George Montgomery is Reese O’Brien, a gringo who’s taken refuge south of the border after being involved in a deadly range war in Texas.
He’s now the right-hand man for rancher Miguel Carmargo. And in the wake of Juarez’s victory over Maximilian, Carmargo has had himself named general in his region of Mexico.
That puts him in a position to marry pretty Francisca Riano (Elisa Montes). Francisca’s uncle sided with the losing side in the revolution; such a marriage would ensure the family’s continued influence in spite of that.
But Carmargo also becomes a target for the bandit Espado. And the peons in the nearby village seem more sympathetic to the bandit than the new general.
Caught in the middle is O’Brien. And the situation becomes more dire when Francisca’s brother is found dead.
The dark-haired beauty begs O’Brien to find out who killed Alfredo, though she isn’t at all sure she wants the answer.
Review:
A tedious Western filled with all sorts of soap opera drama.
It’s just a shame director Maury Dexter and company couldn’t turn that into any sort of drama, any sort of urgency, any sort of excitement that comes across on the big screen.
In addition to the already mentioned entanglements, Carmargo has a young daughter who’s in love with Alfredo. Alfredo’s determined to seduce her.
And both the daughter (Marta) and Francesca are somewhat fascinated by the American named O’Brien and his mysterious background.
Adding to the viewer’s frustration: Whoever dubbed Montes has an accent so thick that her dialogue is unintelligible at times.
The score doesn’t help. When O’Brien finds Alfredo’s dead body, the music sounds like someone is holding a festival.
George Montgomery as Reese O’Brien in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Elisa Montes as Francisca Riano in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Directed by:
Maury Dexter
Cast:
George Montgomery … Reese O’Brien
Elisa Montes … Francisca Riano
Jose Nieto … Gen. Miquel Camargo
Jesus Tordesillas … Don Cristobal Riano
Miguel del Castillo … Espado
Ana Maria Custodio … Senora Camargo
Gloria Camara … Marta Carmargo
Ricardo Valle … Alfredo Riano
Jose Villasanta … Camargo stable man
Carmen Porcei … Riano housekeeper
Frank Brana … Paco
Juana Ramirez … Pila la nina
Runtime: 98 min.
aka:
El proscrito del río Colorado
Django the Condemned
Django the Honorable Killer
Jose Nieto as Gen. Miquel Camargo in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Jesus Toredesillas as Don Cristobal Riano in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Memorable lines:
Reese O’Brien, when Gen Carmago shows off a new uniform of bright green: “You sure light up the sky, compadre”
Alfredo, as his uncle plots the marriage of Francesca to Gen. Camargo to secure the family’s power: “I find honor a strange word to use in this room.”
Reese O’Brien, of Marta, after Alfredo’s death: “She thought she was in love with him.”
Senora Carmargo: “What is the difference between being in love and thinking you are in love? The pain is the same.”
Miguel del Catillo as Espado in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Ricardo Valle as Alfredo Riano in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Trivia:
This marked the only European Western for George Montgomery, who starred in a number of low-budget Westerns during the 1950s.
Most film sites put the original running time at more than 90 minutes. The English version shown on TV and available now runs just 70 minutes.
George Montgomery reportedly wound up appearing in the classic war film “Battle of the Bulge” largely because he was in the country making this movie around the time.
The original title of this film was changed to reflect the popularity of the Django character. This film was originally released in January 1965; “Django” wasn’t released until April 1966.
Gloria Camara as Marta Carmargo in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Ana Maria Custodio as Senora Camargo in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
Elisa Montes as Francisca Riano and George Montgomery as Reese O’Brien in Outlaw of Red River (1965)
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