Western Wednesdays: The Comancheros

 
     The Comancheros was released in 1961. Based on the book by Paul I. Wellman, it is directed by Micheal Curtiz (Casablanca) and written by James Edward Grant and Clair Huffaker. In it Captain Jake Cutter (John Wayne) a Texas Ranger, arrests gambler Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) for killing another man in a duel. The two men become embroiled in a conflict between Comanche Indians and white settlers fueled by a group of renegade arms merchants called the comancheros.

     The Comancheros is somewhat sprawling and unfocused. It sets up the romance between Regret and Pilar Graile (Ina Balin), the daughter of the comancheros leader, early on but her character doesn't appear again in the story until the last act. There are basically two competing plotlines. One focuses on Cutter's efforts to infiltrate and ultimately bring down the comencheros. The other is the rivalry, and eventual friendship, that develops between Cutter and Regret. The two plot are never satisfactorily interwoven however, and the film feels meandering and episodic as a result. Despite this, the film remains entertaining throughout, thanks largely to the cast and the quality of the production.

     John Wayne is his usual charismatic, swaggering self as Jake Cutter. Stuart Whitman does a fine job as the dandy Paul Regret and Ina Balin's fiery, untamed Pilar makes a good match for him, even if their romantic relationship is underdeveloped. Micheal Ansara puts in his usual solid character work as Amelung, one of Graile's lieutenants and the closest thing the film has to a main villain. Nehemiah Persoff's Graile is somewhat unremarkable. Meanwhile Lee Marvin, in a brief but memorable role, almost steals the show as the bad tempered comenchero Tully Crow.

     Micheal Curtiz, who was ill during the production, died shortly after the films release. Because of Curtiz's illness John Wayne had to take over directing more than once. This probably contributed to the films uneven sense of pacing. The cinematography by William H. Clothier, who also shot The Alamo for Wayne, is quite stunning and he fully takes advantage of the vistas of Utah's Professor Valley. Elmer Bernstein brings the same sense of epic adventure that he showed in The Magnificent Seven for the film's score.

     The Comencheros is a flawed film to be sure. It may not offer much in the way of a nuanced story but it's a fairly entertaining western nonetheless.

Score: 7/10