Savage Pampas (1967)

Ranquel Attack

A very rare film, portraying the Argentine struggle against the Araucanian nation which dominated most of Argentina and Chile. A book has called the Araucanians the Apaches of South America, but with all due respect, the Araucanians were a much greater barrier than the Apaches.
For information purposes, the Argentine Araucanians largely belonged to the Ranquel group. They did look similiar to Apaches. Some still survive in Patagonia. Technically, the film has some weaknesses, but I'm not a film critic. I believe there is much material for films in the history of the native struggle against white settlement in either Argentina or Chile. September 30, 2008

Argentina's 19th c desert war makes an interesting alternative to the western

Odd but interesting remake of an older Argentine movie based on the novel "Pampa Barbera."

Director Hugo Fregonese does a fine professional job with the material. He manages to include many nice touches that give this an authentic Argentine feeling, and keep it from becoming just another mid-60's western. It's too bad that the sound track on this print doesn't do justice to the beautiful score by Waldo de los Ríos.

The story is set during Argentina's desert war of the late 19th century, as the Argentine army battles Indians on the pampas. (It was filmed on locations in La Pampa, Argentina and in Spain.)

The army suffers heavy losses as the Indians and renegades have devised a plan to lure lonely conscript soldiers into desertion by promising to give them women captives.

Captain Martín (Robert Taylor) plans to counter their scheme and keep his troops by arranging to import women from Buenos Aires. Battles ensue as the Indians try to capture the women on their way to the fort.

The print has a lot of dust and artifacts, and suffers from some very choppy editing. I'm only deducting one star for those technical flaws because I think the film is interesting enough to overcome that.

English / no subtitles
October 23, 2007

A different kind of western

I saw this film in the mid 60's on TV and remembered it fondly.
It is a cowboys and Indians movie set in 1870's Argentina. This is one of Robert Taylor's final efforts and is a solid one.
Also on hand is Ron Randell as the deserter villain, and 50's western star Ty Hardin as an anarchist conscript. It was fun to contrast the American west with the Argentine frontier and see simiarities and differences. This by the way is a remake of the 1940's Argentine film Pampa Barbara. I would love to see the original if it still exists. Definitely worthwhile for western/action fans. April 15, 2004

Director Hugo Fregonese delivers ...

The technical part of this review refers to the Brentwood Home Video or BCI Eclipse version.

Mutiny on the Argentine plains. Fort commander Robert Taylor tries to stop the hemorrhaging of his squad to a deserter gone bad and mad! How to keep the boys at home in the fort? Bring in the women. I'm sure some women's groups would have a field day with this picture. It's a unique story where love and lust turn into survival in a harsh environment. Director Hugo Fregonese has delivered a Spanish film that is interesting and moves at quite a good pace.

The print used is fairly decent for this budget release. A film that was definitely widescreen shot in 70mm, it suffers in places in this pan-and-scan version. Still worth a look. Brentwood/BCI put in 6 chapter stops, a trivia game and a Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon. So you can't go wrong. This movie is also in a 10 pack of westerns at about triple the price for this one film from Brentwood Home Video called "The Wild West" and is available from Amazon.com. March 18, 2004

CURIOUS WESTERN SET IN ARGENTINA

One of Robert Taylor's last pictures, SAVAGE PAMPAS was directed by Hugo Fregonese, who made such westerns as APACHE DRUMS, BLOWING WILD and, in Europe, one of the WINNETOU westerns in 1965, which alos dealt with Apaches on the war path. Here, he sets his action in ARgentina in the 1870's and casts Taylor as a cavalry officer and Ty Hardin as a revolutionnary, facing Indians and rebels.

Visually, the film is rather curious. The soldiers' uniforms are a mix of mexican uniforms, french legion uniforms and gauchos' large chaps. The Indians look like Apaches and the white rebels siding with them, more or less, look like mexican bandits.

The story revolves around an officer concerned with the lack of women in his fort which causes his men to defect to the Indians, who offer them women, and a revolutionnary who joins a group of white women bein brought to the fort by Taylor and his men to prevent the troopers from defecting. On the way, Taylor and Hardin get to know and respect each other, while Indians and rebels prepare to attack them. Cornered in a deserted village, soldiers are under heavy attack by the Indians, but Taylor manages, first, to get help, and second, to perform a deed (which I don't want to explain here) which will with any luck save the troopers...

The film was shot in 70 mm, but sadly is presented here in its Pan & Scan version. Master and MPEG2 compression are not particularly good, but this DVD remains quite watcheable, especially for western and/or Robert Taylor fans.

Besides, its price is quite reasonable, so don't hesitate to take a ride in those SAVAGE PAMPAS. March 24, 2003

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