The Cruel Sea' or 'The League of Gentlemen' but this has a decent 'B' movie plot including one or two unexpected twists and keeps your attention until the not entirely predictable ending.