Review of The Professionals (1966) by Andre T — 13 Aug 2010
American western starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin and Claudia Cardinale.
The film, which was written and directed by Richard Brooks, was based on the novel A Mule for the Marquesa by Frank O'Rourke. It received three nominations at the 1967 Academy Awards.
In the latter period of the Mexican Revolution, Rancher J.W. Grant (Ralph Bellamy) hires four men, who are all experts in their respective fields, to rescue his kidnapped wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale) from Jesus Raza (Jack Palance), a former Mexican Revolutionary leader turned bandit.
Team leader Henry "Rico" Fardan (Lee Marvin) is a weapons specialist, Bill Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is an explosives expert, the horse wrangler is Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan) and Jake Sharp (Woody Strode) is a scout with traditional Apache skills, particularly with a bow and arrow. Fardan and Dolworth, having both fought under the command of Pancho Villa, have a high regard for Raza as a soldier. But they are hard and cynical professionals so they have no qualms about killing him now.
Pure western fun, with great cinematography and the beautiful presence of Claudia Cardinale.
This review of The Professionals (1966) was written by Andre T on 13 Aug 2010.
The Professionals has generally received positive reviews.
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