Thread: Western Movies
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Old 21st July 2016, 07:29 PM
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Default Valdez Is Coming (1971)

Valdez Is Coming (1971)



Burt Lancaster dons the droopy Mexican moustache as Bob Valdez a local constable and all round good guy,but unfortunately for Bob he runs into Jon Cypher as Frank Tanner,a mean racist rich rancher who accuses a man of killing his friend (turns out Tanner is having an affair with dead mans wife). Valdez kills the accused man,but the man turns out to be innocent ,with the guilt of the man's death heavy on Valdez shoulders he decides to raise some money to help the widow.But seeing as the towns folk are unwilling to help him,they suggest he goes and sees Tanner,who not surprisingly is not to beneficial being bit of a shit.After a second attempt at trying to get money from Tanner goes a bit pear shaped,Valdez is crucified and made to walk out into the desert,that would certainly give the charity muggers in our city centre's something to think about. Bob is now on the warpath,digging out his old cavalry uniform and his biggest shotgun he kidnaps Tanner's woman,Susan Clark as Gay Erin.Based on a story by Elmore Leonard and directed by Edwin Sherin a man who mostly directed TV shows,Valdez is Coming is a nicely engaging story and well thought out revenge film,that said its underlying of theme racism is a little bit at odds when you have an American playing a Mexican.Not since Charlton Heston as Mike Vargas in Touch of Evil has there been such an odd bit of miscasting,but Burt Lancaster soldiers on with what can only be described as a rather patronising Mexican accent,and after a while you get use to his voice,although you half expect Basil Fawlty to wander into shot and slap Manuel,Er I mean Valdez across the head.What did surprise me was that this was filmed in Spain,using many locations Sergio Leone used,but I was unaware of this when watching the film,as it looked remarkably like good old USA to me.But that's where the similarities end,as the film lacks any real style of its own and like Burts moustache starts to get droopy toward the finale.
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