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Valdez Is Coming
(1971),
Director: Edwin Sherin, rated PG-13 for violence,
language
They tore his
body. They buried his pride. But they forgot his old uniform,
his Sharps rifle, and his Buffalo gun.
Find Tanner, El Segundo, and the 16 others. And tell them Valdez
is coming.
  Starring:
Burt Lancaster, Jon Cypher, Susan Clark, Frank Silvera, Richard Jordan, Barton
Heyman, Hector Elizondo, Phil Brown, Ralph Brown, Werner Hasselmann, Lex Monson
DML Rating:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
- great
"You know
something? I would have liked to get $100 for that Indian woman." -
Bob Valdez
Why watch this? It's
beautiful to look at, and Burt Lancaster, stoic and capable,
carries the day.
Plot Summary:
Mexican Bob Valdez is a humble public servant, serving as
constable in a small border town. When an altercation, involving
rich rancher Frank Tanner, results in Valdez's killing of an
innocent man, Valdez approaches the town's council for the
victim's pregnant Native American widow. The council agrees to
donate $100, if Valdez can get Tanner to donate the same amount.
When Valdez rides to Tanner's presidio fortress, pleading for
the donation, Tanner rudely refuses. He then commands his band
of Mexican thugs to beat and lash Valdez to a wooden cross.
Laughing, they send him walking through the blazing desert to
certain death. What they don't realize is that Bob Valdez is a
tough-as-nails ex-Calvary scout and Indian-fighter. He's also an
impressive marksman who can drop a buffalo at over 1000 yards.
Dad's Preview:
In my unofficial series called "White
lead actors who portray brown men in Westerns" (Chato's
Land (1972) and
Hombre
(1967)), Burt Lancaster and director Edwin Sherin bring the
1970 novel by
Elmore Leonard to brutal life. In the '70s, Westerns like
this were edgier - more sex, bad language, violence. At age
nine, I first viewed this at a seedy El Paso drive-in, with my
much-older sister. It is classified as a paella (as
opposed to spaghetti) Western because even though it was
shot in Spain, it's an American produced/directed movie. This
oater has action, villains-galore, memorable quotes, and the
Western ending that, I must say, is perfect in its uniqueness.
Norlan
Productions, Ira Steiner Productions; United Artists
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