Reviews

Don Murray plays Latt Evans, an ambitious cowboy who puts himself in the fast lane for success in Montana's cattle country. There is a very good supporting cast in this story with Stuart Whitman as his friend, Albert Dekker as a banker and Patricia Owens as the banker's niece. Lee Remick plays her usual strong role as Callie, another friend of Evans. Richard Egan plays an uncharacteristically villainous role and does it pretty well.

"Remember", Evans' trail boss tells him, "people change. They don't turn out like they started." He realizes that people make decisions and that these decisions have implications for them and others around them. The boss knows Evans better than he knows himself.

In his desire to get ahead Evans loses sight of what's important in life. He works two jobs on the cattle drive that brings him to Montana. He spends a hard winter poisoning wolves. In the end it is a friend's generous loan which gives him what he really wants, his own ranch. Almost too late, he realizes in a scene reminiscent of "The Virginian" that it is friends that really matter.

There are two women in Evans' life and both Remick and Owens do well in their roles. Remick's character is much better developed in the script. She is more than slightly tarnished woman in the traditional Western morality. Albert Dekker advises Evans to stay away from the bordello if he is serious about making something of himself. Callie appreciates her status in the community. "I'm not worth it," she advises Evans at one point when he is about to pick a fight for her. Although she loans Evans the money to get him started she expects nothing for it. The loan is repaid and he owes her nothing more. Even the note Evans receives at the end asking for help was written by someone else.

Patricia Owens plays the banker's niece and eventually becomes Evans' wife. Her character is respectable compared to Callie. She doesn't understand Evans' friendship with Callie, but she tries to do so. Unfortunately, the film does not do her character justice. Evans says that he loves her, but her character gets such short shrift that it's hard to tell why. Is it because she's respectable and Callie's not? I'd like to think there's more to it than that and Owens' role certainly hints at some depth to her character.

The fight at the end probably ranks in the top ten in screen fist fights. It is reminiscent of "The Spoilers", except that this time the mud is in glorious color.

The ending is only partially satisfying. There are too many loose ends. The relationship between Evans and his wife is clarified in the ending, but Callie's fate is left to the imagination. Evans will testify at her trial. "Will it be the truth?", his wife asks. "Yes", he responds. "Then you testify", she says. What happens to Evans' position in the community and his political aspirations in light of his support for a prostitute? The viewer can reach his own conclusions about these issues, too. Perhaps that's appropriate. Evans does what he thinks is right. Who can argue with that?

Although there's plenty of action in this Western, I believe that the action plays second fiddle to the script. Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Wood Strode and Robert Ryan are first rate as the four professionals engaged on a mission which is not all it seems. They are hired by rich mining man J. W. Grant (played by Ralph Bellamy) to bring back his kidnapped wife (played by Claudia Cardinale). She has been captured by Jesus Raza (played by Jack Palance). "Jesus. . .what a name for the bloodiest butcher in Mexico", says one of the characters.

The dialogue between the characters is crisp and often funny. In one situation where Lancaster has been hung upside down in his underwear by Raza's men, Marvin asks him why he keeps losing his pants. Occasionally the dialogue turns serious. Robert Ryan is shivering in the cold desert night and asks who can live in such a "hellhole". Marvin replies that you have to be as tough as steel. "Like you and Dalworth," Ryan replies. "No, men like Raza."

The professionals have a mission, but they respect their adversary. Perhaps they even like him. When they retrieve the wife, Marvin prevents Lancaster from killing Raza. Later, when Lancaster pins Raza down in a narrow canyon they visit about old times.

The movie was filmed in Death Valley and in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. The colorful rocks and barren desert scenery are used to good effect in the film.

Although the plot is simple, the professionals' mission is not what it seems. They feel they've been set up at the very beginning when Woody Strode, a master tracker, finds the tracks of 10 horses who have been circling. They have obviously been waiting for them. This is only the beginning of the twists and turns in this movie. The film's imaginative plot is delightfully refreshing.

The professionals have a code. Sure, they can be bought. For $10,000 these men will risk the desert, bullets and other dangers. However, they won't go to any lengths to complete their mission. The code first manifests itself when Marvin prevents Lancaster from killing Raza. Later, Lancaster finds out "how a woman can be worth a hundred thousand dollars."

This film doesn't really have a serious weakness. The mix between action, humor and outstanding scenic backdrops makes this a much better than average Western. "The Professionals" is extremely fun to watch and the movie finishes with one of the best comic lines I've ever heard in movies. You won't forget it.

