The Coyote (1955) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Abel Salazar is Cesar de Echague, urgently summoned home by his father from a five-year stay in Europe.

The U.S. has taken control of California, and a Capt. Potts is making life difficult for native Californios.

He’s seizing their property. He’s put down a revolt.

Desperate for a solution, Senior Cesar de Echague is sure his son can help restore justice once he returns home.

Ah, but the son who returns seems more intent on enjoying a life of genteel wealth than ruffling Yankee feathers.

He’s quickly branded a coward, even by Loenor de Acevedo (Gloria Marin), the woman he planned to marry.

Then an old friend is lynched. Another is arrested and likely to be hanged as well.

And a masked avenger suddenly starts righting wrongs, including freeing that second friend from the gallows.

Abel Salazar as Cesar de Echague, holding a bird cage as he arrives home and climbs off a stagecoach in The Coyote (1955)

Abel Salazar as The Coyote, about to get a measure of revenge for a friend’s death in The Coyote (1955)

Review:

The film was based on a character created by Spanish author Jose Mallorqui y Figerola, who penned 192 stories about El Coyote under the pseudonym J. Mallorqui.

To say he borrowed heavily from the Zorro story would be an understatement. So don’t expect lots of surprising plot twists here.

One difference: While dressed in black and donning a mask, this ‘Zorro’ is a hero of the gun-slinging type. There’s narry a whip in sight.

And if the story is predictable for anyone who’s watched a Zorro film, the black and white cinematography is impressive in spots, startling in others. That’s especially true of the final showdown between El Coyote and Capt. Potts.

Oh, and one scene is likely to ring a bell with fans of U.S. Westerns. Upon arriving home, Cesar de Echague disembarks from the stagecoach holding a lady’s birdcage, to the stunned reaction of those anticipating the arrival of a manly hero.

Audie Murphy had done the exact same thing in 1954’s “Destry,” a remake of the 1939 classic “Destry Rides Again.”

Gloria Marin as Leonor de Acevedo, in custody for her association with a masked avenger in The Coyote (1955)

Santiago Rivero as Capt. Potts, reacting to a foe’s sudden appearance in The Coyote (1955)

Directed by:
Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent

Cast:
Abel Salazar … Cesar de Echague, aka The Coyote
Gloria Marin … Leonor de Acevedo
Manual Monroy … Edmund Greene
Santiago Rivero … Capt. Potts
Rafael Bardem … Senor Cesar de Echague
Carlos Otero … Roberto Artigas
Jlio Gorostegui … Senor Acevedo
Lis Rogi .. Josette
Joe Calvo … Sullivan
Angelita Tamayo … Senorita d Echague
Ignacio de Paul … Valdez

Runtime: 75 min.

aka:
El Coyote

Rafael Bardem as Senor Cesar de Echague, writing a letter to summon his son home in The Coyote (1955)

Julio Gorostegui as Senor Acevedo, Leonor’s father, demanding her release from custody in The Coyote (1955)

Memorable lines:

Sorry, I watched a Spanish language version of this film.

Manuel Monroy as Edmund Greene, an opponent of Capt. Potts, informing him of his pending impeachment in The Coyote (1955)

Carlos Otero as Roberto Artigas, awaiting his fate on the gallows in The Coyote (1955)

Trivia:

This film and its companion piece, 1956’s “Justice for Coyote,” with the same director and much of the same cast, were two of the first Westerns filmed in Spain, paving the way for many others to follow and setting the stage for the Spaghetti Western craze.

This marked the third film directed by Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent. He’d direct 23 movies during his film career and most were Westerns, culminating with “Cut-Throats Nine” in 1972.

Born in Mexico, Abel Salazar was already a film star when he took this role. In 1958, he’d marry Gloria Marin, his co-star here. That union lasted two years, ending in divorce in 1960.