THE COMANCHEROS
US, 1961, 107 minutes,. Colour.
John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff, Lee Marvin, Michael Ansara, Patrick Wayne, Bruce Cabot, Joan O'Brien, Jack Elam, Edgar Buchanan, Henry Daniell.
Directed by Michael Curtiz.
By this stage, John Wayne had been the star of Westerns for 30 years, small budget through most of the 1930s, emerging as a star with 1939 Stagecoach, one of his many collaborations with John Ford. He was a big star in the 1940s and 50s, in all kinds of adventure films, sometimes winning World War II, a touch of comedy in several films including The Quiet Man, and directing, in 1960, The Alamo. He was to be a star, mainly in westerns for the following 15 years.
The Comancheros has a pre-Civil War setting, the Texas Rangers, the pursuit of gamblers on the river boats, undercover work in the desert, tracking down an almost sect-like community of whites and Indians who run a business smuggling guns.
John Wayne’s character is as sturdy as ever. By contrast, Stuart Whitman is the gentleman gambler, caught up in the western action. There is some romantic interest with Ina Balin, who turns out to be an expert on gunrunning, and is the daughter of the head of the community, Nehemiah Persoff. Included in the supporting cast is Lee Marvin, a year before Liberty Valence, doing his western drunken turn (and honoured for this with his Oscar for Cat Balou in 1965). Wayne’s son Patrick is an agreeable soldier, Bruce Cabot the head of the rangers, and a lot of veterans like Jack Elam, Edgar Buchanan, Henry Daniell appear in small roles.
This was to be the last film directed by Michael Curtiz, the Hungarian director who flourished at Warner Brothers in the 1930s and into the 1940s, winning an Oscar for directing Casablanca. In the 1950s, he directed a wide range of films including, surprisingly, musicals like The Vagabond King and directing Francis of Assisi.
1. A classic western, John Wayne western? The setting in the south, New Orleans, the river, Texas? The settlement, the mountains? Elmer Bernstein’s score?
2. John Wayne, the career of Michael Curtiz and his last film, action, heroics?
3. Paul Regret, the gambler, his reputation, on the boat, winning, reactions against him, Pilar, her attraction, his response, her guards?
4. Jake Cutter, a John Wayne character and type? Arrival at the boat, the Texas Ranger, tracking down Regret, the arrest, taking him away? Being seen by Pilar’s guards?
5. The travel, Cutter keeping an eye on Regret, the attempted escapes, the role of the law, Regret as a gentleman, the touch of the dandy, his getting away?
6. The military post, the Rangers, the commander, Tobe, his enthusiasm? The Fort, law and order, the threat of the Indians? The smuggled guns? The scouting parties?
7. Cutter, his having to go undercover, going to New Orleans, finding Regret, his having to meet with Tully Crow, gambling, Regret not giving him away?
8. The character of Crow, his boasting, the cards, drinking, his violence, his identity, believing Cutter, the guns, the deals, the contacts? The fight and his death?
9. Cutter going back to the Fort, Cutter as a character, strong man of the West, the story of his marriage, his wife’s death? His visit to the widow, her child – and Regret suggesting marriage?
10. Tracking the smugglers, with Regret, burying the guns, impersonating Crow,Tobe and his keeping watch, finding the settlement, the secret hideout?
11. The location, the Comancheros, the whites, the Indians, the rule of the settlement, the regulations, the guns for the Indians? Graile as the founder, his control? His henchmen, Almerung? Accepting Cutter as Crow, accepting Regret, their staying in the compound, work, their plans?
12. Pilar, as Graile’s daughter, life, travels, obstinacy, her attraction to Regret? The challenge to her father, planning the escape?
13. The death of Tobe, Cutter being unmasked, the desperate situation, Pilar and her help, her friend in the wagon, getting away?
14. The pursuit, the confrontations, shootings, the deaths, Graile’s?
15. The getaway, the arrival of the cavalry, the final confrontation?
16. The classic ingredients of a Western?
