The Bravados
Encyclopedia
The Bravados is a 1958 western film (color by DeLuxe
), directed by Henry King
starring Gregory Peck
and Joan Collins
. The CinemaScope
film was based on a novel of the same name written by Frank O'Rourke
.
) is a rancher who has been pursuing the four outlaws who murdered his wife six months earlier. He rides into the town of Rio Arriba, where four men, Alfonso Parral (Lee Van Cleef
), Bill Zachary (Stephen Boyd
), Ed Taylor (Albert Salmi
) and Lujan (Henry Silva), fitting the description are in jail awaiting execution, so that he can see the hanging. The town has issued instructions to only allow the hangman (Joe DeRita) to enter, so Jim is taken to Sheriff
Eloy Sanchez's (Herbert Rudley
) office to state his business. The town has never had an execution before, so they have brought in a man from outside town to do the job. The sheriff allows Jim into the jail to see the men. They claim they had never seen him before, but he has the face of a hunter.
In town Jim meets Josefa Velarde (Joan Collins
). He met her five years previously in New Orleans but hasn't seen her since. Through their conversation we learn that she was husband hunting when they met before. She has been looking after her father's ranch since he died. Jim reveals to her that he has a daughter (Maria Garcia Fletcher). Other inhabitants of the town include businessman Gus Steimmetz, his daughter Emma (Kathleen Gallant) and her fiance Tom (Barry Coe
).
The executioner, Simms, arrives the same day. He drinks with Jim, but is generally unfriendly. The sheriff invites Simms to see the men he is to hang, but Simms holds off until the town is at church for a pre-execution mass.
While pretending to evaluate the men he is to hang, Simms stabs the sheriff in the back. The sheriff shoots and kills Simms in the struggle, but inmates strangle the sheriff unconscious and take his keys. The four escape and capture Emma as a hostage. The wounded sheriff comes into the church during the service and tells the townspeople that the prisoners have escaped. The townspeople form a posse to ride out immediately. They enlist Jim's aid to track them down, but Jim waits until morning. The posse is held up at a pass when one of the four men sets up as a sniper. Jim catches up with the posse the next day while they are held up trying to dislodge one of the four.
Jim corners Parral, who pleads for his life before Jim kills him. Then Jim ropes Taylor by the feet and hangs him upside-down from a tree. The two remaining men reach the house of John Butler (Gene Evans
), a prospector and Jim's neighbor. Zachary kills Butler and Lujan steals the sack of coins he tried to run off with, but they see someone approaching in the distance and leave in a panic, leaving Emma behind. The people coming turn out to be Josefa and Jim, arriving from different directions. Jim identifies the body, and the posse arrives and finds Emma, raped by Bill Zachary, in the house. Jim tells the posse to ride on while he goes back to his ranch to get fresh horses.
However, when Jim arrives home, he finds that the fugitives have taken his last horses. Leaving Josefa with his daughter, he rejoins the posse. When they arrive at the Mexican
border, Jim goes on alone. He finds Zachary in a bar and kills him in a gunfight. He then goes on to the home of the fourth man Lujan. When Jim shows a photo of his wife to Lujan, Lujan insists he has never seen the woman before, and recalls that he and his companions rode past the Douglas ranch on their way from the border. Pointing to the sack, Jim states that the men who killed his wife stole the sack containing the family's life savings. When Lujan tells Jim that he took the bag from Butler's dead hand, Jim realizes that Butler killed his wife.
Jim sees that he had been pursuing men who had nothing to do with his wife's death. Indeed, when he showed each of them a picture of his wife, all of them denied ever having seen her. Jim realizes that he is no better than the men he has been pursuing, having killed in cold blood. He returns to town and goes to the church to beg forgiveness. The priest (Andrew Duggan
) says that he did what he felt was right and to his credit, does not take refuge in the fact that they were outlaws anyway. Josefa then arrives with Jim's daughter, and as they exit the church together, the sheriff, who has recovered, thanks Jim for his service to the town.
film critic, A. H. Weiler, gave it a positive review, writing, "Despite these flaws, which are fundamentally minor deficiencies, "The Bravados" emerges as a credit to its makers. Director Henry King, who headed the troupe that journeyed down to the photogenic areas of Mexico's Michoacán
and Jalisco
provinces, has seen to it that his cast and story move at an unflagging pace...The canyons, towering mountains, forests and waterfalls of the natural locales used, make picturesque material for the color cameras. But the producers have given their essentially grim "chase" equally colorful and arresting treatment."
