Viva Gringo (1966)

Fernando Rey is Castillo, the president of Peru, and he’s a politician in trouble.

Word has it the Incas are on the verge of an uprising, determined to annihilate all white men in the region.

Word has it, they’ve formed an alliance with his political enemies and with a bandit named Gambusino, who’s already been terrorizing the region.

He turns to a man named Gringo (Guy Madison) to diffuse the situation.

Then an assistant introduces a complication: Gringo was long ago accused of killing an Incan king and his son.

Castillo gives Gringo four weeks to clear his name.

And that’s precious little time for find a killer he’s been seeking for quite some time already.

Especially when he has a meddlesome niece (Geula Nuni as Graziella) who’s going to need rescuing, perhaps more than once.

Guy Madison as Gringo in Viva Gringo (1966)

Francisco Rabal as Gambusino in Viva Gringo (1966)

Review:

The Peruvian settings means this film is filled with unique costumes, though most of them look as though the characters walked straight from makeup onto the set.

Otherwise, prepare yourself for a muddled mess of a film. And for one in which our hero disappears for long periods as all sorts of subplots play out.

Of course, pretty Graziella encounters the Incan prince (William Rothlein) without realizing he’s a prince. Of course, she’s kidnapped by the villain of the piece, the brutal bandit Gambusino.

But the film also features a comedic subplot in which Professor Morgan (Heinz Erhardt) and two mostly incompetent assistants are searching the area around Lima for dinosaur bones. And find some!

Rik Battaglia plays the handsome bullfighter who is somehow entangled in the plot to overthrow the government; Raf Baldassarre — who’s character is named Geronimo — is Gringo’s faithful sidekick.

As for Madison, he didn’t even get to dub himself. And a scene in which he’s strung up over two hungry alligators is sure to make you roll your eyes in disbelief.

William Rothlein as Incan Prince Uaparapaga in Viva Gringo (1966)

Carlo Tamberlani as Incan Priest Anciano, the Incan priest, in Viva Gringo (1966)

Directed by:
Georg Marischka

Cast:
Guy Madison … Gringo
Rik Battaglia … Antonio Perillo
Francisco Rabal … Gambusino
Heinz Erhardt … Professor Morgenstern / Morgan
Chris Howland … Don Marmesan
Fernando Rey … President Castillo
Geula Nuni … Graziella
Walter Giller … Fritz Kiesewetter
William Rothlein … Uaparapaga, Incan prince
Carlo Tamberlani … Anciano, Incan priest
Raf Baldassarre … Geronimo
Gza De Rosen … Jan Hansen
Winfried Groth … Sergeant
Santiago Rivero … Minister Ruiz
Lyubomir Dimitrov … El Brazo Valiente
Bobomil Simeonov … Grosso
Antonio Almoros …. Lt. Escobedo
Ivan Stefanov … Capt. Pellejo

Runtime: 99 min.

aka:
Legacy of the Incas
Das Vermächtnis des Inka

Geula Nini as Graziella, Gringo’s niece, in Viva Gringo (1966)

Fernando Rey as President Castilloof Peru in Viva Gringo (1966)

Memorable lines:

Professor Morgan’s assistant, as he rides a burro: “So these are horses, according to you? I can’t wait to see what you call Mastodons and other pre-historic stuff.”

Uaparapaga, when Graziella is frightened by skulls she discovers in the forest: “Please don’t be afraid. Our dead are never buried. They are placed under the oldest, tallest trees. We stand guard over all. In this way, they protect out forests and valleys forever.”

Uaparapaga, as a storm approaches: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you where you’ll be safe.”
Graziella: “I’m not afraid of anything since I met you.”

Antonio Perillo: “The man who puts a hand on me will die like a mongrel dog.”

Rik Battaglia as Antonio Perillo (left) in Viva Gringo (1966)

Raf Baldassarre as Geronimo, Gringo’s sidekick, in Viva Gringo (1966)

Trivia:

This marked a rare feature film for German director Georg Marischka, who was directing mostly TV movies at the time. Filmed in Spain, Bulgaria and Peru, it has more in common with the Winnetou films than the Italian Westerns of the era.

Raf Baldassarre appeared in about three dozen Spaghetti and European Westerns during the 1960s and 1970s, usually as a henchman, but also as a sheriff and Mexican officer. This marked his only outing an an Indian.

Heinz Erhardt as Professor Morgan (left) with his helper in Viva Gringo (1966)

Chris Howland as Don Marmesan, the professor’s guide, in Viva Gringo (1966)