An American named Kennedy (Zachary Scott) has gone south of the border with his pretty wife Lisa (Ursula Thiess) to sell guns to the federal troops. Another American named Wilson (Robert Mitchum) sees a chance to turn a quick buck by hijacking those guns and making a deal with a revolutionary named Col. Escobar (Gilbert Roland).
Wilson helps turned the tide of one battle by tossing a couple of well-timed grenades while he’s casually sipping a drink, earning himself an audience with Escobar and the nickname Scorpion, for his deadly sting. Next thing you know, Wilson, Escobar and the revolutionaries have taken over the train on which Kennedy and his wife are riding.
In order to save their lives, Kennedy gives up the location of the arms. Escobar sends a small band to fetch them, and sends along Kennedy’s wife, who’s to be killed if he’s lying. Wilson, quite taken with the dark-haired beauty, tags along. He might be in luck; she’s no longer very taken with her husband.
But trouble arises when the guns aren’t where Kennedy says they were. That little lie earns his wife a date with a bullet. Wilson helps her escape, which could land him in a front of a firing squad. In fact, both he and Kennedy wind up captives, awaiting just that fate.
But they escape, and Kennedy provides a new location for the arms shipment. Is he telling the truth this time? Or has time run out? Because the federal troops are closing in on Escobar and his under-armed band of him
Review:
Unless you’re a fan of watching Mitchum swagger or of Thiess’ frosty attitude, this is a giant bore, a typical south of the border gun-running film with nothing to set it apart from those that came before of those that followed.
Wilson decides he’ll try to steal Lisa Kennedy from her husband at the snap of the finger, manages to do so in just about that amount of time, then tells her to ride to America and safety and find the kind of guy she deserves.
In one insanely silly scene, Escobar has Wilson locked up with Kennedy, but no one bothers to check if he’s carrying any of those grenades he’s so fond of tossing. So Wilson tosses one at the firing squad, blasts a hole in a wall with another grenade and, presto, you have one of the easiest escapes in film history.
Kennedy is later wounded and Wilson takes him to a monastery for treatment. Lo and behold, who should show up at the same monastery by the strangest of coincidences? Lisa Kennedy, of course. Followed by Escobar, just in the nick of time to save Wilson’s life and hear Kennedy utter the words that makes it clear Wilson never tried to double cross Escobar. Oh, my.
Directed by:
Richard Fleischer
Cast:
Robert Mitchum … Wilson
Zachary Scott … Kennedy
Ursula Thiess … Lisa Kennedy
Gilbert Roland … Col. Jose Escobar
Rodolfo Acosta … Sebastian
Jose Torvay … Gonzalez
Henry Brandon … Gunther
Douglas Fowley … McGhee
Runtime: 92 min.
Memorable lines:
Wilson to Escobar, on his troops’ shortage of arms: “You’ve got nothing to throw at them (the federal forces) except buckets of blood. Which is why I’m down here. To show you how to even up the score.”
Wilson, after he’s caught up with Lisa as she tried to flee down the beach: “You know what they do with runaway slaves, don’t you?”
Lisa Kennedy: “No, but I’m sure you’ll teach me.”
They embrace and kiss in the sand.
May I have your name please?”
Wilson: “How about Smith? How does that sound to you?”
“Sounds American. But your horse is a rebel horse. He gave us all the information we need about you.”
Wilson: “Well that was sneaky. I told him never to speak to strangers.”
Escobar to Wilson, after the guns are recovered: “Senor, your sting was a long time coming, but it was very good. Better than I thought. We didn’t lose a man … We’ve got enough (guns and ammunition) to finish this war and begin another.”
){kind=link}