The Five Man Army
Encyclopedia
The Five Man Army is an Italian zapata spaghetti western
film
taking place during the Mexican Revolution
.
The film was directed by Don Taylor and featured a script by a young Dario Argento. Starring as a group of five men enlisted to rob a train containing a shipment of gold were Peter Graves, James Daly, Bud Spencer, Nino Castelnuovo
and Tetsuro Tamba
. The film's score was composed by Ennio Morricone
.
) to rob a train carrying $500,000 in gold on behalf of Victoriano Huerta
to finance the Mexican Revolution. So the Dutchman enlists four other men, a strong man (Bud Spencer
), an acrobat (Nino Castelnuovo
), an explosives specialist (James Daly
) and a samurai (Tetsuro Tamba
), promising to reward each one a thousand dollars. Their first undertaking is to save the rebel leader from being executed.
After thwarting the execution and having caused a riot in the village, the five men are forced to flee, along with all the civilians in order to prevent reprisals. Nevertheless, some soldiers still manage to find them and bring them to the local Mexican Army commandant. They manage to escape, killing the soldiers and dynamiting the fort's magazine. A squad of soldiers manage to pick up their trail. All seems lost when suddenly, in a gorge, dozens of revolutionaries cover the escape of the five men. The few revolutionaries are vastly outnumbered, but this serves to make the five men understand how important the success of their business. The train is heavily defended by a cannon, machine guns and dozens of soldiers. The difficult robbery succeeds. The men all believed however that the Dutchman would not really give the gold to the revolutionaries but divide it evenly between them. The Dutchman wants to respect the agreement, though, having his personal reasons.
In the final showdown, the Five Man Army kills all soldiers and the Mexicans arrive to celebrate the men as heroes.
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
taking place during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
.
The film was directed by Don Taylor and featured a script by a young Dario Argento. Starring as a group of five men enlisted to rob a train containing a shipment of gold were Peter Graves, James Daly, Bud Spencer, Nino Castelnuovo
Nino Castelnuovo
Francesco "Nino" Castelnuovo is an Italian actor. His perhaps most prominent role was starring as Guy Foucher in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg...
and Tetsuro Tamba
Tetsuro Tamba
was a Japanese actor.-Biography:Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice . By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan...
. The film's score was composed by Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
.
Plot
The rebels want the "Dutchman" (Peter GravesPeter Graves
Peter Graves may refer to:* Peter Graves , American actor* Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves , English actor and peer* Peter Graves , English cricketer...
) to rob a train carrying $500,000 in gold on behalf of Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
to finance the Mexican Revolution. So the Dutchman enlists four other men, a strong man (Bud Spencer
Bud Spencer
Bud Spencer is an Italian actor, filmmaker and former swimmer . He is known for past roles in spaghetti westerns together with his long time filmpartner Terence Hill...
), an acrobat (Nino Castelnuovo
Nino Castelnuovo
Francesco "Nino" Castelnuovo is an Italian actor. His perhaps most prominent role was starring as Guy Foucher in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg...
), an explosives specialist (James Daly
James Daly
James Daly was an American theater, film and television actor born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, who is perhaps best-known for his role as Dr...
) and a samurai (Tetsuro Tamba
Tetsuro Tamba
was a Japanese actor.-Biography:Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice . By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan...
), promising to reward each one a thousand dollars. Their first undertaking is to save the rebel leader from being executed.
After thwarting the execution and having caused a riot in the village, the five men are forced to flee, along with all the civilians in order to prevent reprisals. Nevertheless, some soldiers still manage to find them and bring them to the local Mexican Army commandant. They manage to escape, killing the soldiers and dynamiting the fort's magazine. A squad of soldiers manage to pick up their trail. All seems lost when suddenly, in a gorge, dozens of revolutionaries cover the escape of the five men. The few revolutionaries are vastly outnumbered, but this serves to make the five men understand how important the success of their business. The train is heavily defended by a cannon, machine guns and dozens of soldiers. The difficult robbery succeeds. The men all believed however that the Dutchman would not really give the gold to the revolutionaries but divide it evenly between them. The Dutchman wants to respect the agreement, though, having his personal reasons.
In the final showdown, the Five Man Army kills all soldiers and the Mexicans arrive to celebrate the men as heroes.