''Bandido'' is a 1956 American Western film starring Robert Mitchum, Ursula Thiess, Gilbert Roland, and Zachary Scott. The film, set in the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

and filmed on location around

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

, was written by Earl Felton and directed by

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though he ...

. Robert Mitchum also co-produced the film through his DRM Productions company.

Plot

In 1916 during the

, American Wilson checks into a Mexican hotel in the midst of a pitched battle. Equipped with a suitcase full of Mk 2 grenades, he throws a few "samples" at the "Regulares" in the square, enabling revolutionary Col. Escobar to rout his enemies. Escobar's men praise Wilson, calling him "El Alacran" (the scorpion) for the sting of his grenades. Wilson offers to get Escobar's poorly equipped men weapons and ammunition, in exchange for half the loot, but Escobar decides to attack the next town without his help. When Escobar returns, defeated, Wilson explains that an American arms dealer named Kennedy is on his way to sell a large shipment of arms and ammunition to General Lorenzo. Wilson proposes capturing Kennedy and forcing him to turn over his wares to Escobar. Before Kennedy is captured, he sends an aide to Lorenzo to set a trap. Kennedy says the arms are at his fishing lodge. Escobar decides to send him there with some of his men, but Wilson, who is attracted to Kennedy's discontented wife Lisa, convinces Escobar to send her instead, much to Kennedy's dismay. Escobar orders that she be shot if no arms are found, but Wilson helps her escape and encourages her to flee north to the U.S. Angered by what he perceives as treachery, Escobar imprisons Wilson along with Kennedy, to await execution. Wilson somehow still has two hand grenades, which he uses to blow their way out. Escobar's men chase them and manage to shoot Kennedy. The rebels have to break off the search, however, when the Regulares advance on the town. Wilson takes Kennedy to a priest, who removes the bullet, and manages to get the actual location of the arms cache. When Lisa arrives with the Regulares, Kennedy becomes jealous and tries to shoot Wilson, only to be killed by Escobar, who had snuck back to ensure that his enemies do not get the weapons. Wilson and Escobar race to the coast and find the two barges bringing in the deadly cargo. They use some of Kennedy's goods to hold off the Regulares. Then the Regulares spot Escobar's rebels approaching and set up an ambush. Wilson fires at the barge carrying dynamite. The explosion devastates the hiding soldiers. The survivors flee. Wilson refuses Escobar's offer to join the rebellion and rides away to hopefully reunite with Lisa.

Cast

* Robert Mitchum as Wilson * Ursula Thiess as Lisa Kennedy * Gilbert Roland as Colonel Escobar * Zachary Scott as Kennedy * Rodolfo Acosta as Sebastian * José Torvay as Gonzales * Henry Brandon as Gunther *

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

as McGhee *

Victor Junco The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

as General Lorenzo * Alfonso Sánchez Tello as General Brucero * Arturo Manrique as Adolfo * José Ángel Espinoza as Driver * Margarito Luna as Santos * Miguel Inclán as Priest * José Muñoz as Man in Wagon * Manuel Sánchez Navarro as Hotel Manager * Antonio Sandoval as Indian Boy * Alberto Pedret as Scout

Production

The film was based on an original screen story by

Earl Felton Earl Felton (1909–1972) was an American screenwriter. He was a regular collaborator with Richard Fleischer, who later wrote that "Earl was crippled from childhood with polio. He had no use of his legs, but he navigated beautifully with a crut ...

called ''Horse Opera''. It was about an American movie company in the early 1900s who is captured by Pancho Villa. The hero was a soldier of fortune, the right hand man to Pancho Villa, who falls for the movie company's leading lady, rescues her from Villa, takes her to Hollywood and becomes a movie star. A producer, Robert L Jacks liked it and set up the film at United Artists, with Robert Mitchum to star and Richard Fleischer to direct. Fleischer had worked with Felton several times but says the screenwriter wrote a script which diverted significantly from the original treatment, removing the movie company, the leading lady, Hollywood and Pancho Villa. Fleischer wanted to pull out of the project but United Artists were worried they would lose Mitchum and threatened to sue. This film was shot on location in Mexico at Cuernavaca,

Tepetlán Tepetlán is a municipality located in the montane central zone in the State of Veracruz. It has a surface of 83.90 km2. It is located at . During the Pre-Hispanic epoch it was inhabited by the Totonac, the most ancient date in the one that one allu ...

, Palo Balero in Xochitepec, Yautepec de Zaragoza,

Iguala Iguala (), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located from the List of capitals in Mexico, state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico. ...

and the Hotel Hacienda in Cocoyoc, Morelos.

Reception

Fleischer wrote that the film "turned out to be quite a good, commercially successful picture. It has, however, absolutely nothing to do with the picture I started out to make."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bandido (Film) 1956 films 1956 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films CinemaScope films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Richard Fleischer Films set in 1916 Films shot in Mexico Mexican Revolution films Films about arms trafficking United Artists films 1950s American films