More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, writing, "A brooding revenge Western that once again teams up Gregory Peck with director Henry King...It's a no-nonsense downbeat Western with Peck in his usual fine form, but the film failed to maintain a tension as it became clear from early on these men were not the ones who killed his wife. The tacked-on religious message seemed unnecessary, as it left an uneasy grimness hanging over a film that had such fine production values and potential to be a great one."
DeLuxe Color
DeLuxe color is a brand of colour process for motion pictures.Among the movies that used the DeLuxe colour process are:* Toy Story 3 , Disney and Pixar, 2010...
), directed by Henry King
Henry King (director)
Henry King was an American film director.Before coming to film, King worked as an actor in various repertoire theatres, and first started to take small film roles in 1912. He directed for the first time in 1915, and grew to become one of the most commercially successful Hollywood directors of the...
starring Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
and Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
. The CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
film was based on a novel of the same name written by Frank O'Rourke
Frank O'Rourke
Frank O'Rourke was an American writer known for western and mystery novels and sports fiction. O'Rourke ultimately wrote more than 60 novels and numerous magazine articles....
.
Plot
Jim Douglas (Gregory PeckGregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
) is a rancher who has been pursuing the four outlaws who murdered his wife six months earlier. He rides into the town of Rio Arriba, where four men, Alfonso Parral (Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
), Bill Zachary (Stephen Boyd
Stephen Boyd
Stephen Boyd was an Irish actor, from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in around 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in Ben-Hur.-Biography:...
), Ed Taylor (Albert Salmi
Albert Salmi
Albert Salmi was an American actor.-Biography:Albert Salmi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish immigrant parents, and following a stint in the Army, took up acting as a career, studying Method acting with Lee Strasberg. In 1955, Salmi starred in Bus Stop on Broadway...
) and Lujan (Henry Silva), fitting the description are in jail awaiting execution, so that he can see the hanging. The town has issued instructions to only allow the hangman (Joe DeRita) to enter, so Jim is taken to Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Eloy Sanchez's (Herbert Rudley
Herbert Rudley
Herbert Rudley, , was a prolific character actor who appeared on stage, in films and on television.Rudley was born in 1910 in Philadelphia, and attended Temple University. He left Temple after winning a scholarship to Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre.He began appearing on stage in 1926...
) office to state his business. The town has never had an execution before, so they have brought in a man from outside town to do the job. The sheriff allows Jim into the jail to see the men. They claim they had never seen him before, but he has the face of a hunter.
In town Jim meets Josefa Velarde (Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
). He met her five years previously in New Orleans but hasn't seen her since. Through their conversation we learn that she was husband hunting when they met before. She has been looking after her father's ranch since he died. Jim reveals to her that he has a daughter (Maria Garcia Fletcher). Other inhabitants of the town include businessman Gus Steimmetz, his daughter Emma (Kathleen Gallant) and her fiance Tom (Barry Coe
Barry Coe
Barry S. Coe is an American actor who appeared in film and on television from 1956-1978. Many of his motion pictures parts were minor, but he co-starred in one series, Follow the Sun, which aired on ABC during the 1961-1962 season, and also played the recognizable "Mr...
).
The executioner, Simms, arrives the same day. He drinks with Jim, but is generally unfriendly. The sheriff invites Simms to see the men he is to hang, but Simms holds off until the town is at church for a pre-execution mass.
While pretending to evaluate the men he is to hang, Simms stabs the sheriff in the back. The sheriff shoots and kills Simms in the struggle, but inmates strangle the sheriff unconscious and take his keys. The four escape and capture Emma as a hostage. The wounded sheriff comes into the church during the service and tells the townspeople that the prisoners have escaped. The townspeople form a posse to ride out immediately. They enlist Jim's aid to track them down, but Jim waits until morning. The posse is held up at a pass when one of the four men sets up as a sniper. Jim catches up with the posse the next day while they are held up trying to dislodge one of the four.
Jim corners Parral, who pleads for his life before Jim kills him. Then Jim ropes Taylor by the feet and hangs him upside-down from a tree. The two remaining men reach the house of John Butler (Gene Evans
Gene Evans
Gene Evans was an American actor.He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and...
), a prospector and Jim's neighbor. Zachary kills Butler and Lujan steals the sack of coins he tried to run off with, but they see someone approaching in the distance and leave in a panic, leaving Emma behind. The people coming turn out to be Josefa and Jim, arriving from different directions. Jim identifies the body, and the posse arrives and finds Emma, raped by Bill Zachary, in the house. Jim tells the posse to ride on while he goes back to his ranch to get fresh horses.
