The Revengers (1972)

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This screenplay tells the story of a stoic pioneer rancher(William Holden, as John Benedict), in Colorado, who loses his entire family to a raid by Comanche, led by 2 Comancheros. One of the latter is later captured and is made to tell the name of the other(Tarp),the fact that he has one visibly abnormal eye, and his probable location, at Pueblo Plaza. Benedict goes looking for a cheap posse to help him tract down and kill Tarp, who also stole his horses. He goes to a Mexican prison camp, and chooses 6 disparate convicts to be his posse. The rest of the film deals with the travels and adventures of this gang, their near victory at one point and their final confrontation with Tarp and his Indians and Comancheros. During one period, Benedict is shot close to the heart by one of his gang. Amazingly, he eventually recuperates, over months, with his gang waiting around to see if he will live or die. During this period, his nurse, Elizabeth(Susan Hayward), falls in love with him, and requests that he either stay there with her or go back to his ranch. He does neither, in his continuing quest for revenge. The closing scene has Benedict riding off into the sunset, leaving his frustrated gang behind(to what end?). I bet he's riding back to that village where Susan is, to take her to his ranch. Incidentally, this was Susan's last role in a Hollywood film. She would soon be diagnosed with brain cancer.Other reviewers have noted some commonalities with several prior films, such as "The Dirty Dozen", "The Wild Bunch","Return of the Magnificent Seven" and "The Searchers". In regard to the last, both center on a long, long search of months and perhaps years. But also, when they did find their quary, they suddenly got cold feet about completing their mission. In Benedict's case, I can understand his response under the conditions. Tarp was a prisoner of the US Army, awaiting trial and a possible hanging. Thus, there was a good chance he would die rather soon anyway. If Benedict had shot him under this condition, as he could easily have done so, he would have to answer to the army, as he was a vigilante. In Wayne's case(The Searchers), initially he didn't want to 'rescue' Debbie because she was married to an Indian, and initially, she didn't want to be rescued. Thus, initially, Wayne wanted to shoot her, but a cooler head prevailed, and she was brought back to the remaining members of her European family.There is another prior film, I might mention as having some relation to this one. It's called "Wild Women", and involves releasing a bunch of army women prisoners in Texas, to help in a mission against the Mexican army. They accomplished their mission.Problems:1) I was usually confused as to where the action was taking place: in Colorado, where we started, in Mexico, to which we traveled, or back across the border, in the US? It seemed like Colorado was next to the Mexican border. This may not bother everyone, but it bothers me.2)We are supposed to believe that 6 desperate Mexican prisoners could be trusted not to run away, and with firearms, to follow their employer in his seemingly crazy mission of revenge, and not kill him(one almost did, out of anger). Benedict chose to get rid of the 2 guards the prison furnished him with, apparently, a psychological move to show he trusted the men, and hoped this would increase their trustworthiness.3) Holden isn't the most exciting leader of a posse. Is his character just very stoic, or perhaps he was bored with the film?4)Many viewers are apparently disappointed that the film didn't end with a duel between Benedict and Tarp, as expected. I previously offered a rational for this. At least, Benedict's gang took part in the climatic attack by Tarp's comrades, while he was locked up.5)The gang uses dynamite to scare and kill Tarp's comrades when they attack the army camp. But dynamite wasn't discovered until after the Civil War. Probably, it shouldn't have been available.6) There's precious little humor or romance to lighten things every now and then.There are, of course, some other problems with the film that I won't bother enumerating.See it at YouTube. Filmed at various locations in Mexico

