RIDE VAQUERO is something of an undeservedly underrated and, for the most part, forgotten western! A pity really because it has quite a lot going for it and not least a blistering performance from the great Anthony Quinn. Produced by Stephen Ames for MGM in 1953 it was nicely written by Frank Fenton and had workmanlike direction by John Farrow. Barely missing the Cinemascope process by just a matter of weeks (MGM's first production in the new format "Knights Of The Round Table" would premiere less than six months after Vaquero) it was nevertheless beautifully photographed in the new Ansco Colour by the great Robert Surtees. The movie also has a sterling cast! From the upper echelons of MGM's casting department it boasted the presence of Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Anthony Quinn and trying out a dramatic role for size singing star Howard Keel.
The Civil War has ended and rough-hewn Mexican bandit leader Jose Esqueda (Quinn) is out to prevent Americans resettling into ranch life. His right hand man is his adopted brother - the quiet and sullen Rio (Taylor) who dislikes Esqueda's violent methods of doing business. When Rio - at the behest of his brother - attempts to burn out the ranch of newcomer King Cameron (Keel) and his lovely wife Delia (Gardner) he is captured by Cameron (a good chase sequence) and given the choice of either going to jail or working for him. Out of his attraction for Delia he chooses the latter to the chagrin of Esqueda which leads to great enmity between the brothers and which in the end must come to a fatal confrontation.
Although the Rio character is a subdued and sullen individual Taylor in the role does give a good and admirable performance as the gunman and Keel isn't bad either in one of his rare straight roles. But it is Quinn's picture without any doubt! The man was such a superb performer! With that infectious laugh he is a delight to watch and should have received an Oscar for his portrayal here of the rough, fiery and at times highly amusing outlaw (and watch out for Quinn the artist in a scene in the bandit's hideout whittling at the wooden bust of a horse's head with a knife - the actor's own creation no doubt!)
This handsomely mounted movie is also buoyed by an excellent score by Polish composer Bronislau Kaper. The main title theme is a wonderful rhythmic Mexican piece with a stuttering Mariachi trumpet and Flamenco guitar. The composer also adopted some Mexican folk tunes such as "La Abandonada" which he fashioned into a gorgeous orchestral love theme. The sprightly recurring cue for Esqueda is reiterated, this time by augmented orchestra, into a rousing march for the picture's brilliant set piece as the bandit leader marshals his forces for the invasion of a border town (a stunning long shot of groups of riders converging from all corners to join with him) and Kaper's music driving them on. RIDE VAQUERO is one of the composer's best efforts! Bronislau Kaper(his first name often misspelled on some movie credits with a W instead of a U) was an interesting composer and was one of the great writers of film scores of The Golden Age but without gaining the celebrity enjoyed by Newman, Steiner, Tiomkin or even Miklos Rozsa his more famous and accomplished composing colleague at MGM. He came from Warsaw and joined MGM as a song writer in 1936. One of the songs he wrote was the title tune for the Clark Gable/Jeanette McDonald classic "San Francisco" (1936) which even today remains a favourite anthem. He scored over a hundred films, 99 per cent of them for MGM which earned him the nickname "The Metronome". In 1952 he won an Acadamy Award for the MGM Lesile Caron musical "Lili" featuring his great song hit "Hi Lili, Hi Lo". Ten years later when Miklos Rozsa turned down the job of scoring the Marlon Brando version of "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1962) it fell to Kaper. The Bounty would elicit from him his greatest score! Bronislau Kaper died in 1983 at the age of 81.
RIDE VAQUERO is a better film than its reputation reveals. It warrants a reassessment! There is more to it that should be investigated! It is certainly worth it for Quinn's amazing performance, Surtee's magical Cinematography and Kaper's winning score!
Classic line from RIDE VAQUERO:
Howard Keel to Robert Taylor "Not a very nice place to bring a civilized woman to!... Is it?" To which the stoic Taylor dryly responds... "I couldn't tell you I never met one"!
The Civil War has ended and rough-hewn Mexican bandit leader Jose Esqueda (Quinn) is out to prevent Americans resettling into ranch life. His right hand man is his adopted brother - the quiet and sullen Rio (Taylor) who dislikes Esqueda's violent methods of doing business. When Rio - at the behest of his brother - attempts to burn out the ranch of newcomer King Cameron (Keel) and his lovely wife Delia (Gardner) he is captured by Cameron (a good chase sequence) and given the choice of either going to jail or working for him. Out of his attraction for Delia he chooses the latter to the chagrin of Esqueda which leads to great enmity between the brothers and which in the end must come to a fatal confrontation.
Although the Rio character is a subdued and sullen individual Taylor in the role does give a good and admirable performance as the gunman and Keel isn't bad either in one of his rare straight roles. But it is Quinn's picture without any doubt! The man was such a superb performer! With that infectious laugh he is a delight to watch and should have received an Oscar for his portrayal here of the rough, fiery and at times highly amusing outlaw (and watch out for Quinn the artist in a scene in the bandit's hideout whittling at the wooden bust of a horse's head with a knife - the actor's own creation no doubt!)
This handsomely mounted movie is also buoyed by an excellent score by Polish composer Bronislau Kaper. The main title theme is a wonderful rhythmic Mexican piece with a stuttering Mariachi trumpet and Flamenco guitar. The composer also adopted some Mexican folk tunes such as "La Abandonada" which he fashioned into a gorgeous orchestral love theme. The sprightly recurring cue for Esqueda is reiterated, this time by augmented orchestra, into a rousing march for the picture's brilliant set piece as the bandit leader marshals his forces for the invasion of a border town (a stunning long shot of groups of riders converging from all corners to join with him) and Kaper's music driving them on. RIDE VAQUERO is one of the composer's best efforts! Bronislau Kaper(his first name often misspelled on some movie credits with a W instead of a U) was an interesting composer and was one of the great writers of film scores of The Golden Age but without gaining the celebrity enjoyed by Newman, Steiner, Tiomkin or even Miklos Rozsa his more famous and accomplished composing colleague at MGM. He came from Warsaw and joined MGM as a song writer in 1936. One of the songs he wrote was the title tune for the Clark Gable/Jeanette McDonald classic "San Francisco" (1936) which even today remains a favourite anthem. He scored over a hundred films, 99 per cent of them for MGM which earned him the nickname "The Metronome". In 1952 he won an Acadamy Award for the MGM Lesile Caron musical "Lili" featuring his great song hit "Hi Lili, Hi Lo". Ten years later when Miklos Rozsa turned down the job of scoring the Marlon Brando version of "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1962) it fell to Kaper. The Bounty would elicit from him his greatest score! Bronislau Kaper died in 1983 at the age of 81.
RIDE VAQUERO is a better film than its reputation reveals. It warrants a reassessment! There is more to it that should be investigated! It is certainly worth it for Quinn's amazing performance, Surtee's magical Cinematography and Kaper's winning score!
Classic line from RIDE VAQUERO:
Howard Keel to Robert Taylor "Not a very nice place to bring a civilized woman to!... Is it?" To which the stoic Taylor dryly responds... "I couldn't tell you I never met one"!