Bandolero! (1968)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers:

James Lee Barrett (screenplay)
Stanley Hough (story)

Release Date:

1 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Tagline:

There are "Westerns" and "Westerns". Every now and then comes a NEW kind of Western. This is "BANDOLERO!".

Plot:

Posing as a hangman, Mace Bishop arrives in town with the intention of freeing a gang of outlaws, including his brother...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Mexican | Gallows | Outlaw | Hangman

Cast

James Stewart	...	Mace Bishop
Dean Martin	...	Dee Bishop
Raquel Welch	...	Maria Stoner
George Kennedy	...	Sheriff July Johnson
Andrew Prine	...	Deputy Sheriff Roscoe Bookbinder
Will Geer	...	Pop Chaney
Clint Ritchie	...	Babe Jenkins
Denver Pyle	...	Muncie Carter
Tom Heaton	...	Joe Chaney
Rudy Diaz	...	Angel
Sean McClory	...	Robbie O'Hare
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Cort Hayjack (as Harry Carey)
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Jack Hawkins (as Donald Barry)
Guy Raymond	...	Ossie Grimes
Perry Lopez	...	Frisco

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP (re-release) (1971) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2004) | USA:GP (original rating) | UK:15 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

This was the first appearance of a character known as Sheriff July Johnson, played by George Kennedy. Larry McMurtry would use this name later in Lonesome Dove, with the sheriff this time played by Chris Cooper.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the sheriff has captured the Bishop brothers, Maria's right arm is across her waist. The camera immediately goes to a closeup of her and her right hand is dropping from her throat.

Quotes:

Maria Stoner: I thought he was your friend?
Dee Bishop: He is, but that don't make him any less disgusting. You take Pop, for instance. He was due to be shot the day he was born. And that heart of his is nothing more but a festering sore.

A serviceable western but not all that memorable

In the 1950s, James Stewart made some near classic westerns with director Anthony Mann. In the 60s, he continued to make them, first with the great John Ford, in the twilight of his career, and later with a less talented protégé of Ford, Andrew V. McLaglen, who directed this one.

The story starts out interestingly enough. Mace Bishop (Stewart) overhears a hangman boasting he is on his way to a Texas town to hang brother Dee Bishop (Dean Martin) and his gang, captured during a botched bank hold up. Mace then shows up in the guise of said hangman (a hilarious turn by Stewart) and pretty soon the Bishop gang is on the loose and headed for Mexico. On the way, they kidnap the beautiful widow of a man killed in their hold up attempt. In all the confusion during the escape, Mace finds the bank completely unguarded. Though he has never held up a bank before, Mace just follows his natural urges….

After that the story line bogs down as the Bishop gang rides into Mexico, trailed by single minded sheriff July Johnson (George Kennedy) and his posse. Both groups find themselves under attack by Mexican bandits. Before this all reaches its inevitable and predictable conclusion, the brothers banter back and forth as to whom their parents would be more disappointed in, Mace engages in a futile dream of Dee's reformation and a new start in Montana, and the beautiful widow (Welsh) falls in love (your guess as to whom the lucky guy might be).

Stewart at this point was winding down, plagued by hearing problems and trouble remembering his lines. His performances would never again display completely the raw edge of his earlier self, brought out so well by such directors as Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock and Mann. Martin essentially plays Dino, charming but with limited dramatic range. Raquel Welsh is just along for the ride, a treat to the eye but never really allowed to show true passion. More honest and perhaps more interesting performances are those by Kennedy, the love smitten sheriff determined to preserve his ladylove's honor, Andrew Prine as the faithful deputy who would have it be said of himself he followed July Johnson all over Mexico, and Will Geer, a vile unpleasant old man with the ability to distinguish between bad manners, picking one's nose, and occupation, bank robbing.

"Bandolero" is a serviceable western with some interesting elements, but it's not really all that memorable. For something better, take in any of Mann's westerns from the 50s or the masterful "Shenandoah", by far the best thing Stewart and McLaglen would ever do together.