Viva Max (1969)

Director:

Jerry Paris

Writers:

Jim Lehrer (novel)
Elliott Baker (screenplay)

Release Date:

December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Some heroes are born...some are made...some are mistakes

Plot:

When his girlfriend tells him that his men wouldn't follow him to a house of ill repute, Max, a general...

Plot Keywords:

National Guard | Texas | General | Texan | Mexican Army

Cast

Peter Ustinov	...	General Maximilian Rodrigues De Santos
Pamela Tiffin	...	Paula Whitland
Jonathan Winters	...	General Billy Joe Hallson
John Astin	...	Sergeant Valdez
Keenan Wynn	...	General Lacomber
Harry Morgan	...	Chief of Police Sylvester
Alice Ghostley	...	Hattie
Kenneth Mars	...	Dr. Sam Gillison
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Edna Miller
Bill McCutcheon	...	Desmond Miller
Gino Conforti	...	Contreras
Christopher Ross	...	Gomez
Larry Hankin	...	Romero
Paul Sand	...	Moreno
Don Diamond	...	Hernandez

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Company:

Commonwealth United Entertainment

Trivia:

The Rome Italy location was chosen as actress Pamela Tiffin had already signed a movie deal for numerous films with an Italian Production Company at the time, and as "Viva Max" production was halted, this was the only option to complete scenes with the actress not to hamper her schedule. It was a necessary decision as actor Jonathan Winters also had upcoming commitments with The Dean Martin Show.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Alamo (1960)

Not Much Of A Tribute

Peter Ustinov died a few days ago and is traditional with stars dying the BBC showed a film as a hasty tribute , and what film did we get as a tribute ? SPARTACUS where Ustinov gives a show stopping performance as a slave trader ? Nope . Another Oscar performance this time from TOKAPI ? Nope . What about ASHANTI ? , it`s a film a lot of critics can`t stand but Ustinov`s politically incorrect performance had me in stiches . No can do . The film we got was VIVA MAX a slap stick comedy that seems a bit of a slap in the face as far as tributes go

Ustinov plays the title character of Max very well but to be honest VIVA MAX isn`t much of a comedy . It might be politically incorrect but it`s also very unsophisticated . The Mexicans decide to recapture the Alamo . Let`s be honest , does that sound like there`s going to be a lot of milage in this premise ? You`re right there isn`t so we`re treated to scenes featuring silly Mexican soldiers fighting off silly American soldiers with fire hoses and exchanges of dialogue along the lines of " Drop your weapons - No you drop your weapons - No you drop your weapons - No you drop your weapons " and it`s all done with the subtlety of THE BLUES BROTHERS another film where I didn`t start laughing