Mexican bandit leader Lorca (Emilio Fernandez) rounds up all the men from three south-of-the-border villages and marches them into the mountains to serve as slave labor at a fourth village he’s building as a tribute to the two sons who died there.
Among those captured is Chico (Julian Matos), who had stayed behind when the Magnificent Seven ventured into Mexico the first time to help peons make a stand about the bandit Calvera.
Chico had been leading a quiet life with wife Petra (Elisa Montes) until Lorca showed up.
Naturally, she turns to Chris Adams (Yul Brynner) and Vin Tanner (Robert Fuller this time) for help.
And, naturally, they agree, Then they recruit four companions for the trip — a womanizer named Colbee (Warren Oates), a young Mexican named Manuel (Jordan Christopher) who won’t shy from a fight and a pair of jailbirds (Claude Akins as Frank and Virgilio Teixeira as Luis Delgado).
Once they free Chico from Lorca, they’ll have another lucky seven, Chris tells Vin.
Of course, they travel south realizing not all of the seven are likely to return.
Not when Lorca has a small army of bandidos riding behind him, including his chief lieutenant Lopez (Roldolfo Acosta).
Yul Brynner as Chris, anticipating another attack from Lorca and his henchmen in Return of the Seven (1966)
Robert Fuller as Vin, reunited with Chris for another south-of-the-border excursion in Return of the Seven (1966)
Review:
Reportedly, Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen feuded throughout the making of the original film and Brynner agreed to be part of the sequel only if McQueen wasn’t. McQueen passed on the part. And wound up being the winner for doing so.
Fans of the original film will likely be disappointed with this one. Oh, sure, Brynner is back. And so is the acclaimed score by Elmer Bernstein. But all of the style that made the original so entertaining is missing.
Instead, we have Robert Fuller in the Vin role worrying that killing has gotten into his blood and that’s the real reason he’s trying to free Chico. We have Colbee constantly obsessing over women.
We have Frank risking his life over and over. His life has seemed empty since he killed his wife to keep her from falling into the hands of Indians during a raid; his life was somehow spared. So he argues a lot with Colbee, who shows little respect for women. We have Chris trying to keep everyone focused on the real enemy.
It took six years for this sequel to find its way to the screen. Two more Magnificent Seven sequels would follows — Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) and The Magnificent Seven Ride (1972)
Claude Akins as Frank, explaining why he’s haunted by his wife’s death in Return of the Seven (1966)
Warren Oates as Colbee, being recruited into the seven with a promise of villages devoid of men in Return of the Seven (1966)
Directed by:
Burt Kennedy
Cast:
Yul Brynner … Chris
Robert Fuller … Vin
Julian Mateos … Chico
Warren Oates … Colbee
Claude Akins … Frank
Virgilio Teixeira … Luis Delgado
Elisa Montes … Petra
Fernando Rey … Priest
Emilio Fernandez … Lorca
Roldolfo Acosta … Lopez
Jordan Christopher … Manuel
Gracita Sacromonte … Flamenco dancer
Ricardo Palacios … Jailer
Felisa Jiminez … Luis’ prison companion
Runtime: 95 min.
Julian Mateos as Chico, rescued from Lorca’s grip by old friends in Return of the Seven (1966)
Virgilio Teixeira as Luis Delgado, offered a chance to escape a firing squad and join the seven in Return of the Seven (1966)
Memorable lines:
Ben: “Thought you took a job riding shotgun for Overland.”
Vin: “Quit.”
Ben: “Home come?”
Vin: “My health. Doctor said to find a climate with less lead in the air.”
Ben, about tracking down the captured Mexican villagers: “It’s a big country. Finding them could take a long time.”
Vin: “Hell, I haven’t been going anywhere for 10 years. Neither have you.”
Colbee, after getting in trouble with a jealous husband: “How did I know she was married? Women ain’t got a brand on their hip to let you know when you’re driving another man’s stock.”
Chris to Colbee: “How would you like to use that gun belt for something more than just holding up your pants?”
Jordan Christopher as Manuel, the young Mexican who’s the last to join the band in Last of the Seven (1966)
Elisa Montes as Petra, frightened as bandits descend on the village where she and Chico live in Return of the Seven (1966)
Colbee: “Had me a quiet woman once. Outside she was calm as Sunday. Inside, she was wild as mountain scenery. I’m going to ride back that way again.”
Luis Delgado: “Where’s that?”
Colbee: “Sonora town.”
Luis: “I was there once.”
Colbee: “Once? You mean you didn’t go back?”
Luis: “What for?”
Colbee: “Well, there’s over ten head of females for every male in Sonora, that’s for what. And I ought to know – I went through half of them one night. And I would have got around to the rest of ’em, if I hadn’t pulled a leg muscle.”
Colbee: “We ain’t gonna run, are we Chris?”
Chris: “Hell, no.”
Chris, looking at the village spring back to life as he rides off: “I’ll be damned.”
Vin: “I doubt that. I doubt that very much.”
Emilio Fernandez as Lorca, kidnapping villagers to build a tribute to his dead sons in Return of the Seven (1966)
Rodolfo Acosta as Lopez, bandit leader Lorca’s lieutenant in Return of the Seven (1966)
Fernando Rey as the priest, who wanted a church built, but not the way Lorca intends in Return of the Seven (1966)
Yul Brynner as Chris and Claude Akins as Frank, watching for the return of the Mexican bandits in Return of the Seven (1966)
Elisa Montes as Petra, pleading with Chris for help as Vin (Robert Fuller) looks on in Return of the Seven (1966)
Virgilio Teixeira as Luis Delgado and Warren Oates as Colbee during a tense moment in Return of the Seven (1966)
Rodolfo Acosta as Lopez and Emilio Fernandez as Lorca, preparing for another attack on the village they used to control in Return of the Seven (1966)
Yul Brynner as Chris, taking aim at one of Lorca’s bandits in Return of the Seven (1966)
){kind=link}