"Our Man Flint" director Daniel Mann's western "The Revengers" resembles Henry King's horse opera "The Bravados" (1958) about a vengeful rancher who tracks down the evil gunmen who murdered his wife and then gradually becomes as callous as the men that he killed. In "The Revengers," a peaceful rancher rides off, leaving his family behind briefly, to track down a wounded mountain lion that his son had shot earlier. Our hero found the mountain lion dead. During his absence, however, a gang of barbaric Comancheros attack his house, massacre his entire family. One of his long-time ranch hands dies, too. The protagonist of this adventurous western, John Benedict (William Holden), heads down to Mexico, assembles a half-dozen dastards that he bails from a dirty Hispanic prison a la "Dirty Dozen," and sets out after the white man with different colored eyes who wiped out his wife, two daughters, and oldest son bound to attend the West Point Military Academy. The better-than-average cast includes Ernest Borgnine as scene-stealing scumbag named Mr. Hoop and Woody Strode as a cantankerous ex-slave who takes his own sweet time making up his mind about his decisions. Benedict and his gunmen search Mexico for years until our protagonist becomes so callous that one of his old friends not only doesn't recognize him but also shuns him for what he has become. "The Revengers" evokes memories of "The Wild Bunch," and some of its scenes are played out in "Wild Bunch" locations. "Death Wish" scenarist Wendell Mayes wrote the screenplay based on Steven W. Carabatsos' story. Carabatsos is best known for the Lee Van Cleef & Jim Brown western "El Condor." Susan Hayward shows up about three-quarters of the way through as a nurse who takes care of Benedict after he is shot and left for dead in a cantina by one of his own men. This film marked Hayward's last big screen role. The chief with "The Revengers" is the slipshod ending. You expect that the reformed Benedict plans to pick up her, but all we see at fade-out is a long shot of his sprawling ranch as he drives horses to it. The Pino Calvi orchestral score is excellent. Essentially, "The Revengers" has a Spaghetti western sensibility to it and Calvi's score alludes to throughout its 148 minutes. Producer Martin Rackin has done an excellent job making this western look prestigious. Prior to making "The Revengers," Holden played a wanderlust cowpoke in Blake Edwards "The Wild Rovers" with Ryan O'Neal. "The Revengers" marked Holden's last appearance in a horse opera.

A homesteader's family are wiped out by a renegade Injun party and he vows his revenge " Wow Theo . That sounds like so many other dire generic Westerns . Tell us why you gave it seven out of ten " Easily explained . It's an old fashioned premise done in the New Hollywood style . Hollywood had done way with the dichotomy of good and bad and decided to paint everything in grey . Some people have mentioned both THE WILD BUNCH and THE DIRTY DOZEN in their comments and you can see some very obvious parallels as the protagonist hires some cut throat prisoners as a posse and you're left with a feeling this might simply backfire on him Another aspect is the rather bloodthirsty element . New Hollywood had torn up the Hays Code rulebook and consigned it to history a few years earlier and THE WILD BUNCH was responsible for this more than any other film and whilst it doesn't have the same directorial style as Peckinpah would have brought to the movie it's enjoyably mean enough to appeal to audience members who aren't keen on the genre

Rancher John Benedict's wife and four children are killed one day by Comanche Indians.He needs to revenge for their deaths.He gathers up a posse formed of six prisoners.Their job is to find a man named Tarp, who led the slaughter.The Revengers (1972) is directed by Daniel Mann.There's a great ensemble in this movie.The legendary William Holden plays John Benedict.A legend is also Ernest Borgnine, a living legend, I might add.He plays Hoop.Today this man celebrates his 95th birthday.That's quite an achievement.And he's done about 200 movies in his career.And he's still not thinking of retirement.Way to go, Ernie! The terrific Woody Strode portrays Job.Roger Hanin plays the part of Quiberon.Susan Hayward returned from her voluntary retirement to play Elizabeth Reilly.Arthur Hunnicutt is Free State.Warren Vanders plays Tarp.Larry Pennell is Arny.James Daughton is Morgan.Holden's late son, Scott Holden, plays Lieutenant.I'd say as a western this is underrated.It may not reach the level of The Wild Bunch, but there still are some likable qualities in this movie.It's a manly movie, but those moments between Bill Holden and Susan Hayward are filled with sweetness and tenderness.And those manly scenes also work, the bloody battle scenes.Watch this movie and have your own opinion of it.But I liked it pretty much.