''The Desperate Mission'' is a 1969 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Earl Bellamy Earl Arthur Bellamy (March 11, 1917 – November 30, 2003) was an American television and film director. Biography Bellamy was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was also known as Earl J. Bellamy, or Earl J. Bellamy, Jr. "Earl Bellamy." Contem ...

. The production was a joint project of 20th Century Fox Television, Montalban Enterprises Production, and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Plot summary

The story is a fictionalization of the life of

Joaquin Murrieta Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and A ...

Cast

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

(as Ricardo Montalban) *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

as Three-Finger Jack *

Roosevelt Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective plac ...

as Morgan *

Jim McMullan James P. McMullan (October 13, 1936 – May 31, 2019) was an American actor from Long Island, New York, best known for his role as Dr. Terry McDaniel on the 1960s series ''Ben Casey'' and as Senator Andrew Dowling on the CBS primetime soap oper ...

as Arkansaw *

Earl Holliman Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film '' ...

as Shad Clay *

Ina Balin Ina Balin (née Rosenberg; November 12, 1937 – June 20, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She is best known for her role in the film ''From the Terrace'' (1960), for which she received two Golden Globe Award nominations ...

as Otilia Ruiz *

Robert J. Wilke Robert Joseph Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns. Early years Wilke was a native of Cincinnati. Before going into acting, he h ...

as Gant *

Miriam Colon Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

as Claudina, Otilia's Servant * Anthony Caruso as Don Miguel Ruiz *

Eddra Gale Eddra Gale (July 16, 1921 – May 13, 2001) was an American actress and singer of Czech descent. Early years Born in Chicago, Illinois, Gale was the daughter of an executive with a men's clothing company. Both of her parents were musically or ...

as Dolores the Bartender *

Armando Silvestre Armando Silvestre Carrascosa (born January 28, 1926) is a Mexican-American actor. Life and career Silvestre was born on January 28, 1926 in San Diego, California, but he is originally from Tijuana, Mexico. He dropped out of college in order to ...

as Diego Campos, Don Miguel's Man * José Chávez as First Monk * Ben Archibek as Frankie Gant *

Pancho Córdova Francisco Amado Córdova Ramírez (1916 – 1990) was a Mexican character actor who has appeared in numerous films of United States and Mexico. Personal life He is the grandfather of actress Natalia Cordova-Buckley. Selected filmography Ame ...

as Father Augustine (as Francisco de Córdova) * Charles Horvath as Yuma * Allen Pinson as Corncracker * Eldon Burke as Galvez * Barbara Turner as The Farmer's Wife

References

External links

* * 1969 television films 1969 films Films directed by Earl Bellamy NBC network original films 1960s English-language films Films scored by Lionel Newman Films scored by Robert Drasnin {{US-tv-film-stub