Bandolero! (1968)

You won't be disappointed!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Bandolero! is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and written by Stanley Hough and James Lee Barrett. It stars James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch and George Kennedy. A Panavision/De Luxe color production, music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by William H. Clothier.Initially set in Texas, 1867, the pic in short plot form entails the leading men, ruffian robbers with a glint in their eye, and leading lady, on a road trip of some discomfort. They are being pursued by the law led by George Kennedy, whilst having to deal with internal fighting and a date with blood thirsty Mexican bandits.Bubbling away in the mix is the tale of two brothers (Stewart and Martin) who went different ways during the Civil War, the conversations of such between the two most potent and worth sampling. Add in Welch for dressage and sexual tension, with Kennedy's stoic lawman in pursuit of both her and the outlaws, and it's got firecrackers simmering in the narrative. Hanging and the threat of sexual assault further stokes the fires, all while we are asked to take seriously guys with names like July Johnson and Roscoe Bookbinder!McLaglen directs with competent hands befitting the occasion, in other words let your star named cast operate without mugging for the camera - with the visual ticks of Stewart and Kennedy a joy as opposed to doing down the material. Goldsmith's score is a bit too modern sounding for the time period of story setting, but as expected it's a blood stirrer. While locales are most pleasing as the great Clothier cements his status as a Western genre legend.Ultimately with the cast assembled it really should be a far better film than what it is, but if nothing else, the odd blend of humour and serious themes makes for an intriguing viewing. Whilst as Kennedy slots in to steal the film from his more illustriously named co-stars, it's enough to just enjoy a cast and director comfortably at work. 7/10

Another IMDb reviewer summed this up perfectly. They called it a "time-filler" and that's exactly what it feels like. The Western genre is a crowded one and there are many films that stand tall above the rest and unfortunately Bandolero is not one of them. James Stewart is no stranger to the genre and I have seen so many of his westerns and they range from amazing to so-so and this sits firmly in the so-so camp. Its almost hard to believe because they seem to have so many pieces in place (including a great cast) but it never takes off for some reason. The direction is sloppy and the pacing of the film is way off from what it should be. A man poses as a hangman to free his brother and their group of bandits. Chased by a determined sheriff they hold up in a small dwelling and are forced to work together to take on a group of Mexican cowboys. Sounds awesome! Delivery of this concept is anything but. Literally you have this build up and its not until the last ten minutes of the film when the showdown happens. Maybe they are trying to establish the characters but it fails in that respect too because these characters (many of them played by iconic actors) feel empty and lack any sort of real depth that make you emotionally attached to them.James Stewart is looking a little long in the tooth in this film and he seems almost bored in the role. He has this quiet drawl and just seems to lack the spark and fire he has shown so many times before in great Westerns. His character had such great potential but it seems like no one cared enough to put the effort in. Legendary actor and performer Dean Martin plays Stewart's brother and the chemistry between them is sadly lacking. In fact, it was barely there. Martin seems like he's trying much harder than the rest of the cast but the script leaves something to be desired and needs so much editing. I'm not sure if I have seen Raquel Welch in anything else. I know that she's considered a legend in her own right but not for this. She is excruciating in this film. She looks bored, she acts bored, her line delivery is awful and the forced and ridiculous romance between her and Dean Martin is...well awful. She single-handedly lowers the quality of this cast and that's unfortunate. She looks so out of place. George Kennedy does a decent job as the Sheriff hot on the trail of the Bishop Brothers. He is very underused and I desperately wanted to see more from his character and the relationship between him, Martin and Stewart but it takes a long time to get around to that too and we hardly see him for most of the middle of the movie.So there is a lot wrong with Bandolero. Its unfortunate because it had a huge budget, a great cast, a decent concept but everyone involved sort of dropped the ball from that point on. The shoot-outs are great, the action scenes are good but it ends up being nearly completely forgettable. Director Andrew McLaglen is a great director, and knows Westerns well but somewhere along the lines, something went off track with this. Its not a total wash, it is still enjoyable, it is indeed a "time-waster." A lot of Westerns are and that's perfectly fine but when you have this sort of cast and budget, you expect something more. 6/10

If you're Catholic and you grew up in Spokane, Washington in the 60s and 70s, then there is a chance you used to read the Spokane Diocese's newspaper, The Inland Register. In it, movies would be reviewed not on their stories or acting but on their moral content. If a movie received an "M.O.", morally-objectionable, you were not to see the movie.For a future "fallen" Catholic like myself, the worse the rating in the IR, the better! I don't know for sure, but I'm betting Andrew V. McLaglen's Bandolero received the kiss of moral death by the folks at Lourdes Cathedral. What would have been exciting and appealing to a 17 year old is now viewed as repulsive trash, with two Old West recidivists (Jimmy Stewart and Dean Martin) running from the law (George Kennedy) with hostage Raquel Welch (Dow Corning) in tow.As Judith Crist used to say "the blood flows like Chianti" in Bandolero. There are no good guys except for Kennedy and his deputy Andrew Prine, and they're almost-but-not-quite cognitively impaired. Martin is too far gone for redemption as he slaughters his way across the desert while falling in love with non-actress Welch. His crew oozes with rapists and murderers, but we're supposed to cut Dino some slack because at least he feels a twinge of remorse for his deeds.Then there's Martin's brother, Stewart, who we are expected to believe is the better of the two brothers. That's a little hard to accomplish when he meets up with a hangman-for-hire and, offscreen, ices the poor shlub without so much as a sigh.By the end of movie, the bad guys and the good guys have teamed up to kill other badder guys, and the sand of a Mexican town is fairly spongy with blood.Bandolero is a nauseating mess, better left at the nearest distribution center of Netflix, unless you're hooked on Chianti.

The word "Bandolero!" rolls off the tongue so nicely you would think the film would have a more upbeat feel to it, especially with that exclamation point as part of the title. However the word in Spanish means bandit, and as the film heads into the second half the action gets pretty grim. Dean Martin and Jimmy Stewart are unusually cast as brothers who meet up in the town of Val Verde, Texas. Stewart's character assumes the guise of a hangman called upon to dispatch outlaw Dee Bishop (Martin) and his renegade bunch after a botched bank holdup that left a prominent citizen dead, shot by Dee. I was hoping to see more of Jock Mahoney when I saw his name in the credits, but he was that unfortunate victim, leaving behind a Mexican bride. I had almost forgotten how gorgeous Raquel Welch was, but this film showcases her looks to maximum appeal, without resorting to various stages of undress. Although there is one time during a battle with Mexican bandits where her blouse is ripped from the back, but the scene is played out more for it's savagery than for titillation.George Kennedy provides a competent but heavily understated portrayal of July Johnson, the Val Verde sheriff who puts together a posse to track down the Bishop gang after they flee from the gallows with Mace Bishop's (Stewart) intervention. I thought it was a clever idea for Mace to provide the weapon, but if you think about it, someone would probably have noticed the exchange of the gun in real life, so the way that's handled is prominently done off screen. That actually surprised me somewhat, as I was wondering how the 'break' would occur, and suddenly there it was.The other thing I wondered about throughout the picture was how Raquel maintained her makeup and wardrobe while trekking through the desert with the bad guys. I know you're not supposed to think about those things with escapist entertainment, but the way current films go for reality, the difference is easily noticed. Never a hair or eyelash out of place, even in those extreme close ups.Probably the biggest surprise by the end of the picture is the idea that Dino and Raquel fall in love (remember, Dee Bishop killed her husband), but it took some prodding from big brother Mace to insist that he talk to her. So in the end, Dino gets the girl, but he dies!, leaving a bittersweet feel at the closing credits.