However, when Jim arrives home, he finds that the fugitives have taken his last horses. Leaving Josefa with his daughter, he rejoins the posse. When they arrive at the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
border, Jim goes on alone. He finds Zachary in a bar and kills him in a gunfight. He then goes on to the home of the fourth man Lujan. When Jim shows a photo of his wife to Lujan, Lujan insists he has never seen the woman before, and recalls that he and his companions rode past the Douglas ranch on their way from the border. Pointing to the sack, Jim states that the men who killed his wife stole the sack containing the family's life savings. When Lujan tells Jim that he took the bag from Butler's dead hand, Jim realizes that Butler killed his wife.
Jim sees that he had been pursuing men who had nothing to do with his wife's death. Indeed, when he showed each of them a picture of his wife, all of them denied ever having seen her. Jim realizes that he is no better than the men he has been pursuing, having killed in cold blood. He returns to town and goes to the church to beg forgiveness. The priest (Andrew Duggan
Andrew Duggan
-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
) says that he did what he felt was right and to his credit, does not take refuge in the fact that they were outlaws anyway. Josefa then arrives with Jim's daughter, and as they exit the church together, the sheriff, who has recovered, thanks Jim for his service to the town.
Cast
- Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
as Jim Douglas - Joan CollinsJoan CollinsJoan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
as Josefa Velarde - Stephen BoydStephen BoydStephen Boyd was an Irish actor, from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in around 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in Ben-Hur.-Biography:...
as Bill Zachary - Albert SalmiAlbert SalmiAlbert Salmi was an American actor.-Biography:Albert Salmi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish immigrant parents, and following a stint in the Army, took up acting as a career, studying Method acting with Lee Strasberg. In 1955, Salmi starred in Bus Stop on Broadway...
as Ed Taylor - Henry Silva as Lujan
- Kathleen Gallant as Emma Steimmetz
- Barry CoeBarry CoeBarry S. Coe is an American actor who appeared in film and on television from 1956-1978. Many of his motion pictures parts were minor, but he co-starred in one series, Follow the Sun, which aired on ABC during the 1961-1962 season, and also played the recognizable "Mr...
as Tom - George Voskovec as Gus Steinmetz
- Herbert RudleyHerbert RudleyHerbert Rudley, , was a prolific character actor who appeared on stage, in films and on television.Rudley was born in 1910 in Philadelphia, and attended Temple University. He left Temple after winning a scholarship to Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre.He began appearing on stage in 1926...
as Sheriff Eloy Sanchez - Lee Van CleefLee Van CleefLee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
as Alfonso Parral - Andrew DugganAndrew Duggan-Career:During World War II, Duggan was in the 40th Special Services Company, led by actor Melvyn Douglas in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. His contact with Douglas later led to his performing with Lucille Ball in the play Dreamgirl. He developed a friendship with Broadway...
as Padre - Ken Scott as Primo, Deputy Sheriff
- Gene EvansGene EvansGene Evans was an American actor.He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and...
as Butler - Joe DeRita as Simms
- Jason WingreenJason WingreenJason Wingreen is an American actor.-Biography:Born in 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in Howard Beach, Queens, attended John Adams High School, and graduated from Brooklyn College in 1941. Wingreen lent his voice to Boba Fett in the original and 1997 theatrical versions of The Empire...
as Nichols - Ada CarrascoAda CarrascoAda Carrasco was a Mexican film and television actress. She started her career as an actress in 1952, and went on to make over 38 soap operas, including Los Ricos También Lloran, with Verónica Castro in 1979, Rosa Salvaje in 1987, De Frente al Sol in 1992, Más Allá del Puente in 1994, and finally,...
as Mrs. Parral
Critical response
When the film was released The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic, A. H. Weiler, gave it a positive review, writing, "Despite these flaws, which are fundamentally minor deficiencies, "The Bravados" emerges as a credit to its makers. Director Henry King, who headed the troupe that journeyed down to the photogenic areas of Mexico's Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
and Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
provinces, has seen to it that his cast and story move at an unflagging pace...The canyons, towering mountains, forests and waterfalls of the natural locales used, make picturesque material for the color cameras. But the producers have given their essentially grim "chase" equally colorful and arresting treatment."
More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, writing, "A brooding revenge Western that once again teams up Gregory Peck with director Henry King...It's a no-nonsense downbeat Western with Peck in his usual fine form, but the film failed to maintain a tension as it became clear from early on these men were not the ones who killed his wife. The tacked-on religious message seemed unnecessary, as it left an uneasy grimness hanging over a film that had such fine production values and potential to be a great one."
Awards
Wins- National Board of Review NBR Award, Best Supporting Actor, Albert Salmi; 1958.
External links
- The Bravados film traielr at ReelzChannel