The Comancheros
I watched this the other night and thought it was great. Maybe not Stagecoach or Searchers great, but right up there with just about any other John Wayne western.
Jake Cutter ( John Wayne) arrests Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) for shooting a man in a duel, but after losing him twice somehow teams up with the gambling Louisianan man by posing as gunrunners in order to find out where the secret Comanchero hide-out is. Comancheros are basically drunken indians and outlaws of the wild west who make their living by holding up wagon trains. Cutter's bluff is called, but after being strung up and left to die, Mon-sewer Regret's old flame (Ina Balin) shows up just in time to save them both. By this point the two are less bounty hunter and murderer than Nolte and Murphy in 48 Hours. I think this had something to do with a baby being born and named for Regret. Anyway, the old flame turns to be the boss lady who runs a camp full of drunken indians and sharpshooters. After a trial of sorts, the boss lady/old flame's dad takes a liking to Cutter and Regret, and seems to have other plans for them. He even invites them to dinner. Did I mention that drunken indians are played for laughs?
According to imdb, during much of the shooting, director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca and too many others to mention) was seriously ill (he died of cancer shortly after the film's release). On days when Curtiz was too ill to work, John Wayne took over direction of the film, and when it was completed he told the studio that he did not want credit as co-director and insisted that Curtiz' name alone appear as director.
Jake Cutter ( John Wayne) arrests Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) for shooting a man in a duel, but after losing him twice somehow teams up with the gambling Louisianan man by posing as gunrunners in order to find out where the secret Comanchero hide-out is. Comancheros are basically drunken indians and outlaws of the wild west who make their living by holding up wagon trains. Cutter's bluff is called, but after being strung up and left to die, Mon-sewer Regret's old flame (Ina Balin) shows up just in time to save them both. By this point the two are less bounty hunter and murderer than Nolte and Murphy in 48 Hours. I think this had something to do with a baby being born and named for Regret. Anyway, the old flame turns to be the boss lady who runs a camp full of drunken indians and sharpshooters. After a trial of sorts, the boss lady/old flame's dad takes a liking to Cutter and Regret, and seems to have other plans for them. He even invites them to dinner. Did I mention that drunken indians are played for laughs?
According to imdb, during much of the shooting, director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca and too many others to mention) was seriously ill (he died of cancer shortly after the film's release). On days when Curtiz was too ill to work, John Wayne took over direction of the film, and when it was completed he told the studio that he did not want credit as co-director and insisted that Curtiz' name alone appear as director.
posted by Quin Finnegan at 6:55 AM
3 Comments:
Hi QQ - thanks for your latest comment on my blog. Another interesting post from you on the Comancheros (I wish I could be as prolific as you on the posting front), it's a film I've not seen, although I'll make the effort to check it out now. Have you ever seen 'Shane?' That's probably my favourite Western, although Quentin Tarantino's constant evangelising about Rio Bravo leads me to believe that maybe I should have seen that by now too!
There was a good article in the newspaper yesterday about Edward Norton's new film, a contemporary Western that sounds quite compelling, but which he's sadly had big problems finding a distributor for. I hope the success of Brokeback Mountain doesn't turn out to be the exception that proves the rule in terms of intelligent Westerns in modern cinema...
Anyway, keep blogging, it's always good to follow what you're up to online.
RPOJ
Thank you, Mon-sewers Webb and Justice, for reading and posting. Regarding Brokeback Mountain (which I haven't seen yet, but will try to get to this week), I think it's especially fun to reinterpret these classic westerns with a Brokeback spin.
For example, when Cutter and Regret arrive at the ranch of some Cutter's old friends (the ones with the newborn), Cutter tells the bed-resting missus something like, "Now don't you mind us, little lady. Why the two of us will make out in the back room."
You'da thunk Gore Vidal wrote that line.
I haven't seen Rio Bravo for years, so I'd definitely like to see that again soon. Ed Norton is pretty fantastic, so I'm looking forward to seeing that as well. And for a pretty interesting re-working of the Western, I think one of the best things going is "Deadwood". And since you mentioned Shane, I'll add that Ian McShane character is simultaneously one of the scariest and most complex western characters ever. And he's a Brit.
Sexy Beast is a great movie, but I saw it before I'd seen Ian McShane in Deadwood. Which means I'll have to go and watch it again.
I know what you mean about Brokeback; I have insecurites in spades as well. I imagine dating Naomi Watts could help me in that regard.
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