The Big Gundown (1966)

Lee Van Cleef is Jonathan Corbett, a renown lawman. Walter Barnes is Brokston, a railroad tycoon with big dreams and a big problem.

Placing Corbett in the Senate might help him realize the dream. Setting Corbett on the trail of a Mexican peasant named Cuchillo (Tomas Milian) might solve the problem. Cuchillo is accused of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl.

And so begins an interesting game of cat and mouse between Corbett and Cuchillo, a game in which the mouse keeps outwitting the cat.

And on the occasions when they meet, the mouse insists he’s innocent. Oh, not of everything, but certainly rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl.

Along the way, Corbett gains respect for the man he’s chasing and learns a thing or two about life in Mexico — the rich rule; a peasant’s life is worthless. The lesson is reinforced when Brokston loses patience and organizes his own hunting party to track down Cuchillo.

Eventually, Corbett begins to wonder if he is chasing an innocent man. But if he is, what can he do about it? Brokston’s hunting party includes a rich Mexican landowner and all his vaqueros. And Baron von Schulemberg, the best shot in Europe.

Review:

What a difference a clever, intelligent, imaginative script makes. Not everything works, like Milian’s encounter with an angry bull. But that’s a minor complaint for a film that provides some of the most memorable non-Leone Spaghetti Western scenes.

Like when Corbett and Cuchillo visit a ranch owned by a widow (Nieves Navarro) and populated with men she uses as labor by day and toys by night. And like the splendidly filmed finale as a desperate Cuchillo hides in cane fields while dozens of vaqueros track him down.

One of Spaghetti’s best, complete with a rousing Ennio Morricone score and a splendid cast that includes familiar faces like Fernando Sancho, Roberto Camardiel and Maria Granada in lesser roles.

Milian is a pure delight and this marked Lee Van Cleef’s first Spaghetti film without Sergio Leone at the helm and Clint Eastwood as the star.

Directed by:
Sergio Sollima

Cast:
Lee Van Cleef … Jonathan Corbett
Tomas Milian … Cuchillo Sanchez
Walter Barnes … Brokston
Gerard Herter … Baron von Schulemberg
Nieves Navarro … The widow
Maria Granada … Rosita
Angel del Pozo … Chet Miller
Luisa Rivelli … Lizzie Miller
Fernando Sancho … Capt. Segura
Roberto Camardiel … Sheriff Jellicol
Herman Reynoso … Mormon leader
Maribel Martin … Little Sarah

Also with: Calisto Calisti, Benito Stefanelli, Nello Pazzafini, Antonio Casas, José Torres, Antonio Molino Rojo, Molino Rojo, Spartaco Conversi, Romano Puppo, Barta Barry, Luis Gaspar, Francisco Braña, Fernando Sanchez Polack, Luis Barboo, Lorenzo Robledo, Fernando Bilbao, José Zalde, Angelo Susani, Attilio Dottesio, Lanfranco Ceccarelli

aka:
La resa dei conti
Account Rendered
Colorado

Score: Ennio Morricone

Runtime: 105 min.

Memorable lines:

Brokston: “I think the baron is anxious to have you demonstrate your skill against his.”
Corbett: “I stopped playing with guns when I was a boy of 10.”

Corbett, lying wounded: “At least I got here before he hurt (molested) your daughter.”
Mormon leader: “My daughter? Sarah? Sarah’s my fourth wife.”

Cuchillo to Corbett: “If you knew the truth, you’ll be the one who is hunted. And you’ll find you had much more fun when you where the hunter … Adios, amigo. You’ll never catch me.”

Brokston to his partner: “I understand he (Cuchillo) is a Mexican, just like you are.”
The partner: “Oh, no. This man is but a peon.”

The baron, just as the hunt is about to begin: “The sun is rising. It looks like a big ball of blood. I say that for those who believe in foresights.”

Brokston to Corbett: “You didn’t know that hunting was my passion, did you? … Ah, yes, I’ve been to Africa and India looking for all types of animals to kill. But there’s one type of animal I haven’t hunted. Not with a gun, that is. The hunting of man. It should be interesting.”

Corbett to Brokston: “You thought I’d shoot first and then think. That’s where you made your mistake.”
Brokston: “Corbett, you’re really too damned smart to be a senator.”

Trivia:

The success of this film spawned a sequel, “Run, Man Run,” also directed by Sergio Sollima and also starring Tomas Milian as Cuchillo. But Lee Van Cleef did not reprise his role as Jonathan Corbett.

Walter Barnes played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL from 1949-51 before going into films. One of his first major roles in movies was in the 1959 Randolph Scott film “Westbound.” He also guest starred on several episodes of Bonanza, Cheyenne and Gunsmoke.

This marked the next to last film outing for pretty Maria Granada, who had appeared in “The Savage Guns” (1962), “Gunfighters of the Casa Grande” (1964) and “Son of a Gunfighter” (1965). Here she plays Rosita, a whore and wife of Cuchillo. Corbett turns to her for help in finding her wayward husband.