The Comancheros
by John Wayne, Michael Curtiz
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Actor: Ina Balin, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Nehemiah Persoff, Stuart WhitmanDirector: John Wayne, Michael Curtiz
Brand: TCFHE
Cinematographer: William H. Clothier
Editor: Louis R. Loeffler
Producer: George Sherman
Writer: Clair Huffaker
Writer: James Edward Grant
Writer: Paul Wellman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 4.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 4.0; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of The Comancheros
DVD Review: Wayne in another B western
Summary: 3 Stars
Even while he was making such classics as "Red River" (1948), "The Searchers" (1956), and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) John Wayne still managed to churn out the B westerns as he had in his days with Republic/RKO. This was particularly true in his later years with films like "McLintock" (1963), "The War Wagon" (1965), "The Undefeated" (1969), "Chisum" (1970), "Rio Lobo" (1970), "Big Jake" (1971), "The Train Robbers" (1973), and "Cahill" (1973). "The Comancheros" is an example of one of these westerns. It was directed by Michael Curtiz. Stuart Whitman and Lee Marvin co-star in a cinemascope presentation with a host of B western actors including Jack Elam, Edgar Buchanan, Big Boy Williams, Michael Ansara, John Dierkes, and Patrick Wayne.
Stuart Whitman (1928- ) plays a man running from the law who teams up with Wayne to defeat the dreaded Comancheros (white men who supply guns to Indians). Whitman appeared in more than 50 films, although he's probably best known for his work on TV as Jonathan Kent in "Superboy" (1988-92), Mr. Willis in "Knots Landing" (1990), or Marshall Jim Crown on "Cimarron Strip" (1967-8). Whitman gave several remarkable performances in his long career: he won an Oscar as a child molester in "The Mark" (1961), but I liked him best as a airplane crash survivor in "Sands of the Kalahari" (1965) who eventually teams up with a pack of wild chimps.
Lee Marvin (1924-87) gave us 4 decades of tough guys, from "The Big Heat" (1953) and "The Wild One" (1953) to "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) and "The Killers" (1964) to "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "Hell in the Pacific" (1968) to "The Big Red One" (1980) and his final film "Delta Force" (1986). Along the way he picked up an Oscar for "Cat Ballou" (1965). Marvin plays a Comanchero. This was the second time Marvin was killed by John Wayne in a film
Michael Ansara (1922 - ) is best known from his years as Cochise on TV's "Broken Arrow" (1956-60) or, to younger viewers, as Kang in 3 different Star Trek series or as Mr. Freeze in the "Batman" series. He plays a gunfighter.
Big Boy Williams (1899-1962) stuck out in more than 200 films, often as a comic sidekick in films like "Dodge City" (1939), "Santa Fe Trail" (1940), and "The Alamo" (1960). He transitioned to TV in the 50s appearing in "My Friend Flicka" (1955-6) and more notably in "Circus Boy" (1956-7). He plays a Comanchero.
Edgar Buchanan (1903-1979) plays a Texas judge. His gruff appearance and gravelly voice adorned more than 100 films ("Over the Hill Gang", "McClintock", "Ride the High Country", "Cimarron",) and he later appeared on several TV shows including Cade's County (1971-2) and most notably "Petticoat Junction" (1963-70) and "Green Acres" (1965-9) as Uncle Joe.
Bob Steele (1907-88) has a small role as a rancher. Steele was a major cowboy star in the 20s and 30s, then moved to minor roles and occasionally appearing on TV. He made more than 200 films in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1974. He's probably best known as Trooper Duffy from "F Troop" (1965-7).
John Dierkes (1905-1975) was a huge man with a square jaw and a gaunt appearance. He made more than 50 films, most of them westerns like "Shane" (1953), "Duel at Apache Wells" (1957) and "One Eyed Jacks" (1961). He appeared in TV westerns like "Gunsmoke" and "The Rifleman". My favorite Dierkes role was as Jocko,the husband of the blind woman in John Wayne's "The Alamo" (1960), who insists on staying behind to fight.
Wayne's son (Patrick) and daughter (Aissa) appear in the film as they did in "The Alamo" (1960). Patrick made 9 films with his dad, starting in 1950 at age 11 ("Rio Grande") until 1971 ("Big Jake"). When not working with dad he worked with John Ford with whom he made 3 more films. For 5 year old Aissa this was her second and last film. She went on to become a successful attorney in Los Angeles.
Director Michael Curtiz (1886-1962) is best known for his sensational work with Errol Flynn (he got his first nomination for their first collaboration in 1935 in "Captain Blood"), but he received 2 more nominations for films with Jimmy Cagney ("Angels with Dirty Faces" in 1938 and "Yankee Doddle Dandy" in 1941) and one win for a film with Bogart ("Casablanca" in 1942), one of eight they made together. Curtiz made several westerns including "Dodge City" (1939), "Santa Fe Trail" (1940), and "Virginia City" (1940) - all with Flynn. Curtiz had a sense of humor about himself - he once declared "The next time I want an idiot to do this, I'll do it myself." This was his last film. He died in 1962.
Curtiz liked films that offered the protagonist a moral dilemma, and "The
Comancheros" offered several moral dilemmas - for Wayne with Whitman, for Whitman with Balin, and for Balin with Persoff. It's said that Curtiz' cancer prevented him from being as involved as he wanted to be, and Wayne, off his own directorial experience with "The Alamo" took over. Yet many of the scenes clearly reflect Curtiz' credo - "Who cares about character? I make it go so fast nobody notices"
The great Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) creates a musical score that is so powerful sometimes it intrudes on the script (which is not all that involving). Combined with some of the great camerawork, the effect can distract from the action. Bernstein was a legend. He received 3 ASCAP awards and was nominated 11 times for an Oscar, winning once ("Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 1967). He won an Emmy for "Making of the President 1960" and 2 Golden Globes ("To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Hawaii"). My personal Bernstein favorite score is from "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). Bernstein worked with Wayne again on "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965), "True Grit" (1969), "Big Jake" (1971), "Cahill" (1973), "McQ" (1974), and "The Shootist" (1976), Wayne's final film.
1961 was an OK year for films. The top grossing films included "101 Dalmations", "West Side Story", "The Guns of Navarone", "El Cid", and "Splendor in the Grass". The big Oscar winner was "West Side Story" (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and Actress). Maximillian Schell won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for "Judgment at Nuremberg". Other notable films included "The Hustler", "Through a Glass Darkly", and the best samurai film ever made - "Yojimbo".
John Wayne fans will enjoy yet another Duke film, with Wayne wearing his characteristic red double breasted shirt and leather vest, shooting Indians with a rifle and punching men square in the face. But he made so many better films it's hard to dwell on this one.
Description of The Comancheros
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 107 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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