Western Wednesdays: The Professionals (1966) (Belated)

     1966 was an important year for the western genre. Sergio Leone released what many consider to be his masterpiece, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Sergio Corubucci released his seminal Django, launching a myriad of imitators and ripoffs. Howard Hawks made El Dorado, the first of two sort-of follow ups to his classic, Rio Bravo. Damiano Damiani launched the Zapata western subgenre with A Bullet for the General. Amidst all of these classics and genre benchmarks, Richard Brooks The Professionals tends to get lost in the shuffle.

     Featuring an all-star cast, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, and Jack Palance, The Professionals was independently produced, written and directed by Brooks. It tells the story of four men, weapons specialist  Henry 'Rico' Fardan (Marvin), explosives expert Bill Dolworth (Lancaster), horse wrangler Hans Ehrengard (Ryan), and Apache scout Jake Sharp (Strode), who are hired by Rancher Joe Grant (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his wife Maria (Cardinale), who has been kidnapped by the Mexican revolutionary leader Jesus Raza (Palance).

     It has a pretty strong script and is filled with memorable lines. When Grant calls Rico a bastard he replies, "Yes, Sir. In my case an accident of birth. But you, Sir, you're a self-made man." Although the title refers to four "professionals" the film really focuses on two of them, Bill Dolworth and 'Rico' Fardan. Both men fought together in the revolution with Raza in the past, only to become disenchanted with it. Dolworth got involved because of his desire for money and excitement while Fardan was an idealistic freedom fighter. Dolworth has serious doubts in regards to their mission, doubts which bear out when they find Ms. Grant, but Dolworth insists on completing their mission. Throughout the film the ethical implications of what their doing are brought into question. Unfortunately their ultimate decision, to stick it to the man, feels a little rushed and Ryan and Strode's characters seem decidedly superfluous by this point.

     Conrad Hall's (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) cinematography is gorgeous, capturing the stark beauty of Death Valley and Valley of Fire Sate Park, where the film was shot. The four main characters are often enclosed by the surrounding mountains, their fate seemingly sealed by their own stubborn natures. Maurice Jarre's (Lawrence of Arabia) stirring score helps to keep the tone lighter and imbues the film with a fun, adventurous feel.

     It has a good cast. Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin really carry the film as, again, they have the juiciest roles but when Claudia Cardinale's Maria enters the conflict midway through the film she nearly steals the show from them. Robert Ryan and Woody Strode put in solid performances but their characters, especially Ryan's Ehrengard, are a little underdeveloped. Ralph Bellamy is solid as Grant as is Jack Palance as Raza, though his Mexican accent is not altogether convincing.

It may fall a little short in the last act but The Professionals is still a really entertaining and well made westerns featuring a solid script and strong performances.

Score: 8/10