Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)

Quintero (Fernando Rey), a leader of the Mexican revolution, has been captured by the government’s army under Col. Diego and tossed into a prison that’s more like a fortress. It’s called the Cave of Rats.

The revolutionaries solution: Break Quintero out of jail by hiring a renown American gunfighter named Chris Adams for $600.

Adams (George Kennedy) knows he can’t handle the job alone, so he rounds up a group of five specialists and heads back to Mexico for a third time.

Those men include Keno (Monte Markman), who Chris rescues from the gallows; a knife-throwing wizard named Levi (James Whitmore), who has settled down to a family life; a black dynamite expert named Cassie, who was working in a mine; and a one-armed ex-Rebel named Slater, who was working as a sideshow attraction.

Add an ailing gunman named P.J. (Scott Thomas) and the spirited but angry young Mexican man who hired him (Monte Markman as Keno) and he once again has his lucky seven.

They might get help from some of the Mexican peasants. They might get help from a rebel/outlaw named Lobero and his men.

They might need all the help they can get.

This time, they aren’t defending a small village from bandits. They’re breaking into a military fort manned by a garrison of troops.

Review:

Expectations might have been low following 1966’s “Return of the Seven,” a lame follow-up to the original hit film.

But though none of the seven returns from either of those films, this sequel is a step back in the right direction, with Kennedy turning in one of his stronger performances in a Western.

Unlike in “Return,” we get a better introduction to the seven this time around. We also get plenty of reasons to root for them.

The government troops are killing peasants with rebellious inclinations by dragging them behind horses. Or burying them neck deep and having horses stomp on their heads. Once dead, they’re hung from telegraph poles.

Wende Wagner — you might remember her as the pretty Indian girl from “Rio Conchos” — is the female lead, but it’s a small part as a young Mexican beauty who warms up to P.J.

A bigger role goes to child actor Tony Davis, whose father has been imprisoned by the government troops. He’s adopted by the seven.

This marked the film debut for former NFL player Bernie Casey.

Directed by:
Paul Wendkos

Cast:
George Kennedy … Chris Adams
James Whitmore … Levi Morgan
Monte Markman … Keno
Reni Santoni … Lt. Maximiliano O’Leary
Bernie Casey … Cassie
Scott Thomas … P.J.
Joe Don Baker … Slater
Wende Wagner … Tina
Fernando Rey … Quintero
Tony Davis … Emiliano Zapata
Frank Silvera … Lobero
Michael Ansara … Col. Diego
Sancho Gracia … Miguel
Luis Rivera … Lt. Prensa
George Rigaud … Gabriel

Runtime: 105 min.

Title tune:
Magnificent Seven theme

Memorable lines:

Keno: “Why do you people have such long names?”
Lt. Maximiliano O’Leary: “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because we have such short lives.”

Cassie: “Hang around here much longer, I’ll end up in jail.”
Chris: “Wouldn’t you rather blow one up?”
Cassie: “For money? Or for laughs?”

Slater: “See, I’m a freak — half man, half gun. Why I can’t whip a 6-year-old girl in a fair fight. But I can blow a man’s eyeballs out at 100 yards in a sandstorm.”

Keno, as Lobero’s men ride into camp: “Is that a welcome party or a lynch party?”
Max: “With Lobero, you never know.”

Chris to Lobero, holding a knife to his face: “You move anywhere but backwards and you lose that eye. Now get out of here!”

Fernando Rey as Quintero, the revolutionary hero the seven hope to free in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)

Michael Ansara as Col. Diego, the cruel commandant of the prison where Quinteo is held in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)

Tony Davis as Emiliano Zapata, a Mexican lad whose dad is rounded up by Lobero in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)

Frank Silvera as Lobero, the bandit leader who might join the effort to free Quintero in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)