The Comancheros (1961)

Comuncheros

I am a John Wayne fan so it goes with out Quwstion that this was another great movie. January 11, 2007

I'M GONNA GO OUT WEST AND WRESTLE ME A GRIZZLY BEAR

Texas Ranger, (John Wayne) enlists the aid of wanted fugitive, (Stuart Whitman), to bust gunrunning operation. Everything you can expect from a Wayne western, with eye-popping Cinerama,(or whatever they called it in 1961), rousing musical theme that becomes a little less so by the fourth or fifth ride into the sunset, dancing skirt sashaying senioritas, (hoochie-koochie, anyone?), standard western stunts, (falling horses, especially), and a still cloudy distinction of the American Indian as being either 'wild', (bloodthirsty scalpers of white people), or 'tame', (sell their soul for a cheap bottle of whiskey and a good cigar). Love interest Ina Bolin, (dark, mysterious, like you can picture a whip in her hand), adds some Mexican zing to the mix, but man, those are some nasty wigs she wears. December 24, 2006

Comancheros editing

Good action buddy movie. If you buy the movie, be forewarned that editing takes out some scenes. This version from foxhome video does not show John Wayne coming aboard the steamboat, but is referenced later on. The version shown on AMC-TV channel is a different full version. Just be aware there is an edited version. November 15, 2006

A cheerful and solid action - buddy film with Wayne and Whitman filling the screen

This is a kind of movie that is not made any more. It is an action movie with a gentle heart and a happy spirit. Even the bad guys are somehow awful, but we don't hate them. One interesting thing about this movie is John Wayne's role in the movie. Yes, he is the star, whenever he is on screen anywhere he dominates it, but the story is really more about Paul Regret (wonderfully played by Stuart Whitman) and Pilar Graile (glowingly done by Ina Balin). John Wayne's role, while central, isn't the guy who gets the girl, and plays more as the protector and guide to Paul Regret, who ends up saving Jake more than once. Jake's a widower and more than friends with the widow of his best friend. Not too subtly, Melinda Marshall (the beautiful Joan O'Brien) has fences that need mending, and Paul Regret asks Jake for a good reason why he doesn't marry her.

How Paul and Jake meet each other and how they become friends is a big part of the movie and a very enjoyable part. In fact, this is really a buddy film and a darn good one, even with the wiseacre line when they are hanging by their arms and helpless in the bad guy camp, "I wonder if they know how much trouble they are in."

The head bad guy and leader of the Commancheros is Pilar's father who is also a paraplegic (superbly done by Nehemiah Persoff) and he rules his society of ne'er do wells with intelligence and a great political sense. It is his right hand henchman, Amelung, who is the most sinister character in the movie and played to a turn by Michael Ansara.

This is a movie with a plot that chugs along like the cheery Elmer Bernstein score that supports it. It has its interesting moments, but mostly it is a lot of fun. If you enjoy John Wayne, and I do, you get a good story for him with all the fine performances of the other stars plus some fire, Indian battles, and even a duel.

Not great, but a very worthwhile entertainment. May 18, 2006

Wow, This is a Bad Western

The Comancheros follows the typical early John Wayne western formula, a big bawdy rollicking western full of colorful good old boy western characters. Unfortunately that formula also includes a severely fractured, incoherent plot, a rambling-babbling pointless story, factual errors, and Native Americans portrayed by Caucasians and stereotyped as inhuman idiots and drunks. The Comancheros starts out with John Wayne, a Texas Ranger, apprehending Stuart Whitman (Regret) somewhere between New Orleans and Texas (but looks a lot like Utah or Arizona). It seems as though the point of the story will be the return of Whitman (Regret) to Louisiana to stand trial for murder, but that initial plot is long forgotten about halfway through the movie when The Comancheros takes on multiple, disjointed and disconnected subplots, pointless fight scenes, and aimless shootouts with indians that have little or nothing to do with the original theme established in the movie's opening scenes. The best thing about The Comancheros is the stirring opening theme music by Elmer Bernstein. John Wayne's best western is the Cowboys, take time to watch it instead of the god awful Comancheros. January 16, 2006

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