★ 6 / 10
Right from the start, with a pretty awful
CinemaSerf
Right from the start, with a pretty awful theme song that struggles to rhyme “have a go” with “Shalako”, the writing is on the wall and it’s more graffiti than…
Right from the start, with a pretty awful theme song that struggles to rhyme “have a go” with “Shalako”, the writing is on the wall and it’s more graffiti than Pulitzer. A group of yesterday’s A-listers are assembled to form a hunting party traipsing the Wild West hunting at the tail end of the nineteenth century. They are led by the “Baron” (Peter Van Eyck) with the glamorous “Irina” (Brigitte Bardot), the cranky “Daggett” (Jack Hawkins) and his trophy wife (Honor Blackman) and are being guided by the duplicitous “Fulton” (a Stephen Boyd straight out of “Genghis Khan” from 1965). They need his assistance because this is Apache territory, and these folks are none too pleased that their territory is being invaded by these interlopers who dress for dinner end enjoy fine wines (courtesy of Eric Sykes) as they routinely slaughter for sport. Along the way, this unlikely group encounter the enigmatic “Shalako” (Sean Connery) who has some history with the natives which comes in handy when they attack and “Fulton” promptly skedaddles with their escort, their transport and most of their supplies. Now, a war of attrition ensues that puts the party at risk and, of course, encourages them all to expose their dirty linen and give each of these fairly insipid characters a few moments in the sun - and that’s where the whole thing just becomes a mess. Hawkins and Van Eyck are, frankly, dreadful and though Blackman tries to keep her tongue in her cheek, Bardot ought just to have stayed with her donkeys and Connery, well he really can’t seem to make head nor tail of his persona as this over-written and lacklustre drama lurches along to it’s fairly predictable conclusion. Quite why anyone agreed to produce this is anyone’s guess, but the end product has little to redeem it.
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★ 5 / 10
Average British Western shot in Spain , with sensational though wasted casting
ma-cortes
This offbeat Euro-Western based on Louis L'Amour novel concerns Shalako (Sean Connery) whose Indian name means ¨he who brings rain¨ . He's an US scout who…
This offbeat Euro-Western based on Louis L'Amour novel concerns Shalako (Sean Connery) whose Indian name means ¨he who brings rain¨ . He's an US scout who intervenes to save some European aristocrats on a hunting journey in New Mexico when they are attacked by Apaches circa 1880 .
This is a British Western set in Almeria (Spain) where in the 60s and 70s were filmed numerous Spaghetti or Paella Westerns , as Shalako is a high budget film , but poorly directed . The gun-play , Indian attacks , shootouts are gripping but the movie is just another cold British product . Violent scenes abound as the attempted rape and a creepy murder of one of the protagonists . The casting is frankly magnificent but the film gets an incredible waste of a talented cast like happens with Sean Connery , though the first choice by the producers was Henry Fonda . There appears various notorious main and secondary actors that are usual in Western genre . Gorgeous Brigitte Bardot who played with Jeanne Moreau ¨Viva Maria¨ and with Claudia Cardinale ¨The legend of Frenchie King¨ . Stephen Boyd played Western as ¨Hanna Coulder¨ and ¨The Bravados¨ . Woody Strode at one of his habitual Indian roles as ¨Winterhawk¨ , ¨Loaded gun¨ , ¨The Gatlin gun¨ ,¨Keoma¨ , ¨Once upon a time.¨ . Julian Mateos , a famed Spanish actor , player in US Western as well as Spaghetti such as ¨Hellbenders¨ , ¨Four rode out¨ , ¨Catlow¨ , ¨Return of seven magnificent¨ . Honor Blackman , pairing with Sean Connery in ¨Goldfinger¨ , here also makes love in a straw loft , this time with Stephen Boyd . Ernie Sykes playing a servant like in ¨The others¨ and Don Red Barry from Republic Pictures serial : ¨Adventures of Red Ryder¨.
Lively and spectacular musical score by Robert Farnon . Colorful cinematography by Ted Moore , he's the cameraman of most classic period in James Bond series : ¨Diamonds are forever¨ , ¨Goldfinger¨ , ¨From Russia with love¨. The motion picture was regularly directed by Edward Dmytryck who also made other Westerns as ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨ Warlock¨ , ¨Broken Lance¨, ¨Raintree County¨ . For somebody is a monumental bore but I think is a fairly watchable European Western , nothing more . Succeeds only in waste a lot of talented actors , onlyf or Brigitte Bardot and Sean Connery fans .
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