The strength of this movie is its great cast, an excellent script and Jerome Moross' memorable score. Critics bombed it when it was released, but moviegoers loved it. I did, too.

"It's a big country", one of the characters in the movie says. This is obvious in the opening credits as a stagecoach crosses the treeless plain carrying Gregory Peck, who plays Jim McKay, to a meeting with his fiance (played by Carol Baker) in San Rafael. The fist fight with the foreman of Ladder Ranch, played by Charlton Heston, is original in its staging. There have been much better fight scenes. "Pittsburgh" and "North to Alaska" come to mind. This fight scene is memorable because the camera emphasizes the vastness of the country by showing the fight from long range. It works.

The emphasis in this film is on the complex personal relationships between the characters. Peck and Baker are engaged to be married, but their relationship seems doomed from the start. In the opening scenes they are harassed by the Hannassey's, mortal enemies of the Terrell's. Peck and Baker are fundamentally incompatible. He doesn't measure up to her father (played by Charles Bickford), and she is upset that he doesn't ride Old Thunder or accept Steve Leach's challenge. McKay does both, but he does these things on his own terms. He is not a show off. He may be a little unsure of himself, but he does not give up easily. His efforts to ride Old Thunder demonstrate this. He is also modest. "I had a little trouble with a horse", he later tells Julie Maragon in a classic understatement. Pat Terrell is disappointed in her fiance and dumps him. Later, when she tries to make peace, McKay rejects her overtures. "It goes much deeper than that", he tells her, referring to her comment that the estrangement was a simple misunderstanding. In a pique she compares him unfavorably to her father and walks out of his life. McKay's courage shows at the end when he rides into Blanco Canyon to rescue Julie Maragon (played by Jean Simmons). Why did he do it? He did it for love. He loves Julie Maragon.

The relationship between Rufus Hannassey (played by Burl Ives) and Henry Terrell sets the tone for the movie. Terrell is a "gentleman" living in a mansion. The Hannassey clan lives in rough shacks in Blanco Canyon. Rufus is not as uncultured as the Terrell's make him out. Indeed, he appreciates the fine dueling pistols he finds in McKay's saddlebags. "Gentlemen's weapons", he derisively tells his definitely uncouth son (played by Chuck Connors). In one scene Rufus publicly questions Henry Terrell's qualifications as a gentleman. Gentlemen or not the two old men hate each other. The movie never tells you how it started. Perhaps no one remembers. Perhaps it is simple economics. Both the Terrells and the Hannasseys covet the Big Muddy, Julie Maragon's ranch. Water is more than life in the West. In one scene Terrell's cowboys shoot holes in the water tower at Rufus' ranch. Steve Leach questions the ethics of this. "Do you really want this Major?", he asks. "Let the boys have their fun," he replies. Later, Rufus returns the favor by barging uninvited into Terrell's party. It is not unexpected that they kill each other at the end.

The relationship between McKay and Steve Leach begins on a bad note. Leach seems to have a romantic interest in McKay's fiance. He offers a fight, which McKay refuses. Later, when they do fight, the relationship seems to change. "You take a long time to say good by," he tells McKay. "I'm just about finished", McKay replies. It is apparent at the end that Leach respects McKay's courage.

The script is refreshingly original. The familiar dialogue from other Westerns is missing here. "This is a frosty Friday", Rufus says at one point. "Teach your mother to suck eggs", he suggests to his McKay at another point. If anything, there may be too much dialogue in this film. A little more action might have helped.

The action is also different from your typical Western. The big screen approach to the fist fight is a good example. The long-expected gun fight between Steve Leach and Buck Hannassey never happens. Instead Hannassey and McKay face off with dueling pistols. McKay wins, because Hannassey shows his coward's colors. He grabs a six gun from one of the cow hands and tries to kill McKay. It is Rufus who shoots his son.

Jerome Moross' music is fantastic. My favorite cue is "The Welcoming", which underscores the scene in which Buck Hannassey and three ranch hands harass McKay and his fiance. Variations of the musical themes in this film appear in the "Jayhawkers" and "The Proud Rebel". The title tune was recently reprised in "Varsity Blues".

This movie is best watched on the big screen. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a wide screen version of this film available on video. Hopefully, that omission will soon be corrected. However, the great script and wonderful characterizations can be enjoyed on the small screen, too.