This peripatetic 1961 John Wayne western, notable as the last film Michael Curtiz directed, moves all over the place, from riverboat to the wide open spaces of the far west, with nary a dull moment. The plot revolves around Texas Ranger Wayne and his prisoner, elegant gambler Stuart Whitman, tracking down an evil bad guy with a private army. Whitman is miscast in a role that would have fit Gene Barry or even Dean Martin like a glove. Aside from this, the movie works nicely, and Whitman isn't bad in his rugged action scenes. Brainy-seeming Ina Balin makes an interesting, if incongruous love interest, Nehemiah Persoff is the Evil One, while veteran players Bruce Cabot, Bob Steele and Edgar Buchanan add to the fun. Lee Marvin has a small showy role that seems to have been designed as a small showy role for Lee Marvin. There's real bounce to this movie, which doesn't take itself too seriously. Wayne is in good humor throughout, which is nice to see. No brooding cattle baron or Indian fighter he, this is the Wayne that topped the box-office top ten for years, and if one wants to know why, this is as good a movie as any to check out. Wayne loosened up considerably in his later years, as he no longer seemed to care how many nightclub comedians imitated his western drawl and loping walk. Indeed, he seems to have learned a thing or two from them by the time The Comancheros came along, and gently kids himself along the way, showing himself to be a good sport no less than a shrewd manager of his screen image.
Review of The Comancheros
