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Moviecut—The Comancheros

source: The Comancheros

The Comancheros

Directed by Michael Curtiz, the man who made Casablanca and The Sea Hawk, this film rises above most John Wayne movies of the era. It has enormous scale in the rocky horizons of the Southwest, lots of action and heroism, a young and beautiful Ina Balin, and an inspiring sound track courtesy of Elmer Bernstein, who was working up to his movie soundtrack masterpiece, The Magnificent Seven. It's not a typical Western plot. The Duke and his buddy fall into an evil hidden empire from which there is no escape. It has all the makings of a rustic James Bond situation. If you ever liked any Western, you have to like this one.

The pace does sag quite badly in the middle but other than that, The Comancheros is an excellent film. Visually, it is beautifully mounted with the scenery and cinematography wonderful to look at. I love Elmer Bernstein's score as well, it is in my view one of his best and certainly most elegiac. The script sparkles, the story is very well constructed and filled with rip-roaring action and the direction is marvellous. The acting is very fine too, while John Wayne is the one who dominates the movie, he gets lively support from Stuart Whitman and in a star-making role Lee Marvin is just terrific. All in all, it is a very good film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Never a huge fan of John Wayne, I watched this because I knew it was the last film by Michael Curtiz (he died soon after filming was completed). I thought it would be an average diversion. I was pleasantly surprised. This movie is a lot of fun, as long as you do not try to make sense of it, and do not take it seriously. Beautiful landscapes, a great score by Elmer Bernstein, a terrific, performance by Wayne (who looks like he's having the time of his life surrounded by his real-life children on the set) and a show stealing role by Lee Marvin, who looks as though he has a bunch of "Silly Putty" sitting on top of his head (not the best make-up job, guys). I'm so glad I invested the time to watch this. You will be too.

This is an action packed western starring John Wayne as Texas Ranger Capt. Jake Cutter on a mission to stop an outlaw gang that's selling guns to the Indians, who share them with Comancheros. The state of Lousiana is looking to extradite a gambler Paul Regret(Stuart Whitman)wanted for an illegal duel of all things. Cutter and Regret cross paths and join in an unlikely alliance. Elmer Bernstein contributes a majestic score that keeps the action at a crisp pace. An outstanding supporting cast includes: Lee Marvin, Ina Balin, Michael Ansara, Patrick Wayne and Bruce Cabot. This rousing western is directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz. To be exact, his last movie after working with the likes of James Cagney, Joan Crawford, Paul Muni, Humphrey Bogart and Elvis Presley. Besides THE COMANCHEROS, Curtiz directed memorable movies like CAPTAIN BLOOD(35), YANKEE DOODLE DANDY(42), CASABLANCA(42), MILDRED PIERCE(45) and KING CREOLE(58).

as far as John Wayne movie go this is a decent.one.for the most,it's fast paced lots action,excitement,danger.of course there also a bit of a romance angle.the scenery is magnificent here as well.the only downside is that somewhere about halfway through,the movie slows down and loses momentum,which it never completely regains.it ranks somewhere in the middle as far as Wayne's Westerns go.Here,Wayne's ranger Capt.Jake Cutter teams up with Stuart Whitman(prisoner Paul Regret)and they are reluctantly forced to become allies,and they make a pretty good team.Lee Marvin co stars in a smaller role as an unlikable sort,to say the least.what more is there to say,really.if you're a fan of the Western genre,or of John Wayne,you might want to check this one out.for me,The Comancheros is a 6/10