a5c7b9f00b Mace Bishop masquerades as a hangman in order to save his outlaw brother from the gallows, runs to Mexico chased by the Sheriff's posse and fights against Mexican bandits. Posing as a hangman, Mace Bishop arrives in town with the intention of freeing a gang of outlaws, including his brother, from the gallows. Mace urges his younger brother to give up crime. The sheriff chases the brothers to Mexico. They join forces, however, against a group of Mexican bandits. I don't think this is a typical western at all. For the first half-hour it keeps viewers in the dark about situations and at points its twists seem more like those of a film noir. It also has an odd shift in tone. The first 1/3 is pretty light and it gets progressively grimmer and darker as the characters head south into Mexico. I think the key to its excellence is that there is a moral drama going on here between James Stewart and Dean Martin and they are both excellent and very moving. The fact that they are two of my favorite actors obviously has something to do with my opinion. In particular, Dean is much better then his reputation would suggest. The film has a very exciting climax, good supporting cast, some good dialog and is nicely shot, in Panavision, by western specialist William Clothier and has a Morricone-inspired score by the great Jerry Goldsmith. An entertaining Western whose major selling points are a winning cast and beautiful outdoor photography, 1968's "Bandolero!" proved an easy 100 minutes for me to sit through. In it, James Stewart rescues brother Dean Martin and his sleazy gang from a neck-stretching party in 1867 Texas, after Dino & Co.'s botched bank robbery. They hightail it over the Mexican border with the recently widowed "vistoso" Mexican Raquel Welch as their hostage, while sheriff George Kennedy and his posse follow in hot pursuit. Truth be told, Kennedy is more hot for Raquel than the pursuit of justice, and who wouldn't be? Racky, 28 here and at the peak of her sex goddess phase, looks terrific, and acts very passably. She makes for a very convincing Mexican (although, in real life, her father was Bolivian and her mother of English descent). Stewart (need it even be said?) is fine as always, and supplies much of the film's humor with his double takes and slowpoke delivery. This is no Anthony Mann Western, however, and Stewart was ever so much more impressive in oaters such as "Winchester '73" (1950) and especially "The Naked Spur" (1953). Dino, it should be added, is also fine as a decent guy who just can't seem to make good. "Bandolero!" also features some amusing lesser characters (particularly that hangman!) and a surprisingly gritty and quite violent conclusion. It's no Peckinpah bloodbath, but following what is essentially a fun, lighthearted Western, it does shake the viewer. Lesson to be learned: Don't press your sexual "favors" on a Mexican woman if she's anywhere near a six-shooter!
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